Underground Storage Tanks (UST)

UST Contacts

NOTE: The information below reflects the current Site Remediation and Waste Management Program (SRWMP) organization. General Questions regarding USTs can be directed to the Office of Community Relations at (609) 984-3081.

The UST program is implemented by several groups within the NJDEP:

1. the Bureau of Risk Management, Initial Notice & Case Assignment (BRMINCA),
2. the Bureau of Field Operations (BFO),
3. the Bureau of Southern Case Management (BSCM),
4. the Office of Accountability (OA),
5. the Bureau of Contract & Fund Management (BCFM),
6. the Examinations & Licensing Unit, and
7. the UST Compliance Inspection Program.

1. The Bureau of Risk Management, Initial Notice and Case Assignment (BRMINCA) is managed by the Oversight Resources Allocation Element. The BRMINCA staff is responsible for the review of applications that are submitted for regulated underground storage tanks that are to be removed, abandoned in place, or upgraded. Applications submitted to this section are reviewed for administrative and technical completeness. If the application is complete, an approval is issued to allow the owner/operator to remove or abandon in place the UST, or a permit is issued to allow the owner/operator to install a new or substantially modify (eg. upgrade) an existing regulated underground storage tank. All permits and approvals must be obtained from the Department before work is initiated at the site.

The BRMINCA staff is responsible for the initial review of Site Investigation reports that are generated as a result of the closure of a regulated underground storage tank. The owner/operator must submit a Site Investigation report, along with the appropriate fee, to show that a regulated tank was properly removed or abandoned in place and that sampling was conducted in accordance with the Technical Rules for Site Remediation, and the site is clean with no discharge. If the report is administrative and technically complete, a No Further Action (NFA) letter is issued to the owner/operator.

If the regulated tank is removed and there are signs of contamination, such as holes in the tank, contaminated soils, etc., the owner/operator must call the DEP 24 Hour Hotline and remediate the contamination and submit a Remedial Investigation Report (RI) to the Department for review. If the sampling data indicates ground water contamination or additional soil contamination, the case is transferred to the Bureau of Southern Case Management for oversight of remediation.

If the RI report is administratively complete and in compliance with the Technical Rules for Site Remediation and the contamination levels are below the cleanup criteria for the site, a NFA letter will be issued to the owner/operator.

Registration and Billing Unit (R&B) is responsible for the review of initial UST registration questionnaires and facility questionnaires.

You may call the Registration and Billing Unit at (609) 633-1464 for additional information.

You may call BRMINCA at (609) 633-0708 for additional information.

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2. The Bureau of Field Operations (BFO) is managed by the Responsible Party Remediation Element. The BFO staff is primarily responsible for overseeing the investigation and remediation of contaminated sites resulting from discharges related to the universe of non-regulated underground storage tank (UST) systems, including homeowner heating oil USTs and other cases.

If you have questions regarding the cleanup of home heating oil, contact the Responsible Party Remediation Element’s regional field office duty officer at (609) 584-4150 for the Bureau of Southern Field Operations or (973) 631-6401 for the Bureau of Northern Field Operations.

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3. The Bureau of Southern Case Management (BSCM) is managed by the Responsible Party Remediation Element. The BSCM staff oversees discharges related to underground storage tanks regulated in New Jersey pursuant to the Underground Storage of Hazardous Substances Act (N.J.S.A. 58:10A-24).

You may call the BSCM at (609) 292-8761.

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4. The Office of Accountability is managed by the Oversight Resources Allocation Element. The Office of Accountability is responsible for tracking violations, analyzing compliance trends, and initiating enforcement actions in support of existing enforcement strategies. This includes issuing enforcement actions on UST cases where the Department determines that the responsible party is out of compliance with applicable regulations.

You may call the Office of Acccountability at (609) 633-1464 for additional information.

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5. Bureau of Contract & Fund Management (BFCM) is managed by the Contracting & Financial Services Element. BFCM is responsible for the review of proposals for financial assistance and grants from the Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund and the Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Closure, Upgrade and Remediation Fund .

You may call BFCM at (609) 777-0101 for additional information.

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6. The Examinations & Licensing Unit is responsible for the review and administration of the UST contractor certification applications.

You may call the Examinations & Licensing Unit at (609) 777-1007 for additional information regarding an application.

You may call David Rubin of BSCM at (609) 633-1284 for additional information regarding the contractor certification program.

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7. The Underground Storage Tank Inspection Unit is managed by the Water Compliance and Enforcement Program, Compliance and Enforcement. The UST Inspection Unit is responsible for conducting compliance inspections at each regulated UST facility once every three years.

The contact for UST Operational issues is Jonathan Berg at (609) 633-0737.

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