New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 26E - TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SITE REMEDIATION › Subchapter 1 - GENERAL INFORMATION › Section 7:26E-1.8 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Alkane" means any hydrocarbons that contain only carbon-hydrogen and carbon-carbon single bonds.
"Alternative fill" means material to be used in a remedial action that contains contaminants in excess of the most stringent soil remediation standards, site-specific alternative standards, or site-specific interim standards and does not contain free liquids. This also includes any material that contains contaminants in excess of criteria or action levels for contaminants without standards available on the Department's website at
www.nj.gov/dep/srp
. Alternative fill can be soil or non-soil.
"Aquifer" means "aquifer" as defined in the Ground Water Quality Standards, 7:9C-1.4.
"Area of concern" means any existing or former distinct location or environmental medium where any hazardous substance, hazardous waste, or pollutant is known or suspected to have been discharged, generated, manufactured, refined, transported, stored, handled, treated, or disposed, or where any hazardous substance, hazardous waste, or pollutant has or may have migrated, including, but not limited to, each current and former:
1. Storage tank and appurtenance, including, without limitation, each:
i. Above ground or underground storage tank and silo;
ii. Rail car;
iii. Piping, above and below ground pumping station, sump and pit; and
iv. Loading and unloading area;
2. Storage and staging area, including each:
i. Storage pad and area;
ii. Surface impoundment and lagoon;
iii. Dumpster; and
iv. Chemical storage cabinet or closet;
3. Drainage system and area, including, without limitation, each:
i. Building floor drain and piping, sump and pit, including each trench and piping from each sink that potentially receives process waste;
ii. Roof leader (when process operations vent to roof);
iii. Drainage swale and culvert;
iv. Storm sewer collection system;
v. Storm water detention pond and fire pond;
vi. Surface water body;
vii. Leach field; and
viii. Dry well and sump;
4. Discharge and disposal area, including, without limitation, each:
i. Area of a discharge pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:1E;
ii. Waste pile as defined by N.J.A.C. 7:26;
iii. Waste water treatment, collection and disposal system, including, without limitation, each, septic system, seepage pit and dry well;
iv. Landfill;
v. Landfarm;
vi. Sprayfield;
vii. Incinerator; and
viii. Historic fill material area or any other fill area;
5. Other areas of concern, including, without limitation, each:
i. Electrical transformer and capacitor;
ii. Hazardous substance storage or handling area;
iii. Waste treatment area;
iv. Discolored area or spill area;
v. Open area away from production operations;
vi. Area with stressed vegetation;
vii. Other discharge area;
viii. Underground piping including industrial process sewer;
ix. Compressor vent discharge;
x. Non contact cooling water discharge;
xi. Area that may have received floodwater or stormwater runoff from any area of concern; and
xii. Any area suspected of containing contaminants;
6. Environmental medium, including:
i. Ground water;
ii. Surface water;
iii. Sediment;
iv. Soil, including soil vapor pore spaces; and
v. Air.
"Building" means a permanent enclosed construction on land, having a roof, door(s) and usually window(s) that is or can be occupied by humans, and is utilized for activities such as residential, commercial, retail, or industrial activities.
"Change in use" means a change in the existing use at an area of concern to a school, child care center or residence. Change in use also applies if a school, child care center or residence moves from an upper floor to the lowest level floor in the building.
"Child care center" means any facility as defined as such at 30:5B-1 et seq.
"Clean fill" means material to be used in a remedial action that meets all soil remediation standards, site-specific alternative standards, or site-specific interim standards, does not contain extraneous debris or solid waste, and does not contain free liquids. This also includes any material that meets all criteria or action levels for contaminants without standards, available on the Department's website at
www.nj.gov/dep/srp
. This material can be soil or non-soil.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, or his or her authorized representative.
"Containment" means actions to limit or prevent discharges or the spread of contamination.
"Contaminated site" means all portions of environmental media and any location where contamination is emanating, or which has emanated there from, that contain one or more contaminants at a concentration above any remediation standard or screening criterion.
"Contamination" or "contaminant" means any discharged hazardous substance as defined pursuant to N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11b, hazardous waste as defined pursuant to 13:1E-38, or pollutant as defined pursuant to 58:10A-3.
