Site Remediation Process – NJ to Develop Remedial Priority System

New Jersey is pressing forward with its efforts to privatize the site remediation process. Since adoption of the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA) in May 2009, there has been a steady stream of new regulations, new guidance documents and revised forms. Because of these changes, practitioners must constantly check the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s website.

As part of the SRRA, the Legislature directed NJDEP to develop a remedial priority system. This system will combine readily available information about site specific characteristics and contamination with public data about receptors to develop a risk index. (This process should sound familiar to anyone who has worked with EPA’s Hazard Ranking System outlined in its complex Final Rule.)

The remedial priority system will dictate how NJDEP allocates its scarce resources when performing remediation outside the private Licensed Site Remediation Professional program. In addition, the priority system will impact which sites find their way into the direct oversight program.

NJDEP is forming a task force of interested parties to work on the remedial priority system. Nominations closed on June 18, 2010. Additional information is available about the mission of this novel task force at the Site Remediation Program’s website.