Bill > A5694

Introduced Session

This bill requires the Department of Transportation (department), the New Jersey Transit Corporation (corporation), the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA), the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA), or any other State or local government entity, or any contractor, consultant, or other third party acting under contract with one of these entities, to undertake the following, prior to commencing a public highway project or public transportation project located in close proximity to an operating or retired mine: (1) demonstrate proof of guidance issued by the mine safety section within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and of conformity with the provisions of the Mine Safety Act; and (2) if required by the provisions of the bill, conduct or cause to be conducted an underground structural assessment of the proposed site to minimize the effects of mine subsidence and to ensure public safety. An entity responsible for a public highway project or public transportation project is required to submit a copy of the underground structural assessment, and an executive summary thereof, to the department in electronic form within 10 business days of the assessment's completion. The department, in consultation with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, is required to make the assessment or executive summary available to the mine safety section, the Department of Community Affairs, and the governing body, municipal clerk, and county planning board in the jurisdiction where the project is located. The entity is required to retain the full underground structural assessment and make it available upon request. The department may establish by regulation the form, format, and process for submission, retention, and distribution of such underground structural assessment or executive summary. For any public highway or public transportation project located in close proximity to an operating or retired mine, which mine is identified as high risk for subsidence by the mine safety section or Department of Transportation, the responsible entity is required to develop a post-construction monitoring plan, which may include periodic elevation scans, ground-penetrating radar, or other geotechnical techniques, to ensure continued structural stability of the mine. The Department of Transportation, in consultation with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, is required to adopt regulations identifying criteria for high-risk sites and appropriate monitoring protocols A violation of the bill's provisions constitutes a violation of the Mine Safety Act. In addition to any civil penalty imposed pursuant to the bill, the Commissioner of Transportation (commissioner) may issue a stop-work order requiring the cessation of all public highway project or public transportation project operations at the site of the violation. The order is to remain in effect until the commissioner determines that the department, corporation, NJTA, SJTA, or any other State or local government entity is in compliance with the requirements of the bill. The bill also amends current law to require the mine safety section within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to issue risk-based guidance to assist the department, the corporation, NJTA, SJTA, and other State and local government entities in determining: (1) whether a proposed public highway project or public transportation project is located within close proximity to an operating or retired mine; and (2) if the proposed public highway project or public transportation project is located within close proximity to an operating or retired mine, whether an underground structural assessment is required to ensure public safety. The mine safety section is required to maintain, on its website, the proposed or adopted guidance required under the bill. The bill requires the Commissioner of Transportation to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the bill and submit a report of its findings to the Governor and Legislature no later than 10 years after the bill's effective date. The report is to include a recommendation as to whether the provisions of the bill should remain in effect or be repealed. It is the sponsor's intent that this bill will address the threat of ground subsidence and sinkholes caused by historic mining activity beneath major roadways and transit corridors, which threat presents an urgent and ongoing infrastructure and safety challenge in New Jersey. Recent collapses along Interstate Highway 80 have exposed the real risks of constructing or maintaining infrastructure above unmapped or retired mine shafts. Such events have disrupted traffic, endangered public safety, and diverted critical infrastructure funding toward emergency repairs. With this bill, the sponsor intends to take a proactive, prevention-focused approach to infrastructure planning.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Clinton Calabrese (D)*,  Robert Karabinchak (D)*,  Linda Carter (D),  Michael Inganamort (R), 

Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Hearing (10:00:00 6/16/2025 Committee Room 11, 4th Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ) (on 06/16/2025)

Official Document