On Tuesday, January 2, 2024, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) announced its proposal to amend the Ground Water Quality Standards (“GWQS”) under N.J.A.C. 7:9C to change the ground water quality criteria for 65 constituents of Class II-A ground water. NJDEP is also proposing to amend the Remediation Standards under N.J.A.C. 7:26D-7.2(b) to allow NJDEP to update attendant remediation standards when the department modifies or adds a ground water quality criterion.
What You Need to Know:
- On January 2, 2024, the NJDEP published a draft notice of proposal of the amendments to the Ground Water Quality Standards and Remediation Standards.
- Public Comments are due to NJDEP by March 2, 2024.
- A virtual Public Hearing is scheduled for January 30, 2024, at 10:00 a.m.
The New Jersey Water Pollution Control Act authorizes NJDEP to adopt GWQS, which are used for permitting, remediation and enforcement decisions. NJDEP is proposing to amend these standards to update ground water quality criteria for 73 constituents of Class II-A ground water. This will change 65 constituent standards, making 50 more stringent, 13 less stringent, and two with interim generic criteria will be replaced with specific ground water quality criteria. Class II-A ground water includes ground water with a primary use for potable water supply and a secondary use for agricultural and industrial operations. The proposed amendments would make the following seven constituent standards more stringent by one or more order of magnitude including 1,1 biphenyl, Cobalt, Cyanide (free), 1,3-dichlorobenzene (meta), Heptachlor epoxide, Methoxychlor, and Vinyl chloride. This would trigger the “order of magnitude“ provision of the Brownfield and Contaminated Site Act, which may require entities or individuals responsible for remediation of a contaminated site to perform more extensive remediation.
The proposed amendments would also authorize the NJDEP to update the specific ground water quality criterion for a constituent with a corresponding Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) in the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) rules, N.J.A.C. 7:10, if the Department determines that the “weight of evidence” approach, specified at N.J.A.C. 7:9C-1.7(c)3ii, would better address the risk posed by the constituent than the health-based level used to establish the MCL.
The NJDEP is also proposing amendments to the rounding provisions at N.J.A.C. 7:9C-1.7(c)4iii and 1.9(c)3i that will require rounding new or revised ground water quality criteria and practical quantitation levels (PQLs) to two significant figures, rather than one, when scientifically supportable.
Finally, the NJDEP is proposing to amend the Remediation Standards under N.J.A.C. 7:26D-7.2(b) to authorize the NJDEP to update the remediation standard when it modifies a ground water quality criterion.
The rulemaking process is underway. Comments are due by March 2, 2024 and may be submitted by clicking here or by written submission mailed to:
Stephanie J. Press, Esq.
ATTN: DEP Docket No. 04-23-11
NJ Department of Environmental Protection
Office of Legal Affairs
401 East State Street, 7th Floor
Mail Code 401-04L; PO Box 402
Trenton, NJ 08625-0402
