Client Alert Newsletter

NJDEP Issues New NJPDES Discharge to Groundwater Technical Manual

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection ("NJDEP") has issued a new manual on discharges to groundwater at contaminated sites and/or at sites subject to the Technical Requirements for Site Remediation ("Tech Regs"). This manual, replacing a 1999 edition, provides guidance on changes enacted by the July 2005 revisions to the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NJPDES") and Tech Regs. The manual describes how certain site remediation activities, such as injection of treated water, spray irrigation systems, or addition of any materials into the ground that meet the definition of "discharge," may now qualify for a permit-by-rule (in lieu of an individual permit). NJPDES requirements like monitoring, noncompliance reporting, and mitigation of violations still apply to permits-by-rule. The manual is available on NJDEP's Site Remediation Program website.