The Answers
1. Does the person responsible for conducting
the remediation need to submit the Sensitive Population
and Resource Checklist to the Department?
No, the requirements associated with
identifying and reporting sensitive populations and resources
have been deleted. The information that was required to
be included as part of the Sensitive Population and Resource
Checklist has been incorporated into the requirements associated
with the Receptor Evaluation pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26E-1.12
through 1.16.
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2. Who is identified as the “person
responsible for conducting the remediation”?
N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.3 defines the "person
responsible for conducting the remediation" (also refered
to as the "remediating party") to include:
- Any person who executes or is otherwise subject to
a memorandum of agreement, memorandum of understanding,
administrative consent order, remediation agreement,
or administrative order to remediate a contaminated
site;
- The owner or operator of an industrial establishment
subject to N.J.S.A. 13:1K-6 et seq. for the remediation
of a discharge;
- The owner or operator of an underground storage tank
subject to N.J.S.A. 58:10A-21 et seq. for the remediation
of a discharge;
- Any other person who discharges a hazardous substance
or is in any way responsible for a hazardous substance,
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11g, that was discharged
at a contaminated site; or
- Any other person who is remediating a site.
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3. How do I find a Preferred ID (PI #)?
A PI# is unique to each case. It can be
found by selecting Site Remediation's Site Search
Reports, in DEP
Data Miner. From the Site Search Reports, the "All
SRP Sites by Selected PI Address" can be used to find
the site of interest. Typically, the user only needs to
enter in the street number and name (for example: 10 Main).
Once the list appears, please note the PI# located in the
first column.
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4. The current version of the Administrative
Requirements for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites (N.J.A.C.
7:26C) requires notification letters to be sent or a notification
sign to be posted within 14 days prior to commencing field
activities associated with the remedial action (RA). Previous
versions of the public notification and outreach rules required
public notification to be conducted prior to the remedial
investigation (RI). Which remedial phase triggers public
notification?
The current rules state that public notification must be
conducted 14 days prior to commencing field activities associated
with the remedial action (RA). This change, requiring public
notification at the RI to requiring public notification
at the RA, was made in error and the requirement will be
changed back to the RI in the next amendment package.
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Yes, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.7(o),
the person responsible for conducting the remediation shall
respond to public inquiries, including inquiries from the
news media, either received by them directly or received
by the Department and then sent to them. The Department
will forward all inquiries to the person responsible for
conducting the remediation and the licensed site remediation
professional (LSRP) of record for the site.
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6. Does the person responsible for conducting
the remediation have to notify the current occupant(s)/tenant(s)
of the site?
Yes, public notification should be provided
to current occupant(s)/tenant(s) of record.
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7. If a site is very large, but the remediation
is being conducted on a small section of the site, what
does the Department consider to be the “site boundary”?
In most cases, the site boundary is easily
identified as the block and lot on the municipal tax map.
In cases where the remediation is being conducted on a small
subsection of an extremely large site, the remediating party
and the LSRP can approve an alternative boundary for the
purpose of public notification pursuant to N.J.AC. 7:26C-1.7(n).
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8. How can a remediating party determine
if a language other than English is predominantly spoken
by property owners and tenants in the area within 200 feet
of the property boundary?
The Department anticipates that most
remediating parties are already aware of whether a language
other than English is predominantly spoken in the neighborhoods
surrounding their sites. Common signs in another language
can be an indication of an alternative language. If the
person responsible for conducting the remediation is unsure
whether property owners and tenants speak a language other
than English, they may choose to contact the municipality
for guidance and information.
Information about the percentage of people
speaking languages other than English in a given area is
available by accessing census information at http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.
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9. What documentation does a remediating
party have to submit to the Department, if they decide to
conduct public notification by sign?
To document compliance a remediating
party must submit a photograph of the notification sign
and the Public Notification and Outreach form in the subsequent
applicable remedial phase report.
A photograph of the notification sign
must be submitted to the municipal clerk of each municipality
in which the site is located and the county health department
and the local health agency within 14 days prior to commencing
field activities associated with the remedial investigation.
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10. What contact information is required
to be posted on the sign, listed in a letter, and/or identified
in the fact sheet?
Contact information for the person responsible
for conducting the remediation and the name and telephone
number for the licensed site remediation professional (LSRP)
of record for the site must be included in all forms of
notification. Contact information for the Department’s
Office of Community Relations must NOT
be included.
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11. If the person responsible for conducting
the remediation does not want to list an individual's name
as the point of contact on the sign, what alternatives are
available?
The person responsible for conducting
the remediation can list the title of the point of contact
for the site together with the name of the site. For example,
one can list “Project Manager for the XYZ Chemical
Company Site” on the sign, as the point of contact.
