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NJPDES Related Documents

NJPDES Related Documents
NJPDES Discharge to Ground Water Technical Manual (June 2007)
[pdf 328 Kb]  Posted 22 June 2007

Document Description and Interim Update Information (2013)
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance for implementing the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System - Discharge to Ground Water (NJPDES-DGW) regulations at contaminated sites, as defined in the Administrative Requirements for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites, N.J.A.C. 7:26C (the ARRCS Rules) and/or at sites subject to the Technical Requirements for Site Remediation, N.J.A.C. 7:26E (the Technical Rules).  Although this technical manual has not been updated to reflect any rule changes adopted after June 2007, some of the regulatory citations are still accurate and the technical guidance included is still applicable.  The following information on the main topics of the manual is provided in the interim until the Department can update the document.

Current regulations providing the NJPDES-DGW Permit-by-rule (PBR) that requires a written discharge approval from the Department, are in the NJPDES Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:14A-7.5(a)1 and (b) and 8.5 and in the Technical Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:26E-5.6.  N.J.A.C. 7:26E-5.6(b) requires submittal of a DGW proposal for all discharges listed in the NJPDES rules at N.J.A.C. 7:14A-7.5(b)3 and, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:14A-7.5(a)1 and 8.5(b)11, these include underground injections. 

The DGW proposal is no longer a part of the Remedial Action Workplan.  DGW proposals shall include all applicable information listed in N.J.A.C. 7:26E-5.6(b)1 through 8.  Regarding the applicability of N.J.A.C. 7:26E-5.6(b)7, the guidance in the technical manual on NJPDES “permit-related” Classification Exception Areas (CEAs), on pages 27-31 of the manual, is still accurate, however, the correct citation regarding a CEA for a site ground water plume is now N.J.A.C. 7:26C-7.3 instead of N.J.A.C. 7:26E-8.  

Except as noted below, the DGW proposal shall be submitted with the “Discharge to Ground Water Permit by Rule Authorization Request” form, at https://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/srra/forms/, to the Bureau of Case Assignment and Initial Notice with the applicable fee of $350. For Federal Sites under traditional oversight a PBR Authorization request, or request for an equivalent permit action, should be submitted directly to the assigned case manager in either the Publicly Funded Response Element or the Bureau of Case Management. These cases are not required to submit the $350 review fee, but will be directly billed to the appropriate federal grant.

Because this technical manual has not been updated, the Instructions for the Discharge to Ground Water Permit by Rule Authorization Request provide detailed information regarding current regulatory requirements. 

The public notice related requirements, now at  N.J.A.C. 7:26E-5.6(c), no longer apply to any discharge with a duration less than 180 days.   In addition, because the NJPDES rules are now readopted on a seven year instead of a five year cycle, the permit duration provisions of N.J.A.C. 7:14A-2.7(a) apply to the Permit-by-rule (PBR) that needs a written discharge approval.  Thus, the maximum discharge duration per PBR authorization letter is now five years for all types of sites.  

Another DGW Permit-by-rule discussed in this manual is for discharges from activities associated with the installation, development and sampling of monitoring wells.  This PBR is still at N.J.A.C. 7:14A-7.5(a)4 in the NJPDES Rules but now N.J.A.C. 7:26E-1.5(b) and (h) are the associated provisions in the Technical Rules.  The applicable guidance to be used pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26E-1.5(b) regarding the discharges included in this permit-by-rule is still the NJDEP’s Field Sampling Procedures Manual (Sections 2.4.5.6. and 2.4.5.7) found at https://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/guidance/fspm/.  As indicated in the manual written approval is not required as part of this permit-by-rule. 

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