 New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has proposed new soil remediation standards. The Brownfield and Contaminated Site Remediation Act (”Brownfields Act”) directs the Department to adopt minimum remediation standards for soil, ground water and surface water necessary for the remediation of contaminated sites. The Department previously established remediation standards for surface water and ground water and now is proposing remediation standards for soil.
The Brownfields Act requires the Department to develop two sets of soil remediation standards based on the use of the remediated site that must protect the public health and safety: residential and non-residential sites. The soil remediation standard at all sites must also protect the ground water and surface water for contaminants that are mobile and transportable to ground water or surface water. Residential soil remediation standards must be set at levels or concentrations of contamination that:
- Are based on the use of the site for residential or similar uses;
- Will allow the unrestricted use of the site without the need of engineering devices or any institutional controls; and
- Do not exceed a health risk standard for human carcinogens.
Non-residential soil remediation standards must be set at levels or concentrations of contaminants that recognize the lower likelihood of exposure to contamination on property that will not be used for residential or similar uses. These standards are designed to allow for the unrestricted use of that property for nonresidential purposes.
The Department has prepared three basis and background documents for these proposed rules:
- Ingestion-dermal exposure pathway
- Inhalation exposure pathway
- Impact to ground water pathway
A public hearing concerning the proposal is scheduled for June 7, 2007 at the NJDEP office in Trenton. Written comments may be submitted by July 6, 2007. Details for the hearing and comments and the entire proposal and basis documents are available at http://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/regs/srs. |