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12. If the site has more than one case
number or Preferred ID (PI#) number, are separate signs
required, for each case number or PI#?
No, separate signs are not required;
however, the point(s) of contact for each PI# must be clearly
stated on the sign, should they differ.
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13. If the remediating party chooses
to provide public notice by sending notification letters,
when should the letters be sent?
If a remediating party chooses to provide
public notice by sending notification letters, the rules
require letters to be sent at least 14 days prior to the
initiation of field activities associated with the Remedial
Action and every two years thereafter.
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14. Can notification letters be sent
by using services provided by United Parcel Service (UPS)
or Federal Express (FedEx)?
Yes, notices sent pursuant to N.J.A.C.
7:26C-1.7 may be sent using UPS or FedEx. The remediating
party should retain any documentation that the delivery
service provides which lists all intended recipients.
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15. When sending notification letters
by certified mail or using the certificate of mailing service,
is the remediating party required to submit return receipts
to the Department?
When notification letters are sent using
certified mail, return receipts are not required to be submitted
to the Department. However, a remediating party should retain
the return receipt(s) for their records, should they ever
need to document that notification letters were sent. The
United States Postal Service (USPS) certificate of mailing
service does not provide the option of a return receipt.
If the certificate of mailing service is used, the remediating
party should retain any forms prepared for use by the USPS.
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A remediating party may choose to contact
the property owners, the municipality, or the property management
company associated with the property to identify tenants.
A remediating party may also use the certificate of mailing
service offered by the USPS. This service is not only more
cost effective, but also allows the delivery of mail to
"Current Resident," if the remediating party is
unable to identify individual tenants by name.
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17. When is a remediating party required
to prepare, distribute and publish a fact sheet?
A remediating party must prepare and
distribute a fact sheet as required by N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.7(l)1
and 2, within two weeks after the determination that contamination
in any environmental media has migrated off the property
where the discharge occurred. Within 30 days of that determination,
they must publish the fact sheet in a newspaper, per N.J.A.C.
7:26C-1.7(l)3. A remediating party also must update, redistribute
and republish this fact sheet once the extent of off-site
soil contamination has been delineated. See question 31
below for information relevant to off-site ground water
contamination and when preparation and distribution of a
Classification
Exception Area/Well Restriction Area Fact Sheet form
is required.
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18. If contamination in ground water
migrates from the property where the discharge occurred
and soil contamination is present only in on-site soils,
does the fact sheet need to include information about the
on-site soil contamination?
Yes, the remediating party is required
to include information in the fact sheet about all contamination
detected both on-site and off-site.
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For most sites, the range of contaminant
concentration(s) should be listed in the fact sheet. Each
chemical need not be identified in fact sheets for sites
that have multiple contaminants, thus identifying classes
of chemical contaminants is acceptable. For example, a fact
sheet can list gasoline-related constituents including but
not limited to benzene, toluene and methyl tertiary butyl
ether. The Department recommends focusing on the contaminant
or class of contaminants that is driving the cleanup.
The fact sheet should list all contaminants,
by name, with the range of concentrations detected for each
for sites with 10 or less contaminants. The remediation
standard for each should also be included.
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20. Is the remediating party required
to include a description of indoor air and soil gas contamination
in the fact sheet?
Yes, a brief description of indoor air
or soil gas contamination detected should be included. Specific
location information should not be listed in the fact sheet
as individual property owners may not want this information
widely distributed to the public.
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21. Is the remediating party required
to distribute fact sheets to owners/tenants located within
200 feet of the site boundary or 200 feet of the ground
water contamination plume?
The fact sheet and any updates shall
be sent to each owner and tenants located within 200 feet
of the site boundary. However, the Department encourages
remediating parties to distribute fact sheets to owners
and tenants located within 200 feet of the ground water
contamination plume.
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22. Can an abbreviated version of the
fact sheet be used for publication purposes?
Yes, a template for an abbreviated version
of the fact sheet is available at https://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/guidance/public_notification/template_factsheet_general.doc.
Please note, this abbreviated version should only be used
for publishing in a newspaper. The complete fact sheet should
be used when mailing to owners and tenants.
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23. In what section of a newspaper should
the fact sheet be published?
The fact sheet may be published in any
section of a newspaper, with the exception of the classified
or legal sections.
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24. Publication of the fact sheet is
required in how many newspapers?
A fact sheet is required to be published
as a display advertisement in one daily or weekly newspaper
of general circulation in the vicinity of the site. Please
consult with township officials to determine which newspaper
is most widely read in the area of the site.
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25. Publication of the fact sheet is
required in how many issues of a single newspaper?
