November 12, 2021
I'm attending I.CON today in Jersey City, NJ, a national industrial real estate conference put on by NAIOP. I was able to participate in a tour of Kearny Point, which we were told was the most productive U.S. Navy shipyard during World War II. The site is 130 acres which is being redeveloped as an adaptive reuse project, currently including flexible office space and legacy warehouses which are now in use for the film industry. The film industry in NJ has flourished in recent years thanks to state tax incentives. We were able to tour the (currently inactive) set of Wu Tang (no photos allowed) and a space that was used for filming the pilot for the show "Shelter" coming out soon on Amazon which they hope will be renewed. Very cool on multiple levels and shows the great potential so many places in NJ have for becoming something new and exciting.
So often, a transformation like this starts with a property transaction, and a lender who wants to get an idea of the environmental liabilities associated with a site before moving forward. Or there may be a known history of environmental impacts which needs to be fully understood and addressed as part of the development. This is where my colleagues and I can come in to help you handle any potential environmental concerns. Reach out to me to discuss what we do anytime.
Joelle Freeman, PG, LSRP
Project Manager
Envirotactics, Inc.
September 17, 2021
This past month Envirotactics was proud to participate in the First Annual Battle at the Beach Charity Cornhole Tournament to benefit the LSRPA Foundation! The event hosted over 120 industry professional with proceeds benefiting the Elmeryl Davies Memorial Education Scholarships for students seeking educations in the environmental sciences and engineering.
The night featured food and drinks, live music, and of course a high stakes cornhole tournament hosted by Ward Boards (https://wardboards.com/) of Hudson Valley, NY. Unfortunately, the E-Team was eliminated from the tournament throughout the night despite the loud cheers of the crowds and squawks of the Piping Plovers nesting in the protected area at the Jenkinson’s North Pavilion. That being said nothing could have stopped the E-Team from having a great night together!
As only can be seen at the Jersey Shore, the night was capped off by a wonderful firework display on the beach to put a bookend on Summer 2021! Envirotactics is always seeking to find ways to help in our community through our professional work, fundraising efforts, and volunteering.
New in the Industry
Each and everyday the impact of PFAs in our environment comes more and more to the forefront of our industry. Legislatures and scientists alike are working tirelessly to establish remedial standards, develop more accurate methods of analysis, and identify potential remedial solutions.
The people over at REGENESIS are amongst those searching to find a way to deal with sites that have been impacted by this “forever chemical.” They have found that colloidal activated carbon can be used as a low-cost method of eliminating PFAS risk. By coating the flux zones of an aquifer with colloidal activated carbon, a permeable sorption barrier is created in-situ, purifying groundwater as it passively migrates. PFAS constituents from up-gradient source zones are rapidly sorbed to the carbon and removed from the mobile dissolved phase. By removing PFAS from the mobile phase, the route of exposure to down-gradient receptors is eliminated, thereby eliminating the down-gradient public health risk associated with PFAS.
Upcoming Industry and Community Events
September 18-19 Sea Hear Now Music Festival – Asbury Park
September 21 - LSRPA Member Regulatory Roundtable Meeting
September 22 & 23 – NJ Wetlands Management for LSRPs (Online) – Rutgers NJEAS
September 23 – Jersey Shore Chamber of Commerce *Jersey Shore Biz Expo*
September 25-26 – Happy Day Farm Pumpkin Festival
October 18-24 – Effective Environmental Field Sampling and Data Collection (Online) – Rutgers NJEAS
October 21 – 36th Annual Osprey Awards Dinner
Meet Envirotactics’ Four Legged Friends!
Meet Dakota!
Dakota is a three-year-old Labrador mix rescued from the Monmouth County SCPA in 2018. Dakota loves to play fetch and hangout with her brother Rickie, but nothing makes her happier than swimming in the pool all day. We encourage all to adopt from our local animal shelters. https://monmouthcountyspca.org/
June 10, 2021
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) officially adopted the 2020 Amendments to the Remediation Standards, N.J.A.C. 7:26D, as published on May 17, 2021 (see document at the link: https://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/rules/njac7_26d.pdf?202105). The amendments result in new categories of standards for soil, soil leachate, and indoor air vapor. Some standards have increased while others have decreased.
The change means that the previous 'NJ Direct Contact Soil Remediation Standards' will be replaced with two new categories: 'Ingestion-Dermal' and 'Inhalation' pathway soil standards, for Residential and Nonresidential pathways. The new rules also replace the previous 'Default Impact to Groundwater Soil Screening Levels' with 'Migration to Groundwater' pathway soil standards.
