NJDEP Proposes to Revamp its Remedial Action Permit Process | Mandelbaum Barrett PC
To follow up our prior Environmental Blog discussing the proposed amendments to the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) 2.0, another significant change relates to the remedial action permit (RAP) framework, aiming to streamline regulatory permit review process. Here’s an overview of the key updates regarding remedial action permits:
One of the most notable changes is the expansion of remedial action permits to include indoor air contamination. Previously, remedial action permits were limited to soil and groundwater contamination. With the growing awareness of vapor intrusion concerns, the inclusion of indoor air as a third media option strengthens protections against airborne contaminants. Additionally, the new framework consolidates soil, groundwater, and indoor air permits into a unified permit system. This integration will hopefully simplify the regulatory process by reducing redundancy and ensuring a more cohesive approach to remedial action permit review in New Jersey.
The amendments establish five categories of specialized remedial action permits, each tailored to different remediation scenarios. These permit categories should allow for more efficient review processes to separate more straight forward sites with more complex cleanups and ensure that remediation strategies align with site-specific conditions:
- Permit I: Covers soil remediation with a deed notice but no engineering controls.
- Permit II: Applies to soil remediation that follows a presumptive remedy approach.
- Permit III: Grants approval for soil remediation involving pre-approved alternative remedies.
- Permit IV: Specifically for sites dealing with historic fill-only soil contamination.
- Permit V: Supports monitored natural attenuation for groundwater contamination.
Importantly, the person responsible for remediation must strictly adhere to the predefined conditions of these permits without deviation.
Standardization of Permit Application and Financing
The amendments introduce uniform standards for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) review and approval of remedial action permits. This includes:
- A standardized approach to permit application reviews.
- Revised biennial certification requirements, necessitating submission of operation, maintenance, and monitoring plans.
- Adds new indoor air remedial action and permit requirements.
- Requires submission of financial assurance information for non-exempt permittees.
Enhancements to Institutional Controls
Institutional controls play a crucial role in managing long-term contamination risks. The amendments strengthen requirements for groundwater classification exception areas and introduce the indoor air notification area as a new control mechanism to address vapor intrusion risks.
Key provisions include:
- Submission of detailed maps, cross-sections, and sampling data for groundwater classification exception areas.
- Mandatory NJDEP approval for indoor air notification areas, including submission of a remedial investigation report and GIS-compatible mapping, public registration of indoor air notification areas on the NJDEP website for transparency.
- Extended deadlines (from 30 to 60 days) for deed notice modifications.
- New procedures to terminate deed notice or notice in lieu of deed notices.
- Addition of a notice in lieu of deed notice as an alternative institutional control when a traditional deed notice cannot be obtained.
The proposed amendments to SRRA 2.0’s RAP framework attempt to introduce a more structured system that will streamline NJDEP’s RAP review process. We believe that these changes will reduce the number of questions/issues raised by NJDEP during their review, so that on both straightforward and more complex RAP applications it will allow for SRRA’s intent of making NJ’s Site Remediation Program more efficient to be realized by the regulated community.
