The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) launched the “Guard Your Backyard” initiative in October 2019 to assist municipalities with the importation of “fill” materials on residential properties. Like most homeowners, understanding the potential issues with soil-fill materials used for backfilling, new construction, and/or landscaping are usually outside their purview. As a result, some homeowners may fall prey to less scrupulous contractors willing to offer “free” fill or make the claim that “I know a guy, who knows where we can get some cheap fill.” Of course, being conscientious of costs doesn’t mean that residents need to make unnecessary concessions and accept questionable fill materials offered by their contractor.
Fortunately, the NJDEP is promoting the “Guard Your Backyard” effort where local communities can establish regulations to ensure that “dirty” dirt isn’t freely deposited without oversight from, or notice being provided to the town, city, or municipality. The NJDEP is also providing model ordinances that local governments may use when developing their own regulation(s). To date, several NJ townships have adopted ordinances to address the matter, including Wantage, Frankford, and Lafayette.
Currently, the NJDEP Site Remediation Program (SRP), requires that clean fill be used for remediation sites (see N.J.A.C. 7:26C and 7:26E), where Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRPs) may have oversight. Now with the Guard Your Backyard initiative, the hope is that those outside of the SRP can educate themselves and take action to protect their properties, and communities from being affected by contaminated soil.
Here are a few tips when looking to obtain “clean fill” for your home project:
Ask for “certified” clean fill (know where it came from, and ask for supporting documentation)
Ask if your local municipality requires a permit for importing / exporting soil-fill.
Ask for additional cost estimates.
Be wary of using fill from agricultural areas where pesticides or herbicides may have been historically used (*this includes topsoil).
Be wary of using fill from commercial / industrial sites.
Be wary of using fill with solid wastes / debris / or asphalt millings.
For additional information on the Guard Your Backyard initiative or on the site remediation process in NJ, please contact tfrancis@cardinalLSRP.com or www.cardinalLSRP.com.
At Cardinal Environmental, we have the experience to get you through your remedial situation and provide realistic costs up-front, regardless of the size, or scope. Additionally, with over two decades in the industry, we have established relationships in the environmental community to get your project on a cost-effective remedial course that meets your long-term goals.