9.2 NJDEP Waste Classification & Transport, Landfill Disposal Standards & Project Recordkeeping

9.2 NJDEP Waste Rules, Transport, Landfill Disposal & Recordkeeping

Quick Answer: In New Jersey, asbestos waste is solid waste type ID 27A, "waste material consisting of asbestos or asbestos-containing waste" (N.J.A.C. 7:26-2.13). It must be carried by a registered New Jersey solid waste transporter in vehicles designed to prevent spills, leaks, and emissions. It goes directly from the job to a permitted landfill or transfer station authorized for ID 27A, with no visible emissions. NESHAP requires vehicle danger signs during loading and unloading. Landfills must cover asbestos waste daily with at least 6 inches of compacted non-asbestos material (or use an approved dust suppressant, or show no visible emissions) and must return signed waste shipment records within 30 days.

Who Regulates What

Waste Classification (NJDEP Guidance on ACM Management)

Key New Jersey point: NESHAP excludes small residential buildings, but New Jersey's solid waste rules still require that asbestos waste from them be managed as ID 27A.

Transporting Asbestos Waste (N.J.A.C. 7:26-3.5(d) and NJDEP Guidance)

1. Only registered New Jersey solid waste vehicles may transport ACM or any solid waste containing asbestos. Vehicles must be designed to prevent spillage, leakage, or emissions.
2. No transporter may accept asbestos unless it is packaged per 40 CFR 61.150: adequately wet, in leak-tight containers or wrapping, and labeled with the OSHA warning and the generator's name and location.
3. Load, haul, and unload so containers do not rupture.
4. Transport directly from the point of generation to a landfill or transfer station permitted to receive ID 27A.
5. No visible emissions during loading, transport, or unloading.
6. The A-901 licensing program (N.J.S.A. 13:1E-126 et seq.) requires background disclosure and licensing of commercial solid and hazardous waste businesses. The NJDEP registration and disposal form asks whether a transporter is A-901 licensed.
7. Vehicle signs (NESHAP 61.149(d)(1) and 61.150(c)): During loading and unloading, vehicles must be marked with a 20 in x 14 in sign reading:

DANGER
ASBESTOS DUST HAZARD
CANCER AND LUNG DISEASE HAZARD
Authorized Personnel Only

The NESHAP vehicle sign still uses this older wording. The OSHA container label uses "MAY CAUSE CANCER / CAUSES DAMAGE TO LUNGS" (Section 9.1).

Also remember that the ACLA notification (Section 1.3) must name the disposal site and the hauler's New Jersey waste hauler identification number, and the subcode permit application must name the NJDEP-registered hauler and landfill. On subcode projects, waste leaves by direct removal by a registered hauler or by indirect removal through a locked, secure container awaiting pickup. No dumpster may stay on the premises overnight unless it is locked and labeled (N.J.A.C. 5:23-8.10(d)7 and 8.19(c)7).

A homeowner who has properly packaged a small quantity of ACM may self-haul to an authorized landfill in a vehicle meeting the weight limits of N.J.A.C. 7:26-3.3. Contractors must use registered transporters.

Landfill Disposal Standards (40 CFR 61.154)

Active disposal sites receiving asbestos waste must:

• Emissions: Either have no visible emissions, or at the end of each operating day (or at least every 24 hours) cover newly deposited asbestos waste with at least 6 inches (15 cm) of compacted non-asbestos material, or apply an effective resinous or petroleum-based dust suppression agent. Used or waste oil does not qualify. Other methods require EPA approval.
• Signs and fencing: Unless a natural barrier deters public access, post signs at all entrances and every 100 m (330 ft) or less along the perimeter, reading "Asbestos Waste Disposal Site / Do Not Create Dust / Breathing Asbestos is Hazardous to Your Health," and fence the perimeter. Daily cover under (c)(1) is an alternative.
• Shipment records:
  • Sign and keep waste shipment records.
  • Report significant amounts of improperly enclosed or uncovered waste by the following working day.
  • Send a signed copy to the generator within 30 days of receipt.
  • Try to reconcile quantity discrepancies; if one is not resolved within 15 days, report it immediately in writing.
  • Keep these records at least 2 years.
• Location records: Keep a map of the location, depth, area, and quantity of asbestos waste until closure, and give EPA a copy at closure.
• Excavation: Notify EPA in writing at least 45 days before excavating covered asbestos waste.
• Closure (61.151 via 61.154(g)): Either no visible emissions, or 6 inches of compacted cover plus vegetation, or 2 feet (60 cm) of compacted non-asbestos cover. Within 60 days of the site becoming inactive, record a deed notation so every future buyer learns that asbestos waste is buried there and that use is restricted.

Under NJDEP guidance, abandoned-in-place asbestos-cement pipe must be kept at least six feet below final grade, and a deed notice must be filed.

Recordkeeping Summary

Contractors should keep longer records than the legal minimums for legal and insurance reasons, because asbestos claims can surface decades later (Section 10.2).

Exam Traps

• ID 27A, not ID 27: ID 27 is dry industrial waste. Asbestos waste is ID 27A.
• Small houses: Excluded from NESHAP, but not from New Jersey's ID 27A requirement.
• Two different sign wordings: The NESHAP vehicle sign still says "ASBESTOS DUST HAZARD / CANCER AND LUNG DISEASE HAZARD." The OSHA container label and regulated-area sign say "MAY CAUSE CANCER / CAUSES DAMAGE TO LUNGS."
• Daily cover: 6 inches. Closure: 6 inches plus vegetation, or 2 feet.
• Generator follow-up: Contact the hauler or landfill at 35 days; report to the NESHAP authority at 45 days (Section 9.1).

Scenario

A contractor finishes a Paterson two-family-house kitchen job that removed 40 linear feet of friable pipe insulation. The contractor says NESHAP does not apply, so the bags can go out with ordinary construction debris.

The contractor is partly right. The house is not a NESHAP facility. But New Jersey still classifies this waste as ID 27A. It must be wet, sealed, and labeled, carried by a registered solid waste transporter directly to an ID 27A-authorized facility, and never mixed with ID 13C debris. Because more than 3 linear feet of pipe ACM was removed, the ACLA license, permit, and 10-day notification rules also applied to the job itself.