"Contract laboratory program" or "CLP" means a program of chemical analytical services developed by the EPA to support the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended by Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. §§
										9601 et seq.
"Currently known extent" or "CKE" means the aerial extent of ground water in which concentrations of one or more contaminants exceed any applicable ground water remediation standard.
"Day" means calendar day.
"Deed notice" means a document defined as such pursuant to the Administrative Requirements for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites, at 7:26C-1.3.
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
"Discharge" means any intentional or unintentional action or omission resulting in the releasing, spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying or dumping of a hazardous substance, hazardous waste or pollutant into the waters or onto the lands of the State, or into waters outside the jurisdiction of the State when damage may result to the lands, waters, or natural resources within the jurisdiction of the State.
"Discrete area discharge" means a discharge that only results in less than or equal to 300 cubic yards of contaminated soil. Historic fill is not a discrete area discharge.
"Ecological screening criteria" means the criteria used in an ecological evaluation to screen contaminants in surface water, sediment, and soil. The ecological screening criteria are available on the Department's website at
http://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/guidance/ecoscreening
.
"Effective water solubility" means the theoretical aqueous solubility of an organic constituent in ground water that is in chemical equilibrium with a separate phase mixed product (product containing several organic chemicals). The effective water solubility of a particular organic chemical can be estimated by multiplying its mole fraction in the product mixture by its pure phase solubility.
"Engineered response action" means an engineered system that is designed and implemented to reduce the risk of human exposure to contamination from an IEC to or below acceptable standards.
"Engineering control" means any physical mechanism to contain or stabilize contamination or ensure the effectiveness of a remedial action. An engineering control may include, without limitation, a cap, cover, building, dike, trench, leachate collection system, fence, physical access control, and ground water containment system including, without limitation, a slurry wall and a ground water pumping system.
"Environmental medium" means any component such as soil, air, sediment, ground water, or surface water.
"Environmentally sensitive natural resource" means an area defined at 7:1E-1.8(a), or an area or resource that is protected or managed pursuant to the Pinelands Protection Act, 13:18A-1 et seq., and the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan, N.J.A.C. 7:50.
"EPA" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
"Explosive condition" means an atmosphere with a concentration of flammable vapors at or above 10 percent of the lower explosive limit.
"Final remediation document" means any document defined as such pursuant to the Administrative Requirements for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites, at N.J.A.C. 7:26C-6.
"Free liquid" means a liquid as determined by the paint filter liquids test (SW-846 Method 9095B) or an equivalent method.
"Free product" means a separate phase material, present at a concentration greater than a contaminant's residual saturation point, as determined pursuant to the methodologies described in 7:26E-2.1(a)14. This definition applies to solids, liquids, and semi-solids.
"Full laboratory data deliverables" means those laboratory data deliverables listed in Appendix A, Section I, of this chapter, incorporated herein by reference.
"Geotextile fabric" means a permeable fabric made of woven or non-woven (needle punch or heat bonded) polyester or polypropylene which, when used in association with soil, has the ability to separate, filter, reinforce, protect, or drain.
"Ground water" means any water defined as such pursuant to the Ground Water Quality Standards, N.J.A.C. 7:9C-1.4.
"Ground water classification exception area" or "ground water CEA" means any such area defined by the Ground Water Quality Standards, 7:9C-1.6.
"Hazardous waste" means any solid waste as defined in the Solid Waste Regulations, 7:26-1.4, that is further defined as a hazardous waste pursuant to the Hazardous Waste Regulations, N.J.A.C. 7:26G.
"Heating oil tank system" has the meaning as defined in the Heating Oil Tank System Remediation Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:26F-1.5.
"Historic fill material" means non-indigenous material, deposited to raise the topographic elevation of the site, which was contaminated prior to emplacement, and is in no way connected with the operations at the location of emplacement and which includes, without limitation, construction debris, dredge spoils, incinerator residue, demolition debris, fly ash, or non-hazardous solid waste. Historic fill material does not include any material that is substantially chromate chemical production waste or any other chemical production waste or waste from processing of metal or mineral ores, residues, slag or tailings. In addition, historic fill material does not include a municipal solid waste landfill site.
