58:12A-31. Actions on water testing results; information for public record

6. a. The Department of Environmental Protection, within five business days after receiving any report of a water test failure in accordance with this act, shall provide notice thereof to the county health department, health agency, or designated health officer, as appropriate to each county in which the private well that failed the water test is located. The county health department, health agency, or designated health officer, as appropriate to each county, may issue a general notice to owners of real property served by private wells located in the vicinity of the real property experiencing the water test failure suggesting or recommending that those property owners may wish to have their private wells tested for at least the parameters at issue. The specific address or location of the private well that failed a water test shall not be identified in the notice or by any other means or in any other manner. The department shall establish criteria for notification which may include, but shall not be limited to, the level of exceedance recommended for notification, and the distance or location of the properties in the vicinity of the contaminated well for which testing is recommended. It shall be at the sole discretion of the county health department, health agency, or designated health officer, as appropriate to each county, whether or not to issue such a notice and to whom and by what means it shall be given.

b. Notwithstanding the provisions of P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) or any other law to the contrary, water test results received by the Department of Environmental Protection, a county health department, health agency, or designated health officer, or any other State or local governmental entity in compliance with or as authorized by this act shall be confidential and shall not be open for public examination, inspection, or copying, except that general compilations of water test results data arranged or identified by county and municipality or appropriate geographic areas therein, which do not include specific address or location information, may be made available to the public.

L.2001,c.40,s.6.