Selling Your House? Test Your Water:
The "Private Well Testing Act"
Recent New Jersey legislation will soon require every homeowner whose home has a private well located on the property to have the well water tested and the test results disclosed to any purchaser prior to the closing. The new law requires disclosure of the test results but doesn't impose any remediation requirement on the homeowner, though that seems a natural consequence.
The test must test for bacteria (total coliform), nitrates, iron, manganese, pH, all volatile compounds with established standards and lead. Testing for radium, arsenic and mercury may be required at a later date.
Landlords will also be required to have water tests every five years if their leased property is served by a private well. Within 30 days after receipt of the test results the landlord must notify all tenants of the results.
Initial test results will only be released to the purchaser and/or homeowner or their authorized agents, but testing labs are required to submit the results to the Department of Environmental Protection. In turn the DEP may inform county or local health boards of test results. A general notice of failed private wells may be sent by the county or local board to property owners in the neighborhood of the failed well but the specific address or location of the well is not to be disclosed.
Today most purchasers do have well water tested as part of the normal inspection contingencies. The burden and expense will now shift to the seller to undertake the testing and have test results available. Under the new law provisions a closing cannot occur unless both the buyer and the seller certify in writing they have received and reviewed the water test results.
This becomes effective in full on September 14, 2002. In the meantime, one can probably expect more regulations and rules from the DEP.