These Remediation Standards can be used immediately or can be phased-in over a 6 month period. During this phase-in period, the responsible party has the option of utilizing the standard most beneficial to them with the exception of standards that have been reduced by an order of magnitude (i.e., currently greater than 10X). Of particular note is that the residential standard for Ethylbenzene has decreased from 7,800 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg. This will affect contamination delineation, soil remediation, and beneficial use and recycling scenarios for ethylbenzene since the 10 mg/kg standard is required to be utilized effective immediately.
The sites / areas of concern (AOC) without a Department approved Remedial Action Workplan (RAWP) or Remedial Action Report (RAR) must be remediated using the May 17, 2021 remediation standards. The remedial action using the September 2017 remediation standards can still be approved if the RAWP / RAR is submitted to NJDEP within 6 months after the effective date of the Remediation Standards rule adoption, by November 17, 2021.
During this 6 months period the Site’s remediation may be performed using the most favorable of 2017 and/or 2021 remediation standards, except for the standards which are one order of magnitude lower. The remediation standards with an order of magnitude lower will need to be addressed though using the 2021 adopted standards, as summarized below:
· Ingestion – Dermal and Inhalation Pathway
o Residential
§ Benzaldehyde: 6,100 ppm (ingestion-dermal) -> 170 ppm (ingestion-dermal)
§ Caprolactam: 31,000 ppm (ingestion-dermal)-> 290 ppm (ingestion-dermal)
§ Cobalt: 1,600 ppm (ingestion-dermal) -> 23 ppm (ingestion-dermal)
§ Ethylbenzene: 7,800 ppm (ingestion-dermal) -> 10 ppm (inhalation)
§ Hexachlorocyclopentadiene: 45 ppm (inhalation) -> 2.7 ppm (inhalation)
o Non-Residential
§ Benzaldehyde: 68,000 ppm (ingestion-dermal) -> 910 ppm (ingestion-dermal)
§ Butylbenzyl phthalate: 14,000 ppm (ingestion-dermal) -> 1,300 ppm (ingestion-dermal)
§ Caprolactam: 340,000 ppm (ingestion-dermal) -> 130 ppm (inhalation)
§ Ethylbenzene: 110,000 ppm (ingestion-dermal) -> 48 ppm (inhalation)
· Migration to Groundwater Pathway
o Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate: 1,200 ppm -> 14 ppm
o Copper: 11,000 ppm -> 910 ppm
o 4,4’-DDE: 18 ppm -> 0.47 ppm
o 4,4’-DDT: 11 ppm -> 0.67 ppm
o Hexachloropentadiene: 320 ppm -> 2.5 ppm
· Vapor Intrusion Pathway
o Residential
§ 1,1-Dichloroethene: 210 ppm -> 21 ppm
o Non-Residential
§ Benzaldehyde: 880 ppm -> 88 ppm
Envirotactics is familiar with the NJDEP Remediation Standards adopted on May 17, 2021 and can assist you to speed your Site’s remediation using the most favorable of 2017 and/or 2021 remediation standards, by November 17, 2021 (within 6 months after the effective date of the Remediation Standards rule adoption).
Otherwise, your site may need additional soil remediation by using the newly adopted 2021 remediation standards to address the ingestion-dermal, inhalation, migration to groundwater (https://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/guidance/rs/) and vapor intrusion pathways (https://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/guidance/vaporintrusion/).
Written by Liliana Cecan, Ph.D, P.E.
November 9, 2020
To celebrate our 25th anniversary in business, Envirotactics decided to give back to the community that we proudly serve. Thanks to Monmouth County Parks, we were able to organize a beach clean up at Fisherman’s Cover in Manasquan. Our team was able to remove about 15 bags of litter from the park.
Fishermans Cove in manasquan, new jersey.
project manager patrick lyman cleaning the debris on the shoreline.
Project Manager Mike greene and environmental scientist ryan layden.
Trash Collected:
Throughout the day we were able to collect a copious amount of waste. Cigarette butts and plastics were the most abundant, as well as aluminum cans and glass bottles. Some larger pieces of trash included driftwood, Styrofoam, slabs of plastic, and even a whole seat from a car! We look forward to doing more clean-ups in the future to keep our environment clean for the wildlife, as well as our frequent beach goers.
