The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) held its quarterly Industrial Stakeholders Group (ISG) meeting on October 3, 2025. During the meeting, NJDEP provided updates on the following topics:
- Rule Update Consumer Products & Architectural Coatings
- Tanks Workgroup Update
- Permit Status Update
- EJ Guidance Update
- Emission Fees (Preliminary)
- Modeling Protocol Template Testers
- Air Permit Guidance Webpage Update
- DPM Risk Assessment for Emergency Generator – Workgroup
- Turbine Exchange Program
- Revision to Pending Permit Application
The following sections provide a summary of each of the topics discussed:
NJDEP recently adopted amendments to N.J.A.C. 7:27-23 Prevention of Air Pollution from Architectural Coatings and N.J.A.C. 7:27-24 Prevention of Air Pollution from Consumer Products on July 24, 2025. Architectural coatings and consumer products are the largest source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in New Jersey. Since New Jersey is nonattainment for ozone and VOCs are a precursor to ozone, New Jersey amended these regulations to place manufacturing limits on VOC content. These rules were adopted on August 18, 2025, and the new VOC limits will be effective August 18, 2026.
The amendments to N.J.A.C. 7:categories and of Air Pollution from Architectural Coatings included adding 12 new categories of architectural coatings such as wood coatings and driveway sealers, removing or consolidating 15 existing categories, and lowering the VOC limits for 12 categories such as floor coatings and primers.
Similarly, the amendments to N.J.A.C. 7:27-24 Prevention of Air Pollution from Consumer Products added 8 new categories of consumer products such as disinfectant and paint thinner and lowered the VOC limits for 13 categories such as nail polish remover and engine degreaser.
These rule updates generally impact the manufacturers of the affected products.
NJDEP has been working with a group of stakeholders and NJDEP representatives since March 2023 to address storage tank facilities. NJDEP noticed issues with inconsistent emission calculations, lack of short-term emissions, and lack of hazardous air pollutant (HAP) quantification and health risk assessments in storage tank permits. The tanks workgroup objective was to determine a consistent calculation methodology based on AP-42 Chapter 7: Liquid Storage Tanks and a way to clarify this methodology for writing permit applicable requirements consistent for all facilities.
They determined there should be three distinct operating scenarios for internal floating roof tanks:
- Working/Standing
- Evaporative emissions produced when liquid is added or removed from a tank
- Evaporative emissions produced when temperature and pressure variations cause vapor to escape through deck seams, fittings, and rim seals
- Degassing/Cleaning/Sludge Removal
- Emissions produced during forced ventilation performed to remove vapors from a tank prior to cleaning
- Refloating/Refilling
- Emissions created when a tank is emptied to the point where its roof lands on deck legs or hangers and is refilled to a sufficient level to refloat the roof
Additionally, in order to determine HAP emissions, the HAP vapor weight fraction and liquid weight fraction must be determined for each HAP.
When permitting, facilities should submit VOC and species HAP emissions (lb/hr and tpy) on a per tank basis including the number of potential degassing events and potential refloating events, vapor space purge emissions for the first hour of the degassing/cleaning/sludge removal scenario, time to refloat the tank based on the volume under the landed roof and maximum refilling rate. Additionally, a hard copy of the plot plan will be required. Using this information, the Bureau of Evaluation and Planning (BEP) will review and confirm that the plot plan is sufficient for the risk assessment, and the permit evaluator will update the permit based on information provided. Once the pre-draft permit is accepted, the facility will submit a health risk protocol to NJDEP.
NJDEP has been experiencing a backlog of old permit applications and renewals resulting in a push for reduction by focusing on processing the oldest permits first. There has been a gradual decline in pending permits for both Title V and minor sources. Generally, the number of permit decisions has been greater than the number of incoming permit applications. Facilities are recommended to ensure that any permit applications are complete and verified. NJDEP has experienced a significant number of deficiencies in permit applications that contribute to inefficiency in permit decisions. If a facility intends to apply for a Title V modification with a pending renewal application decision, the Department has been combining the applications to help streamline the process.
NJDEP has updated the Environmental Justice (EJ) webpage. A new tab called “EJ Rules” has been added that includes current EJ rules in practice, permit applications currently going through the EJ process, and EJ guidance. The guidance includes but is not limited to a compliance checklist, facility wide risk assessment information, and Environmental Justice Impact Statement (EJIS) guidance. If an applicant is going through the EJ process and they are required to submit a facility-wide health risk assessment, they can complete a checklist for conditional approval of the modeling protocol. This allows the facility to satisfy the health risk assessment requirement without delaying the EJ process. Facilities will need to submit the modeling report and results along with their EJIS.
Each year, the consumer price index (CPI) increase is calculated and applied to the 1989 base annual emission fee for major facilities. The FY 2025 annual emission fee will be $156,79 per ton of emissions. The emission fees are expected to be published in November in the New Jersey Register. Invoices will be mailed to facilities by the end of 2025 with payment due by January 31, 2026.
Modeling Protocol Template Testers
NJDEP is currently working on a modeling protocol template to ensure that all required information is provided and create more consistency which will increase efficiency in protocol review. They are currently looking for testers to look at the drafted protocol template and provide feedback. Trinity has volunteered to evaluate the template.
NJDEP has made recent updates to their air permit guidance webpage. This includes updating the SOTA applicability guidance and removing old guidance such as “Inclusion of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) in Air Permits (8/8/08)”, “Health Risk for Diesel Particulates from Combustion Engines (6/28/09)”, and “Procedures to Conduct Risk Assessments to Determine the Incremental Health Risks (10/26/10)”. Finally, NJDEP has updated the AP-42 emission factors listing to include a link to WebFire.
DPM Risk Assessment for Emergency Generator – Workgroup
NJDEP is currently in the process of setting up a workgroup of stakeholders and NJDEP representatives to evaluate the process of evaluating diesel particulate matter (DPM) risk. The workgroup will focus on long-term health risk impacts and may develop risk minimization plans. A representative from Trinity has volunteered to be part of this workgroup.
Turbine Exchange Program
The Turbine Exchange Program addresses when the core of a combustion turbine is replaced. In this case, no permit modification is required but facilities should submit an administrative or technical amendment to notify NJDEP. The Department is currently finalizing a draft compliance plan to place in air permits to standardize this process and include notification and recordkeeping requirements.
Revision to Pending Permit Application
When submitting a revision to a pending permit application, it is particularly important to select “Revised Application Submission” when uploading the application to NJDEP Online. This allows for association of the submittal with the pending application avoiding processing inefficiencies. You should notify your NJDEP permit writer if/when submitting a revised application as they do not receive notification of these submittals. For step-by-step instructions, please see the guidance posted by NJDEP.
Please reach out to our Princeton Office at 609.318.5500 should you want to discuss any of the information contained in this article in more detail.