"Immediate environmental concern" or "IEC" means a condition where any of the following types of contamination, or any of the following conditions related to a discharge, are found:
1. Contamination in any potable well or irrigation well that is used for potable purposes at a concentration above the minimum ground water remediation standards at N.J.A.C. 7:26D-2.2(a)1;
2. Contamination in indoor air at a level greater than the Department's vapor intrusion rapid action level as found at
http://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/guidance/vaporintrusion/vig_tables.pdf
:
3. Contamination that has migrated into an occupied or confined space producing a toxic or harmful atmosphere resulting in an unacceptable human health exposure, or producing an oxygen-deficient atmosphere, or resulting in demonstrated physical damage to essential underground services;
4. Contamination in surface soil such that dermal contact, ingestion, or inhalation of the contamination could result in an acute human health exposure; or
5. Any other condition that poses an immediate threat to the environment or to the public health and safety.
For the purpose of this definition, an "unacceptable human health exposure" is based on an evaluation of site specific conditions and the toxicity of the contaminant present. An oxygen-deficient atmosphere is defined as any atmosphere containing oxygen at a concentration below 19.5 percent at sea level and an acute health exposure means that an adverse human health impact could result from an exposure of less than two weeks to a contaminant. The potential for exposure is based on site-specific conditions, and therefore, the person responsible for conducting the remediation shall evaluate the reasonable likelihood of exposure.
"Industrial establishment" means any establishment defined as such pursuant to the Industrial Site Recovery Act rules, at 7:26B-1.4.
"Injury" means any adverse change or impact of a discharge on a natural resource or impairment of a natural resource service, whether direct or indirect, long-term or short-term, and that includes the partial or complete destruction or loss of the natural resource or any of its value.
"Institutional control" means a mechanism used to provide notice of residual contamination and, therefore, the need to limit human activities at or near a contaminated site in order to ensure the effectiveness of the remedial action over time. Institutional controls may include, without limitation, structure, land, and natural resource use restrictions, well restriction areas, ground water classification exception areas, deed notices, and declarations of environmental restrictions.
"Interim response action" means an interim action implemented prior to the engineered response action with the goal of reducing the risk from contamination to humans to or below acceptable standards.
"Landfill" means a sanitary landfill as defined pursuant to the Solid Waste Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.4.
"Licensed site remediation professional" or "LSRP" means a person defined as such pursuant to the Administrative Requirements for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites, at N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.3.
"Light non-aqueous phase liquid" or "LNAPL" means a separate and immiscible phase liquid when in contact with water or air, can exist as a continuous phase (mobile) or a discontinuous mass (immobile) and is less dense than water at ambient temperature.
"Limited restricted use remedial action" means any remedial action that requires the continued use of institutional controls but does not require the use of an engineering control in order to meet the established health risk or environmental standards.
"Loose fill surface" means a playground surfacing material as defined in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's Handbook for Public Playground Safety (Pub. No. 325, dated 2008, incorporated herein by reference, as amended and/or supplemented).
"Method detection limit" or "MDL" means the minimum concentration of a substance that can be measured and reported with a 99 percent confidence that the analyte concentration is greater than zero and is determined from the analysis of a sample in a given matrix containing the analyte.
"Natural resources" means all land, fish, shellfish, wildlife, biota, air, waters and other such resources owned, managed, held in trust or otherwise controlled by the State.
"New construction" means the construction of a building or other site improvement including an addition to an existing building that will extend the footprint of the building.
"Non-targeted compound" means a compound detected in a sample using a specific analytical method that is not a targeted compound, a surrogate compound, a system monitoring compound, a deuterated monitoring compound or an internal standard compound.
"Person" means a person defined as such pursuant to the Administrative Requirements for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites, at N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.3.
"Person responsible for conducting the remediation" means any person defined as such pursuant to the Administrative Requirements for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites, at N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.3.
"Pinelands" means the Pinelands National Reserve and the Pinelands Area as defined by the Comprehensive Management Plan, N.J.A.C. 7:50.
