Any soil that had arsenic levels less than 1.7 ppm would not trigger a regulatory response. The Director mentioned that DEM was looking at a tiered approach that would also rely on best management practices to minimize contact with the soil. He was also interested in shifting some of the responsibility of site remediation efforts to environmental consultants. He thought that if consultants could certify their work as being accurate, it could lead to better submittal of plans and sites being cleaned up faster. The existing regulatory approach is not helpful in resolving the issue.
Industrial sites take too long to be processed.
It is often cost-prohibitive to clean up small sites. Virgin soil that is brought into a site can have higher levels of arsenic than the material being removed. Permit Streamlining Update Tom Getz gave a brief update on DEM's permit streamlining activities. The Wetlands Task Force draft final report was being circulated within DEM for internal review. As a result of this review, regulations will be revised and will include simplification of the permitting process and means to reduce the current iterative process caused by deficient applications.