New York State Petroleum Cleanup Guidelines Change

The DEC has rethought what is an acceptable cleanup level for soil. The DEC's new cleanup criteria are still protective of human health and groundwater, but the contaminant levels have been recalculated based on more realistic toxicological data from U.S. EPA's Superfund Health Risk Technical Support Center and contaminant migration characteristics. In the majority of cases, the soil cleanup levels for specific compounds have been raised.

How will these changes affect petroleum cleanups? The DEC’s ultimate goal will be to remediate a petroleum release to pre-release conditions. However, in those situations where the property can be classified as "industrial" or the feasibility of remediating the soil to pre-release conditions is not possible, the DEC will use the new standard to evaluate the soil conditions. If the contaminant levels meet the new standard, the DEC will most likely issue a "No Further Action" letter to the property owner or UST operator. It should be noted, however, that this change does not ensure that the DEC will not require additional samples or wells. The DEC has emphasized that each spill will be evaluated based on the information provided. Thus, DEC’s potential data requirements should be considered by purchasers and owners of properties trying to save a little money by reducing the number and type of samples.

For those unfamiliar with the "No Further Action" status for a property, its biggest benefit is that it may allow owners and buyers of property to more readily obtain loans from lending institutions. Secondarily, it removes the property from the spotlight of the DEC. It will not, however, remove all environmental liability from a release, but in reality, nothing ever does, at least in New York State. As you might expect, the DEC in nearly all of its settlements or agreements reserves the right to re-open an investigation or re-start remediation if additional contamination is found.

Leader Professional Services, Inc. ("Leader or The Leader Group") has extensive experience in assisting clients in developing cost-effective remediation strategies. Our DEC negotiating experience has been a key asset of our organization since its inception.

For additional information on how Leader can help you maintain compliance with the aforementioned regulatory issues:

For More Information Contact:

Peter von Schondorf, P.G. at