NJDEP GW Quality Standards for Two PFAS Compounds
Friday, March 22, 2019 02:12 PM

March 13, 2019, NJDEP announced interim specific ground water quality standards, effective immediately, for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). Information regarding these interim specific ground water quality standards is available through the Division of Water Monitoring and Standards website https://nj.gov/dep/wms/bears/gwqs.htm. The interim specific ground water quality standards became effective upon posting to the "Table of Interim Specific Ground Water Quality Criteria (ISGWQC), Interim PQLs (IPQLs), and Interim Specific Ground Water Quality Standards (ISGWQS) for Constituents in Class II-A Ground Water" located on this website. The interim specific ground water quality standard for both of these contaminants is 0.01 micrograms per liter (ug/L) or 10 parts per trillion (ppt).

The Site Remediation and Waste Management Program is implementing these new interim specific ground water quality standards as described on its web page available at http://tinyurl.com/y3u3mc56

At a minimum, the person responsible for conducting the remediation is required to evaluate whether there is the potential that PFOA and/or PFOS may have been manufactured, used, handled, stored, disposed or discharged at the site or area of concern. If the scope of the remediation is for the entire site, then an entire site preliminary assessment is required to be conducted pursuant to the Technical Requirements for Site Remediation at N.J.A.C. 7:26E-3.1. If the scope of the remediation is for one or more specific areas of concern, then the licensed site remediation professional (LSRP) shall use his or her professional judgement to determine what evaluation is necessary.

This requirement applies to all site remediation sites, including those sites subject to the May 7, 2014 statutory timeframe to complete the remedial investigation and for which the regulatory timeframe to complete the remedial action is May 7, 2019.

If the person responsible for conducting the remediation cannot complete the above evaluation/preliminary assessment by May 7, 2019, it is recommended that they apply for an extension to the remedial action report regulatory timeframe pursuant to the Administrative Requirements for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites (ARRCS) at N.J.A.C. 7:26C-3.2 if they have not already done so. Pursuant to ARRCS, this extension request must be submitted to the NJDEP at least 30 days prior to the regulatory timeframe (i.e., on or before April 7, 2019).