How 6 NYCRR Part 375 Revisions May Affect You and Your Business
In mid-October, the New York State (NYS) Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) published a notice of revised rulemaking to amend 6 NYCRR Part 375, Environmental Remediation Programs. Part 375 covers requirements for the remedial programs administered by NYS: the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP, created in 2003), the Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Site Remedial Program [State Superfund (SSF) Program, created in 1979], and the Environmental Restoration Program (ERP, created in 1996). Part 375 also sets forth Soil Cleanup Objectives (SCOs) applicable to these remedial programs.
Amendments to Part 375 were initially announced in February 2024. DEC held a public comment period from February through May and conducted public hearings, which led to the issuance of the revised rulemaking.
DEC’s October 2024 notice indicates that no substantive changes to the proposed regulations were made based on the comments received. At this time, DEC is accepting public comments until January 31, 2025. The Part 375 amendments will be finalized after DEC considers any comments received during this round.
What brought about these revisions?
The revisions to Part 375 are intended to better reflect DEC’s 2015 and 2022 amendments related to the BCP, to update requirements pertaining to the SSF Program and the ERP, and to modify the SCOs. The Part 375 amendments are based on DEC’s experience in implementing the environmental remediation programs and were developed to increase consistency across these programs.
How will businesses be impacted by these changes?
Some of the significant Part 375 modifications that will impact businesses are listed below:
- The definition of a Brownfield site now indicates that site must have contamination present above applicable standards, criteria, and guidelines. Subpart 375-3.3(a)(4) will be clarified to state that DEC may consider the number of samples at a site that exceed applicable standards, the magnitude by which standards are exceeded, the potential for human or ecological exposure to contaminants, and the potential for off-site migration when considering a site’s eligibility to the BCP and when determining if a site requires remediation.
- Subpart 375-1.6(a) requires the submittal of daily reports to document field activities completed under a work plan as part of a NYS remedial program.
- The addition of Subpart 1.8(d)(1)(iii) requires a BCP volunteer to prevent further off-site plume migration at the site boundary, to the extent feasible.
- Subpart 375-1.11(d) requires a work plan to be submitted for any proposed change of use activity at a remedial program site.
- Subpart 375-3.2 includes a new definition for “cover system or site cover” regarding requirements for these engineering controls which eliminate exposure to contaminated soil.
- Subpart 375-3.2 definitions related to tangible property credits have been updated for “Affordable Housing Project” and added for “Renewable Energy Facility Sites” and “Disadvantaged Communities” within a qualifying Brownfield Opportunity Area.
- Subpart 375-3.5(g) requires a $50,000 non-refundable program fee to be submitted with every BCP application, and provides conditions regarding waivers of this fee.
- Subpart 375-3.8(b) has been amended to clarify that a volunteer is required to perform a qualitative exposure assessment regarding contamination migration from the site, which may involve off-site sampling.
- Subpart 375-3.8(e) has been amended to clarify which cleanup track a site is eligible for at the time when the Certificate of Completion is issued.
- Subpart 375-6 Tables 375-6.8(a) and (b) include revisions to SCOs based on DEC’s requirement to review and update the SCOs, as necessary. Two new chemicals have been added to the tables: aniline and nitrobenzene. DEC has not added perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanoic sulfonate (PFOS) to the SCO tables in this amendment, since studies related to these compounds have not been completed.
How to Submit Public Comments
A virtual public comment hearing for the revised rule will be held on January 7, 2025 at 3:30 pm (click to register here). Written statements can be sent in via mail or email; if by mail, they must be postmarked by January 31, 2025.
Mailing Address: New York State DEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233
Email Address: Derweb@dec.ny.gov
If you have a project that fits the above criteria, Walden’s site remediation experts can help you evaluate how these revisions will affect your business and any remedial programs you are involved with. Contact us today at 516-744-5863. For further reading on Part 375, visit Walden’s previous blogs:
Photo by Polina Skaia on Unsplash
To learn more about environmental remediation and the New York State programs for which your site might qualify, contact Walden at 516-744-5863.