Findings & Recommendations for the Remediation of Historic Pesticide Contamination - Final Report March 1999
Table of Contents

Addendum 4

Testing Protocol for Soil Blending at Historic Pesticide Residue Sites

Prior to using off-site soil for blending with contaminated soil at historic pesticide residue sites the following testing should be used to verify the quality of soil before it is brought onto a site.

The verification of "clean" soil does not require prior Department approval if this sampling and analytical protocol is followed. Documentation that the protocol was followed should be submitted when a No Further Action approval is requested from the Department. Soil that has been determined to be "clean" may be used for blending, to fill areas where contaminated soil was removed, or as a cap to cover existing contaminated soil. To be acceptable as "clean", soil must:

1. Be similar in physical properties to the soil in or adjacent to the area of concern. (Fill used for new building foundations or other construction in remediated areas is exempt from this requirement);

2. Be free from extraneous debris or solid waste;

3. Be of equal or less permeability than the native soil in or adjacent to the area of concern;

4. Have source documentation as required by the Technical Requirements for Site Remediation, N.J.A.C. 7:26E as follows:

N.J.A.C. 7:26E-6.4 (b)2 iv - Documentation of the quality of the fill shall be provided by a certification stating that it is virgin material from a commercial or noncommercial source or decontaminated recycled soil.

N.J.A.C. 7:26E-6.4 (b)2 vi - The bills of lading shall be provided to the Department to document the source(s) of fill. The documentation shall include:
(1) The name of the affiant and relationship to the source of the fill;
(2) The location where the fill was obtained, including the street, town, lot and block, county, and state, and a brief history of the site which is the source of the fill; and

N.J.A.C. 7:26E-6.4 (b)3 - A statement that to the best of the affiant’s knowledge and belief the fill being provided is not contaminated pursuant to any applicable remediation standards and a description of the steps taken to confirm such.

5. Be uncontaminated pursuant to a comparison of data to the Department’s most recent unrestricted use Soil Cleanup Criteria. Sampling to document that soil is uncontaminated must be conducted for the analytical parameters and at the frequencies provided below, based upon the original source of the soil fill material. In all cases where analysis is required, each analytical sample must be a composite from five individual and representative samples. Analyses as prescribed in 5 a-c below must be conducted utilizing methods from the most current versions of the USEPA Contract Laboratory Program (TCL/TAL) or Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste (SW-846). Where metals analysis is stipulated, the full Target Analyte List or Priority Pollutant metals suite is required. It is strongly suggested that soil to be used for "clean" fill purposes be sampled at their point of origin rather than after transport to the receiving location.

a) Where the "clean" fill can be documented to be from a pristine source, the potential for elevated naturally occurring arsenic must still be investigated. Sampling for arsenic is required at a rate of one sample per 250 yd³. It is further suggested that sampling for base neutrals, pesticides and metals should be conducted at a rate of one sample per 1,000 yd³.

b) Where the soil is being imported from a location currently or historically used for farming, sampling is required at the frequency indicated per volume of soil included in the table below. In all cases analysis must include pesticides, arsenic and lead.

Example – 7,000 yd³ of clean fill is required for blending or backfill purposes. The source of the clean fill is from previously farmed land. This would require collection of 5 samples for the first 500 yd³, 18 samples for the 500-5,000 yd³ volume and 4 samples for the 5,000 -7,000 yd³ volume for a total of 27 samples. Each sample must be composited from 5 locations and analysis must include pesticides, arsenic and lead.

c) Where the soil is from a source of unknown or questionable quality, sampling must be conducted at a frequency of one analytical sample per 100 cubic yards. Analysis must include volatile organics, semivolatile organics, pesticides, PCBs and metals.

The Department may reduce the sampling requirements if a detailed history of the source site is available and a proposal to reduce the number of samples or the analytical parameters is submitted for the Department’s review prior to the movement of the soil. Sampling and analysis must be conducted in accordance with the Technical Requirements for Site Remediation N.J.A.C. 7:26E and the NJDEP Field Sampling Procedures Manual (with the exception of the required compositing of samples).