The fact sheet is only required to be
published in one issue of a newspaper.
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26. Can a remediating party place a notification
letter and/or fact sheet in an apartment building lobby,
rather than send it by mail?
No, a letter or fact sheet cannot be posted
in an apartment building lobby in lieu of mailing. A remediating
party must send letters, however, they may also choose to
post a letter or fact sheet in the lobby in addition to
mailing.
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27. If multiple apartment buildings are
located on a lot that is located within 200 feet of the
site boundary, but only one of the apartment buildings is
actually within 200 feet, is the remediating party required
to send notification letters/fact sheets to all the tenants
or just the tenants residing in the building that is located
within 200 feet of the site boundary?
Notification letters, fact sheets and
any updates must be sent to each owner of all real property,
as shown on the current municipal tax duplicate,
and the tenants of those properties, located within 200
feet of the site boundary. Therefore, all tenants that reside
in buildings that are located on a tax lot, which are within
200 feet from the site boundary, must receive notification.
All tenants must receive notification, irrespective of the
distance from the site boundary to the actual building(s).
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28. Can a remediating party include additional
wording on notification signs or in notification letters
and/or fact sheets?
Yes, a remediating party may add language
in addition to the required language to a notification sign,
letter, or fact sheet.
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29. For sites that are being remediated
under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation
and Liability Act (CERCLA) or the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA), is notification in accordance with
ARRCS (N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.7) still required?
No, if you are in compliance with the
public participation requirements applicable to sites subject
to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation
and Liability Act and the National Contingency Plan regulations,
or the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), you
need not comply with the requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.7(e)
through (n).
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30. Can a remediating party provide one
document to satisfy more than one public notification requirement?
Yes. For example, if a remediating party
chooses to conduct public notification by letter and has
determined that contamination has migrated off site, they
may choose to send one fact sheet, and include all content
requirements for both the letter and the fact sheet in one
document.
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31. If a remediating party is required
to submit documentation to the Department to establish a
classification exception area (CEA) for ground water, do
they have to comply with the public notification requirements
at N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.7 or the notification requirements associated
with the CEA pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26C-7.3?
Several notification requirements of
N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.7 apply to sites that need a CEA. A remediating
party must comply with N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.7(h)2, either by
maintaining the sign or sending updated notification letters
every two years to owners and tenants located within 200
feet of the site boundary, until the required remediation
is completed and the final remediation document is filed
with the Department.
While the remediating party must distribute
and publish a fact sheet pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.7(l)1-3
after contamination in any media has migrated off-site,
they only have to update, redistribute and republish the
fact sheet pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26C-1.7(l)4, 90 days after
off-site soil contamination has been delineated. N.J.A.C.
7:26C-1.7(l)5 states that for ground water contamination,
the CEA notification requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:26C-7.3
are applicable.
A completed CEA/Well
Restriction Area (WRA) Fact Sheet form must be used
to comply with the public notifications required by N.J.A.C.
7:26C-7.3. As indicated at N.J.A.C. 7:26C-7.3(a)4, these
notifications must be done prior to submitting all the CEA
documentation to the Department and after ground water contamination
is delineated. All CEA documentation, the form and associated
attachments (i.e., exhibits) must be submitted to the Department
(this includes the Remedial Investigation Report) but pursuant
to N.J.A.C. 7:26C-7.3(d) a copy of only the completed CEA/WRA
Fact Sheet form must be sent to the applicable local, county
or regional entities and to all owners of real property
overlying the CEA in order to notify them of the proposed
CEA. The Department recommends sending the Exhibit B CEA
maps with that copy of the form. This notification process
applies regardless of whether or not ground water contamination
has migrated off-site.
Also, please be advised that biennial
notification requirements associated with ground water remedial
action permits are listed at N.J.A.C. 7:26C-7.9(c). Specifically,
they include submitting the results of the remedial action
protectiveness determination on a form found on the Department's
website at www.nj.gov/dep/srp/srra/forms
to the following:
- The municipal and county clerk
- The local, county and regional health department
- The county planning board
- The Pinelands Commission if the ground water classification
exception area will be located within the jurisdiction
of that Commission
- Each owner of any real property that will be within
the footprint of the ground water classification exception
area
- Each permittee listed on the permit.
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If a remediating party plans to disturb
an engineering control on a site with a Deed Notice and
an NFA, they should comply with the Public Notification
and Outreach rules if the disruption will exceed 60 days
or if the disruption will result in a permanent change to
the engineering control.
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33. I am a property owner of an apartment
building and I just discovered a leaking heating oil tank.
Am I exempt from the public notification requirements?
Yes, remediation of all unregulated heating
oil tank discharges are exempt from these requirements.
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