"Pollutant" means any substance defined as such pursuant to the Water Pollution Control Act, 58:10A-1 et seq.
"Potable water" means any water defined as such by the Safe Drinking Water Act rules, at 7:10-1.3.
"Practical quantitation level" or "PQL" means the lowest quantitation level of a given analyte that can be reliably achieved among laboratories within the specified limits of precision and accuracy of a given analytical method during routine laboratory operating conditions.
"Preliminary assessment" means the first phase in the process of identifying areas of concern and determining whether contaminants are or were present at a site or have migrated or are migrating from a site, and shall include the initial search for and evaluation of, existing site specific operational and environmental information, both current and historic, to determine if further investigation concerning the documented, alleged, suspected or latent discharge of any contaminant is required.
"Property boundary" means the boundaries of the municipal tax block and lot upon which an area of concern is located.
"Quality assurance" means the total integrated program for assuring the reliability of monitoring and measurement data, which includes a system for integrating the quality planning, quality assessment and quality improvement efforts to meet data end-use requirements.
"Quality assurance project plan" or "QAPP" means a document that presents in specific terms the policies, organization, objectives, functional activities and specific quality assurance/quality control activities involved with the acquisition of environmental information designed to achieve the data quality goals or objectives of a specific project or operation.
"Quality control" means the application of procedures for attaining prescribed standards of performance in the monitoring and measurement process.
"Receptor" means a human or a natural resource.
"Reduced laboratory data deliverables" means the laboratory data deliverables listed in chapter Appendix A, Section II, incorporated herein by reference.
"Remedial action" means those actions taken at a contaminated site as may be required by the Department, including, without limitation, removal, treatment measures, containment, transportation, securing, or other engineering or institutional controls, whether to an unrestricted use or otherwise, designed to ensure that any contaminant is remediated in compliance with the applicable remediation standards. A remedial action continues as long as an engineering control or an institutional control is needed to protect the public health and safety and the environment, and until all unrestricted use remediation standards are met.
"Remedial investigation" means a process to determine the nature and extent of a discharge of a contaminant at a site or a discharge of a contaminant that has migrated or is migrating from the site and the problems presented by a discharge, and may include data collected, site characterization, sampling, monitoring, and the gathering of any other sufficient and relevant information necessary to determine the necessity for remedial action.
"Remedial phase" means a distinct component of the remediation process. Such components include, without limitation, the preliminary assessment, site investigation, remedial investigation, and remedial action.
"Remediation" or "remediate" means all necessary actions to investigate and cleanup or respond to any known, suspected, or threatened discharge, including, as necessary, the preliminary assessment, site investigation, remedial investigation and remedial action; provided, however, that "remediation" or "remediate" shall not include the payment of compensation for damage to, or loss of, natural resources.
"Remediation costs" means costs defined as such pursuant to the Administrative Requirements for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites, at N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.3.
"Remediation standards" means the standards defined as such pursuant to the Remediation Standards rules, N.J.A.C. 7:26D.
"Reporting limit" means, for a compound analyzed by a particular method, the sample equivalent concentration (that is, based on sample specific preparation and analysis factors), for organics, associated with the lowest concentration standard used in the calibration of the method and for inorganics, derived from the concentration of that analyte in the lowest level check standard (which could be the lowest calibration standard in a multi-point calibration curve).
"Residential type I" means any area not a residential type II.
"Residential type II" means an area under the control or authority of an entity or person, other than the occupant, who has the legal authority to preclude anyone from disturbing an engineering control.
"Residual contamination" has the meaning as defined in the Heating Oil Tank System Remediation Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:26F-1.5.
"Residual product" means a separate phase material present in concentrations below a contaminant's residual saturation point, retained in soil or geologic matrix pore spaces or fractures by capillary forces, as determined pursuant to the methodologies described in 7:26E-2.1(a)14. This definition applies to solids, liquids, and semi-solids.
"Residual saturation point" means the saturation point below which non-aqueous phase liquid becomes discontinuous and is immobilized by capillary forces, and fluid drainage will not occur.
"Restricted use remedial action" means any remedial action that requires the continued use of engineering and institutional controls in order to meet the established health risk or environmental standards.
