Guidance Document on Contaminated
Soil
(Updated April 2011)
Contaminated Soil General Information
New Jersey has a number of regulatory programs designed
to prevent the discharge of contaminants into the environment. New Jersey's
Department of Environmental Protection has developed regulatory programs
to prevent, detect and identify prohibited discharges and to limit the
volume and concentrations of contaminants which may be discharged pursuant
to Department permits. The scope and magnitude of the problems presented
by the thousands of contaminated sites in New Jersey set the context
within which the Department has adopted new remediation standards. The soil
remediation standards can be found at N.J.A.C. 7:26D, Appendix 1, Table 1A and Table 1B.
(https://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/regs/rs/rs_rule.pdf.)
What is contaminated soil?
Definitions vary state to state but in general contaminated
soil containing one or more contaminants from an unintentional or intentional
spilling, or a naturally occurring contaminant, qualify soil as a contaminated soil. See the definition of contaminated soil below. Soils are considered hazardous waste when the following criteria
are met and must be managed pursuant to the requirements at N.J.A.C. 7:26G et seq.:
a. Soils test positive for characteristics of a hazardous waste defined
at Title 40 CFR Part 261 Subpart C 261.21-261.24.
b. Soil contains a listed waste as per 40 CFR 261
Subpart D 261.31-261.33.
c. Soil is a mixture of a solid waste (non-hazardous) and one or more
hazardous wastes listed in 40 CFR 261 Subpart D 261.31-261.33.
Sources and Quantities of Contaminated Soil
Sources of contaminated soils include manufacturers,
businesses, retail establishments, government and individuals. Anyone
who stores or handles materials which could adversely impact the environment,
has the potential to generate contaminated soils. Quantities vary greatly
based on site-specific situations from a few tons to hundreds of thousands
of tons.
Contaminated Soil Definition
The definition for contaminated soil commonly used in contaminated soil
management programs is soil that contains one or more contaminants
from an unintentional or intentional spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring,
emitting, emptying, or dumping of a hazardous substance, hazardous waste,
pollutant, or naturally occurring contaminant at a concentration which fails to satisfy any applicable
remediation standard.
Environmental and Public Health Hazards
Contaminated soils at a site can present environmental,
health and safety hazards if not managed properly. Contaminated soil
that is not properly remediated has the potential to significantly migrate
from the impacted area through the actions of water, wind, and physical
displacement and possibly contaminate surrounding soils, surface water
sediments and groundwater. Any traffic traveling over the contaminated
soil could generate dust and would be a major migration route of the
contaminated soil to the surrounding environment.
The remedial action options for contaminated soils
include on-site remediation, off-site management as a hazardous waste
and in some instance, recycling hazardous soils treated on-site must
obtain all applicable permits. Hazardous soils being moved off-site
for management must be properly manifested, transported by a licensed,
insured hauler and go to a facility authorized to accept hazardous soils.
Soils are considered to be non-hazardous ID 27 when
the following criteria are met:
a. Soils contaminants exceed the NJDEP's soil remediation standards.
b. The soil exceeds the site-specific cleanup criteria.
c. The soil is not considered hazardous as defined in (A) above.
Any proposal to beneficially use or transport non-hazardous
ID 27 soils out-of-state requires an approval from the Bureau of Landfill and Hazardous Waste Permitting pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.1(a)1 and
1.7(g). ID 27 soils contaminated with petroleum compounds may also be
transported to an Authorized Class B recycling center. A list of authorized
Class B Recycling centers can be obtain from the Department's web site:
https://www.state.nj.us/dep/dshw/lrm/classb.htm.
ID 27 classified soils are legally considered solid waste and the transporter
hauling ID 27 soil must be a New Jersey registered solid waste transporter
in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:26-1 et seq. Soils destined
for recycling or beneficial use are not considered ID 27 waste and thus,
do not require registered transporters.
Compliance with Other Laws
Any selected remedial action for soil contamination
must be consistent with other applicable or relevant Federal, State
or local laws or regulations. If a remedial action does not comply with
other applicable laws, the remedy would not be implementable and would
not be approved by the Department. Those responsible for conducting
the remediation must identify all applicable and relevant laws and regulations
and may seek assistance from the Department.
For more information concerning contaminated soils, please check the
following web sites:
Technical
Requirements for Site Remediation
Department
Oversight of the Remediation of Contaminated Sites
New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection
Site Remediation Program
United States Environmental Protection Agency
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