may 2007

NJDEP Proposes Revised Soil Remediation Standards

On May 7, 2007, NJDEP proposed soil remediation standards which, if adopted, will supplant the informal soil remediation standards the department has been using since 1999. A draft version of the standards had been released to the public in July 2004 for public comment prior to this formal rule proposal.

NJDEP is also proposing to recodify and amend the existing remediation standards for surface water and groundwater so that the cleanup standards for all three media are located within the same chapter of the technical regulations.

The proposed remediation standards continue to be broken down into three categories: Residential Direct Contact standards for cleanups that will not require the use of engineering or institutional controls; Non-Residential Direct Contact standards for cleanups that will not require the use of engineering or institutional controls on sites to be used for non-residential purposes, and; Impact to Groundwater standards that are designed to be protective of groundwater.

A number of the standards differ from the 2004 draft, and there are significant changes from the 1999 informal standards. Notably, many of the Impact to Groundwater standards have become more stringent by more than an order of magnitude. This could result in NJDEP’s demanding further remediation notwithstanding a previously issued Remedial Action Workplan (RAW) approval.

As mandated by New Jersey’s Brownfield Law, the proposed rules also set forth a new procedure for applying for an alternative soil remediation standard, which may emerge as an important tool to address the stringency of the new standards.

A public hearing concerning the proposal will be held on June 7, 2007. Written comments to the proposed standards must be submitted by July 27, 2007. NJDEP has advised that it expects the standards to be adopted by May of 2008.

If you have any questions concerning the proposed soil remediation standards, please contact Susan C. Karp.