"School" means a public school or private school as defined in 18A:1-1, or a charter school established pursuant to 18A:36A-1.
"Semivolatile organic compound" means a compound amenable to analysis by the extraction of the sample with an organic solvent.
"Site investigation" means the collection and evaluation of data adequate to determine whether or not discharged contaminants exist at a site or have migrated or are migrating from the site at levels of excess of the applicable remediation standards. A site investigation shall be developed based upon the information collected pursuant to the preliminary assessment.
"Soil" means the unconsolidated mineral and organic matter on the surface of the earth that has been subjected to and influenced by geologic, biologic, and other environmental factors.
"Soil gas" means vapors or gases present in unsaturated pore spaces of subsurface material.
"Surface water" means water defined as surface water pursuant to the Surface Water Quality Regulations, N.J.A.C. 7:9B.
"Surface Water Quality Standards" means the standards at N.J.A.C. 7:9B.
"Target analyte list" or "TAL" means the list of inorganic compounds/elements designated for analysis as contained in the version of the EPA "Contract Laboratory Program Statement of Work for Inorganics Analysis, Multi-Media, Multi-Concentration" in effect as of the date on which the laboratory is performing the analysis, incorporated herein by reference. For the purpose of this chapter, a Target Analyte List scan means the analysis of a sample for Target Analyte List compounds/elements.
"Target compound list plus 30" or "TCL + 30" means the list of organic compounds designated for analysis (TCL) as contained in the version of the EPA "Contract Laboratory Program Statement of Work for Organics Analysis, Multi-Media, Multi-Concentration" in effect as of the date on which the laboratory is performing the analysis, incorporated herein by reference, and up to 30 non-targeted organic compounds (plus 30) as detected by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) analysis. For the purposes of this chapter, a Target Compound List + 30 scan means the analysis of a sample for Target Compound List compounds and up to 15 non-targeted volatile organic compounds and up to 15 non-targeted semivolatile organic compounds using GC/MS analytical methods. Non-targeted compound criteria shall be pursuant to the version of the EPA "Contract Laboratory Program Statement of Work for Organics Analysis, Multi-Media, Multi-Concentration" in effect as of the date on which the laboratory is performing the analysis.
"Targeted compound" means a hazardous substance, hazardous waste, or pollutant for which a specific analytical method is designed and/or used to detect that potential contaminant both qualitatively and quantitatively.
"Technical guidance" means the various guidelines that the Department publishes, after stakeholder input, that reflect the generally accepted technical practices necessary to meet the statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to the remediation of a contaminated site.
"Tentatively identified compound" or "TIC" means a non-targeted compound detected in a sample using a GC/MS analytical method which has been tentatively identified using a mass spectral library search. An estimated concentration of the TIC is also determined.
"Underground storage tank" or "UST" means a regulated underground storage tank as defined pursuant to the Underground Storage Tank rules, at 7:14B-1.6.
"Unitary material" means a playground surfacing material as defined in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's Handbook for Public Playground Safety (Pub. No. 325, dated 2008, incorporated herein by reference, as amended and/or supplemented).
"Unknown compound" means a non-targeted compound that cannot be tentatively identified. Based on the analytical method used, the estimated concentration of the unknown compound may be determined.
"Unrestricted use remedial action" means any remedial action that does not require the continued use of either engineering or institutional controls to meet the established health risk or environmental standards.
"Vapor concern" means a condition where contamination in indoor air exists at a level greater than the Department's vapor intrusion indoor air screening level but less than or equal to the Department's vapor intrusion rapid action level. Vapor intrusion indoor air screening levels and vapor intrusion rapid action levels may be found at: http://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/guidance/vaporintrusion/vig_tables.pdf [File Link Not Available].
"Vapor intrusion" means the migration of volatile chemicals from the subsurface into overlying buildings through subsurface soils or preferential pathways (such as underground utilities).
"Visible contamination boundary marker" means a demarcation that consists of a synthetic, durable material that can be easily seen when uncovered while digging.
"Volatile organic compound" means a compound amenable to (but not exclusively by) analysis using a purge and trap technique.
"Widespread contamination" means contamination that is not a discrete area discharge.