Township of Upper Freehold, NJ Site Investigation and Soil Sampling Required for Development Applications to Determine if Pesticide Contamination Exists.

[Ord. BH2-04, Preamble]

The Board of Health of the Township of Upper Freehold, upon request, is enacting these regulations in the interest of the public health, safety and welfare of the Township and its citizens. The Board of Health has determined that historic pesticide contamination has become a concern within the Township. A site investigation, soil sampling and submission of environmental reports shall be conducted for all development applications prior to any Board approval. The purpose of this environmental assessment shall determine if there are residual pesticides contained in the soil.

§ BH8-2 REQUIRED FOR DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS.

[Ord. BH2-04 § 1]

Prior to any development application obtaining final approval by any required Board, including major or minor subdivision and site plan approvals, all of the site investigation and soil testing requirements outlined by this chapter shall be filed and approved as a condition of final approval.

§ BH8-3 EXEMPTIONS.

[Ord. BH2-04 § 2]

This requirements shall exempt use variance applications, signage applications, bulk variances for decks, pools, sheds etc. required for existing uses, minor subdivisions which create no new lots, site plan waivers, minor revisions to existing sites and sites for which final approval has been granted and projects which have already received a No Further Action letter from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for that contamination or are currently under the oversight of NJDEP for historic pesticide contamination.

§ BH8-4 REVIEW OF INVESTIGATION REPORTS.

[Ord. BH2-04 § 3]

The Board of Health, and/or its designee, shall review the site investigation report and, when applicable, the results of the certified laboratory analyses. The report shall be used as evidence in the case before the Board.

§ BH8-5 SOIL CLEANUP CRITERIA; REMEDIATION OF CONTAMINATED AREAS.

[Ord. BH2-04 § 4; Ord. No. BH05-2010]

The applicant shall be held to the NJDEP Residential Soil Cleanup Criteria or the Non-Residential Soil Cleanup Criteria (whichever is applicable). For those pesticides for which there are no criteria, the Board reserves the right to send the applicant to NJDEP for interpretation and a No Further Action Letter, or for a Response Action Outcome (RAO) as permitted under N.J.A.C. 7:26C-6.2. Remediation of contamination found on the proposed site shall be completed prior to site development. Remediation of the site shall be conducted according to N.J.A.C. 7:26E Technical Requirements For Site Remediation under the oversight of the NJDEP, or under the procedures specified for a Response Action Outcome (RAO) as permitted under N.J.A.C. 7:26C-6.2.

§ BH8-6 INVESTIGATION REPORTS.

[Ord. BH2-04 § 5]

The investigation report is to provide historical information on the previous agricultural uses of the proposed site so that any potential contaminants or areas of concern can be identified prior to any soil sampling. The investigation report shall be based on diligent inquiry and at a minimum consist of the following:

Names of all owners and operators;

Dates of ownership of each owner;

Dates of operation of each owner;

Description of past agricultural use, when applicable;

List of pesticides, herbicides or insecticides utilized;

Approximate periods and application rates of pesticides, herbicides or insecticides utilized;

Any past remedial activities as specified pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26E Technical Requirements for site remediation;

All existing sampling data;

A scaled site plan/survey detailing lot/block numbers, property boundaries, buildings, pesticide storage areas, wetlands, streams, ponds, septic and cesspool systems, underground storage tanks, and inactive and active wells;

Identification of all areas where non-indigenous fill materials were used;

A determination from the collected historical data identification of the areas believed to be potentially contaminated;

§ BH8-7 SOIL SAMPLING TESTING.

[Ord. BH2-04 § 6]

If applicable, soil sampling testing shall be conducted and the results provided in accordance with the following:

Sampling locations and depths must be biased towards areas of greatest potential contamination. If there is no basis for biasing sampling locations one sample shall be taken every two acres. Sampling frequency is dependent on the size of the site. Sites up to 10 acres require one sample for every two acres with a minimum of two samples; then sites larger than 10 acres add one sample for every five acres. Sampling locations shall be identified on the site plan and affixed with GPS coordinates.

All samples shall be analyzed for all contaminants as specified in USEPA Method SW 846-8081A Organ chlorine Pesticides By Gas Chromatography, and for lead and arsenic as specified in USEPA Method SW 846-6010B Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry and/or specified in the current methodology/regulations employed by the USEPA.

A table shall be submitted listing lead, arsenic and all the SW 846-8081A Organochlorine Pesticide parameters with the results of each parameter analyzed for each sample.

An evaluation of each contaminant identified shall be included in the report. All sampling and analytical work, quality assurance and laboratory methods must be conducted accordance with the NJDEP Field Sampling Procedures Manual and the NJDEP Technical Requirements For Site Remediation.

§ BH8-8 RETURN OF INCOMPLETE REPORTS.

[Ord. BH2-04 § 7]

Incomplete preliminary investigation reports will be returned to the applicant for resubmittal. Incompleteness may be based upon the Health Department's determination that any of the above requirements (subsections BH10-1.6 and BH10-1.7) were not fully investigated pursuant to those requirements.

§ BH8-9 RIGHTS OF THE TOWNSHIP NOT IMPAIRED.

[Ord. BH2-04 § 8]

This further recognizes and acknowledges and does not waive any rights of Upper Freehold Township pursuant to law.