N.J. Admin. Code § 7:26C-1.7

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 11, June 3, 2024

Section 7:26C-1.7 - Notification and public outreach

(a) Immediately after a discharge commences, any person or persons responsible for a discharge who knows or should reasonably know of a discharge shall immediately notify the Department by following the requirements of the Discharge of Petroleum and Other Hazardous Substances rules at N.J.A.C. 7:1E-5.

(b) The person responsible for conducting the remediation shall immediately notify the Department hotline at 1-877-WARNDEP (1-877-927-6337) when any of the following are identified at a site:

1. Contamination that has been caused by a discharge that is not already known to the Department;

2. An immediate environmental concern; or

3. Contamination, which was previously reported to the Department, has been determined to have migrated onto the site from another site.

(c) Notwithstanding (b) above, the person responsible for conducting the remediation is not required to notify the Department hotline at 1-877-WARNDEP (1-877-927-6337) if the only discharge that has occurred at the site is historic fill.

(d) The person responsible for conducting the remediation shall notify the Department in writing, on the Confirmed Discharge Notification form available from the Department at www.nj.gov/dep/srp/srra/forms, within 14 days after the occurrence of any of the following events:

1. A discharge of a hazardous substance, or the discovery of a discharge of a hazardous substance pursuant to 7:1E-5.7; or

2. The owner or operator of a regulated underground storage tank determines that there has been a discharge from the regulated underground storage tank, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:14B-6 or 7.

(e) The person responsible for conducting the remediation shall provide the notification and any updates, and the fact sheet and any updates required in (h), (k), (l), (n) and (o) below in English. Additionally, where the person responsible for conducting the remediation determines that a language other than English is predominantly spoken by property owners or tenants in the area within 200 feet of the site boundary, the notification and any updates, and the fact sheet and any updates shall also be provided in that predominant non-English language.

(f) The person responsible for conducting the remediation shall include contact information for the person responsible for conducting the remediation, the name and telephone number for the licensed site remediation professional hired pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26C-2.3(a)1, the Department program interest number for the site in the notification and any updates thereto, and the fact sheet and any updates required in (h), (k), (l), (n), and (o) below.

(g) To document compliance with this section, the person responsible for conducting the remediation shall submit one copy of each of the following to the Department within 14 days after the timeframes set forth in (h) and (l) below, with the appropriate form found on the Department's website at www.nj.gov/dep/srp/srra/forms:

1. The notification letter and any updates, and the list of recipients required at (h) and (l) below;

2. The public notification fact sheet and any updates, and the list of recipients required at (h) below and (l) below; and

3. The display advertisement required at (l)3 below or a photograph of the notification sign required in (h) below. If the display advertisement cannot be provided to the Department within 14 days after the timeframes set forth in (h) and (l) below, then:

i. Within 14 days after the timeframes set forth in (h) and (l) below, provide a copy of the advertisement that has been submitted to the newspaper, the name of the newspaper, and the date the advertisement is to be published; and

ii. Provide proof of publication of the display advertisement in the subsequent applicable remedial phase report.

(h) The person responsible for conducting the remediation shall:

1. Provide site specific information and documents related to the remediation at a site or area of concern when requested by the Department, including information pertaining to field sampling activities; and

2. Within 14 days prior to commencing initial field activities associated with the remedial investigation:

i. Provide notification to any local property owners and tenants who reside within 200 feet of the contaminated site, and to the government entities noted in (h)2iv below. The notification shall summarize site conditions and describe the activities that are to take place to remediate the site and shall either be in the form of written correspondence or the posting of a sign visible to the public, which shall be located on the boundaries of the contaminated site;

ii. Send a notification letter to each local property owner and tenant to whom notification was sent pursuant to (h)2i above that describes the current condition and progress of the remediation every two years until the required remediation is completed and the final remediation document is filed with the Department;

iii. If a sign is utilized, post and maintain the sign until such time as the required remediation is completed and the final remediation document is filed with the Department; and

iv. Submit one copy of the notification letter and list of recipients required in (h)2ii above or a photograph of the notification sign required in (h)2iii above, and one copy of the fact sheet required in (l)1 below and the display advertisement required in (l)3 below, to the local government entities as follows:

(1) The municipal clerk of each municipality in which the site is located; and

(2) The county health department and the local health agency.

(i) The person responsible for conducting the remediation shall provide a copy of the remedial action workplan and any updates or status reports, and a copy of the site health and safety plan to the clerk of the municipality, county health department, and local health agency for the municipality and county in which the site is located, when requested.

(j) The person responsible for conducting the remediation of any heating oil tank system in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:26F, except as provided in N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.4(c)4, or the person responsible for conducting an emergency response action, shall comply only with the notification requirements of (a) through (c) above.

