Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024
(a)
Based on the results of the assessment of corrective measures conducted
pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
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
N.J.A.C.
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
N.J.A.C.
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
N.J.A.C.
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
N.J.A.C.
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.
