February 2015 NJDEP Revised Technical Guidance for Ecological Evaluations
The NJDEP announces the availability of revised
Technical Guidance for Ecological Evaluations (2015). Revisions to this Guidance were made by the
Ecological Evaluation Technical Guidance Committee, which consists of NJDEP
staff and Stakeholder representatives.
Updates include greater detail than the previous version for background
and reference location selection, historic fill evaluation, wildlife receptor
selection, and risk management decisions.
A new section under "Special Circumstances" has been added for
Mercury sites, and new guidance for the expression of concentration as wet
weight vs. dry weight is also provided.
The definition of Environmentally Sensitive Natural Resource (ESNR) has
been modified slightly and the request to report the stream classification and
antidegradation status of a water body is now included to be consistent with
the Receptor Evaluation form. The issue
of deed notice requirements in Environmentally Sensitive Natural Areas has also
been addressed.
This Technical Guidance can be accessed on the Site
Remediation webpage in the Guidance Library section (http://www.state.nj.us/dep/srp/guidance/).
Technical guidance may be used immediately upon issuance.
However, the Department recognizes the challenge of using newly issued
technical guidance when a remediation affected by the guidance may have already
been conducted or is currently in progress.
To provide for the reasonable
implementation of new or revised technical guidance, the Department will allow
a 6-month "phase-in" period between the date the technical guidance
is issued and the time it should be used.