N.J. Admin. Code § 7:14A-9.10 - Selection of remedy

(a) Based on the results of the assessment of corrective measures conducted pursuant to 7:14A-9.9, the owner or operator shall select a remedy that, at a minimum, meets the standards listed at (b) below. The owner or operator shall notify the Department, within 14 days of selecting a remedy, that a report describing the selected remedy has been placed in the records maintained by the facility and how it meets the standards in (b) below.

(b) Remedies shall:

1. Be protective of human health and the environment;

2. Attain the ground water protection standard specified pursuant to 7:14A-9.8(h);

3. Control the source(s) of releases so as to reduce or eliminate, to the maximum extent practicable, further releases of 40 C.F.R. 258 Appendix II constituents into the environment that may pose a threat to human health or the environment;

4. Comply with standards for management of wastes specified in 7:14A-9.11(d); and

5. Be implemented in accordance with provisions in the solid waste facility permit, or the closure plan approval issued in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:26.

(c) In selecting a remedy that meets the standards of (b) above, the owner or operator shall consider the following factors:

1. The long and short term effectiveness and protectiveness of the potential remedy(s), along with the degree of certainty that the remedy will prove successful based on:

i. The magnitude of reduction of existing risks;

ii. The magnitude of residual risks in terms of likelihood of other releases due to waste remaining following implementation of a remedy:

iii. The type and degree of long term management required, including monitoring, operation, and maintenance;

iv. The short term risks that might be posed to the community, workers, or the environment during implementation of such a remedy, including potential threat to human health and the environment associated with excavation, transportation, and redisposal or containment;

v. The time until full protection is achieved;

vi. The potential for exposure of humans and environmental receptors to remaining wastes, considering the potential threat to human health and the environment associated with excavation, transportation, redisposal, or containment;

vii. The long term reliability of the engineering and institutional controls; and

viii. The potential need for replacement of the remedy;

2. The effectiveness of the remedy in controlling the source to reduce further releases based on:

i. The extent to which containment practices will reduce further releases; and

ii. The extent to which treatment technologies may be used;

3. The ease or difficulty of implementing a potential remedy(s) based on:

i. The degree of difficulty associated with constructing the technology;

ii. The expected operational reliability of the technology;

iii. The need to coordinate with and obtain necessary approvals and permits from other agencies;

iv. The availability of necessary equipment and specialists; and

v. The available capacity and location of needed treatment, storage, and disposal services;

4. The practicable capability of the owner or operator, including a consideration of the technical and economic capability; and

5. The degree to which community concerns are addressed by a potential remedy(s).

(d) The owner or operator shall specify as part of the selected remedy a schedule(s) for initiating and completing remedial activities. Such a schedule shall specify the initiation of remedial activities within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 90 days unless otherwise approved by the Department in writing, taking into consideration the factors set forth in (d)1 through 8 below:

1. The extent and nature of contamination;

2. The practical capabilities of remedial technologies in achieving compliance with ground water protection standards established under 7:14A-9.8(g) or (h) and other objectives of the remedy;

3. The availability of treatment or disposal capacity for wastes managed during implementation of the remedy;

4. The desirability of utilizing technologies that are not currently available, but which may offer significant advantages over already available technologies in terms of effectiveness, reliability, safety, or ability to achieve remedial objectives;

5. The potential risks to human health and the environment from exposure to contamination prior to completion of the remedy;

6. The resource value of the aquifer including:

i. Current and future uses;

ii. The proximity and withdrawal rate of users;

iii. Ground water quantity and quality;

iv. The potential damage to wildlife, crops, vegetation, and physical structures caused by exposure to waste constituent;

v. The hydrogeologic characteristic of the facility and surrounding land;

vi. Ground water removal and treatment costs; and

vii. The cost and availability of alternative water supplies;

7. The practicable capability of the owner or operator; and

8. Other relevant factors.

(e) The Department shall determine that remediation of a release of a 40 CFR 258 Appendix II constituent from a sanitary landfill is not necessary if the owner or operator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Department that:

1. The ground water is additionally contaminated by substances that have originated from a source other than a sanitary landfill and those substances are present in concentrations such that cleanup of the release from the sanitary landfill would provide no significant reduction in risk to actual or potential receptors;

2. The constituent(s) is present in ground water that:

i. Is not currently or reasonable expected to be a source of drinking water; and

ii. Is not hydraulically connected with waters to which the hazardous constituents are migrating or are likely to migrate in a concentration(s) that would exceed the ground water protection standards established under 7:14A-9.8(h);

3. Remediation of the release(s) is technically impracticable; or

4. Remediation results in unacceptable cross-media impacts.

(f) A determination by the Department pursuant to (e) above shall not affect the authority of the State to require the owner or operator to undertake source control measures or other measures that may be necessary to eliminate or minimize further releases to the ground water, to prevent exposure to the ground water, or to remediate the ground water to concentrations that are technically practicable and significantly reduce threats to human health or the environment.

(g) When ground water contamination is known to have migrated outside the sanitary landfill boundary, the sanitary landfill shall implement a cleanup in accordance with the Administrative Requirements for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites rules at N.J.A.C. 7:26C within 90 days unless it can be demonstrated that a source other than the MSWLF caused the contamination, or that the statistically significant increase resulted from an error in sampling, analysis, statistical evaluation, or from natural variation in ground water quality. A report documenting this demonstration shall be certified by a qualified ground water scientist or approved by the Department and placed in the records maintained by the facility.

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:14A-9.10

Special amendment, R.2009 d.361, effective 11/4/2009 (to expire May 4, 2011).
See: 41 N.J.R. 4467(a).
In (g), substituted "implement" for "request to conduct", "Administrative Requirements for" for "Procedures for Department Oversight of", inserted "rules", "an" and the second occurrence of "from".
Readoption of special amendment, R.2011 d.251, effective 9/8/2011.
See: 43 N.J.R. 1077(a), 43 N.J.R. 2581(b).
Provisions of R.2009 d.361 readopted without change.