Senate Commerce Committee Statement to Senate Committee Substitute, No. 312 (May 18, 2026)

Summary

A Senate Commerce Committee statement to the Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 312, State of New Jersey, dated May 18, 2026, reporting the substitute favorably. The substitute requires each scrap metal business in the State to install heat detection equipment, develop a fire safety plan with the local fire department official or fire marshal, make records available to fire code officials, and keep pile height from exceeding 55 feet. A business with an unprepared metal shredder feedstock stockpile over 200 tons for any 24-hour period must install a remotely operated fire suppression system, with annual certification. The county enforcing agency is to review and approve compliance in writing, and the substitute is identical to the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee Substitute to Assembly Bill No. 2401.

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SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR

SENATE, No.
312

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MAY 18,
2026

The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably a
Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 312.

The committee substitute requires each scrap metal business in the State to reduce the likelihood of a fire by, at a minimum:
(1) i nstalling and maintaining
heat detection equipment capable of detecting an incipient fire or potential
hot spots ; (2) d eveloping a fire safety plan in coordination with
the local fire department official or fire marshal, which is to be made in
writin g and publicly available upon request; (3) making available, to
any fire code official investigating the scrap metal business as a result of a
fire at the business, records retained pursuant to current law; and (4)
confirming that the pile height of combustible material, noncombustible
material, or a combination thereof does not exceed 55 feet.

Additionally, a scrap
metal business that contains an unprepared metal shredder feedstock stockpile
with over 200 tons of unprepared metal in a single stockpile for any 24-hour
period is to i nstall a fire suppression system that can be
remotely operated and is designed
to prevent hot spots from flashing into fires by rapidly extinguishing future
fire s and reflash. The system is to include , but not be
limited to: (1) a n overhead fire
suppression system including water towers with articulating water supply heads
and related water supply improvements; (2) m onitored heat detection equipment around piles of at least 500 tons to
identify hot spots prior to ignition; and (3) annual certifi cation by a fire safety engineer, the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) and the Division of Fire Safety within the New Jersey Department of
Community Affairs, to meet all NFPA and State r egulatory
fire prevention standards for the industrial activity .

Under the substitute, the county enforcing agency is to
review and approve, in writing that is to be displayed in a conspicuous manner
in the office of the scrap metal business or on the Internet website of the
business, that a scrap metal business demonstrates that it installed a heat detection equipment capable of detecting
an incipient fire or potential hot spots , developed a fire safety plan
in coordination with the local fire department official or fire marshal, and,
if applicable, met the requirements for a
scrap metal business that contains an unprepared metal shredder feedstock
stockpile with over 200 tons of unprepared metal in a single stockpile for any
24-hour period .

As reported by the committee, the committee substitute
for Senate Bill No. 312 is identical to the Assembly Environment and Solid
Waste Committee Substitute to Assembly Bill No. 2401, which was also reported
by the committee on this date.

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