Revised Remediation Standards – New Baseline for PFAS Sampling Required in New Jersey

Concern over the potential health effects of a suite of chemical substances collectively known as (PFAS) has been in the public eye for several years, but government oversight and regulation has lagged. Now, as of June 15, 2026, parties responsible for investigating and remediating contaminated sites in New Jersey are subject to formally promulgated cleanup standards for several per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  That is the date on which the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's (“NJDEP”) adopted amendments to its site remediation standards. The amendments were published in the June 15, 2026, New Jersey Register at 58 N.J.R. 1664(a). While the numeric values themselves are largely familiar to the regulated community, the rulemaking converts interim criteria that have governed since 2022 and 2023 into formally promulgated requirements. The rule also expands what must be investigated at sites across the State, including properties with no known PFAS history.

The rulemaking amends three chapters of the New Jersey Administrative Code: the Remediation Standards, N.J.A.C. 7:26D; the Ground Water Quality Standards, N.J.A.C. 7:9C; and the Technical Requirements for Site Remediation, N.J.A.C. 7:26E. It promulgates soil and soil leachate standards for PFNA, PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and methanol, with fixed numeric criteria governing the direct-contact pathway and site-specific analysis continuing to govern migration to groundwater.  It also formalizes a groundwater quality standard for GenX of 0.02 parts per billion.

The most consequential change for day-to-day practice may be the amendment to the Technical Requirements. GenX, PFNA, PFOS, PFOA, and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin must now be analyzed when contaminants at an area of concern are unknown or not well documented, a category that NJDEP justified by these compounds' widespread use and prevalence in the State.  In practical terms, PFAS analysis is no longer reserved for sites with known PFAS operations; it is now embedded in the default investigative scope wherever site history is uncertain.

The practical effects will be felt in scoping, schedule, and cost. Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRPs), responsible parties and brownfields developers should re-examine investigation and remediation workplans to determine if the new analytical requirements are met, particularly for cases approaching mandatory remediation timeframes and close to a Response Action Outcome. Moreover, real estate purchase agreements, remediation agreements, and escrows negotiated before the implementation of the new PFAS standards may not address responsibility for remediation of PFAs and may require amendment. 

Whether the PFAS amendments affect an ongoing project should be examined without delay. For new or future projects, careful consideration of the new obligations associated with PFAS, no longer an “emerging” contaminant, require an in depth review of a site's historical record, as well as the results of past and ongoing investigation and remediation, so that the undertaker of a site remediation project can fully understand, plan for, and allocate the risks associated with PFAS.

If you have questions about how your project may be impacted by these new requirements, please contact Amie C. Kalac (AKalac@cullenllp.com), Neil Yoskin (NYoskin@cullenllp.com) or Paul Recupero (PRecupero@cullenllp.com).

Please note that this is a general overview of the law and no content within this excerpt constitutes legal advice. Nothing herein creates an attorney-client relationship between the authors and the reader.