(k) If the person responsible for conducting the remediation proposes to bring alternative fill, as defined in the Technical Requirements for Site Remediation at N.J.A.C. 7:26E-1.8, on to the site that does not meet the requirements of the Technical Requirements for Site Remediation at N.J.A.C. 7:26E-5.2(b), the person shall:

1. Obtain the Department's prior written approval through the submission of a proposal and completion of the Remedial Action Workplan Form available from the Department at www.nj.gov/dep/srp/srra/forms; and

2. Provide notification, which includes the type and concentrations of contaminants in the alternative fill, the proposed use and volume of the alternative fill, and the controls designed to reduce or eliminate exposure, to the following:

i. Each owner of real property and the tenants of those properties, located within 200 feet of the site boundary;

ii. The mayor of each municipality where the site located;

iii. The county designated solid waste coordinator;

iv. The municipal clerk of each municipality in which the site is located; and

v. The county health department and local health agency.

(l) Except as provided in (l)4ii and (m) below, if contamination migrates off site in any environmental medium, the person responsible for conducting the remediation shall prepare, distribute and publish a fact sheet, which shall include a description of the site's industrial history, source(s) of contamination, description of contamination, current remedial status, proposed remedial actions with a schedule, extent of contamination, actions performed to minimize the impact to the public, and a list of online resources for information about the contaminants, as follows:

1. Prepare and distribute the fact sheet within 14 days after the determination that contamination has migrated off site;

2. Distribute the fact sheet to each owner of real property, as shown on the current municipal tax duplicate, and the tenants of those properties, located within 200 feet of the site boundary and to the following government entities:

i. The municipal clerk of each municipality in which the site is located; and

ii. The county health department and local health agency;

3. Publish the fact sheet, or a fact sheet template available at www.nj.gov/dep/srp/srra/guidance that has been updated with site specific information, as a display advertisement in a daily or weekly newspaper of general circulation in the vicinity of the site, within 30 days after the determination that contamination has migrated off site;

4. For soil contamination:

i. The fact sheet shall be updated to include current contaminant extent, redistributed to the parties listed in (l)2 above and republished as described in (l)3i above within 90 days of complete delineation; and

ii. If the contamination has affected only one adjoining property and the affected contaminated medium is limited to the soil, the person responsible for conducting the remediation shall notify only that adjoining property owner and tenant in writing. The notice shall describe the nature and extent of the contamination; and

5. For ground water contamination, conduct the public notification pursuant to the requirements of 7:26C-7.3 when the Department establishes a ground water classification exception area.

(m) If only contamination from historic fill migrates off site onto an adjacent property, the person responsible for conducting the remediation is exempt from the requirements of (l) above.

(n) Unless under direct oversight pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26C-14, the person responsible for conducting the remediation may implement a public notification and outreach plan that is different from the requirements set forth in (g), (h), and (l) above if that plan is prepared by a licensed site remediation professional and adequately provides notifications and public outreach substantially equivalent to the public notification otherwise required in (g), (h), and (l) above. The person responsible for conducting the remediation shall include in the applicable remedial phase report that is submitted to the Department the rationale for the alternative plan and a discussion of how the alternative plan provides adequate public notice.

(o) The person responsible for conducting the remediation shall conduct additional public outreach based on the needs expressed by the community if the Department determines that:

1. Additional outreach is needed due to site-specific circumstances. This shall include responding to public inquiries, including inquiries from the news media, either received by the person responsible for conducting the remediation directly or received by the Department and sent to the person responsible for conducting the remediation; or

2. There is substantial public interest based on a petition containing the signatures of 25 or more people who live or work within 200 feet of the extent of contamination or the property boundary, whichever is greater, and the Department notifies the person responsible for conducting the remediation of its determination and posts a summary of this determination on the Department's web site at www.state.nj.us/dep.

(p) If the person responsible for conducting the remediation is in compliance with the public participation requirements applicable to sites subject to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601 et seq., and the National Contingency Plan regulations, 40 CFR Part 300, then that person shall only comply with (a) through (d) above.

(q) The person responsible for remediating a contaminated site located within the jurisdiction of the Pinelands Commission as defined pursuant to 13:18A-1 et seq. shall:

1. Submit copies of all reports or workplans, for preliminary assessments, site investigations, remedial investigations and remedial actions, to the Pinelands Commission concurrently with submission of each such document to the Department;

2. Submit, for approval, a copy of the remedial action workplan or remedial design and construction documents and a completed Pinelands application to the Pinelands Commission prior to implementing a remedial action;

3. Not commence any construction activity at the site until the Pinelands Commission approves the remediation in writing; and

4. Send the information required pursuant to this subsection to the Pinelands Commission at the following address:

The Pinelands Commission

P.O. Box 359

15 Springfield Road

New Lisbon, NJ 08064

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:26C-1.7

Amended by 50 N.J.R. 1715(b), effective 8/6/2018