United States Department of the Interior

FWS GREAT SWAMP NWR

32 Pleasant Plains Road

Basking Ridge NJ 07920-4017

Statement of Work

PFAS Investigation and Sampling

Asbestos Dump Superfund Site, Operable Unit 3

1.0 Objective

Due to the ubiquitous nature, widespread use, environmental persistence and potential impacts, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have gained attention as an emerging contaminant. As such, the

United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is revisiting sites where the presence of PFAS in site media was never investigated.

The objective of this project is to investigate the potential presence of PFAS at Operable Unit 3 (OU3) of the Asbestos Dump Superfund Site located in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

Operable Unit 3 was a former privately-owned wooded and wetland tract where open dumping, landfilling, and burning of household and industrial waste was conducted for more than 15 years prior to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) taking possession of the land in 1968. The remedy selected which included the disposal of bulky refuse, contaminated soils, and placement of an engineered soil cap was implemented in the late 1990’s. The site was delisted from the National Priority List (NPL) in 2010; operation and maintenance of the landfill continues to present day.

2.0 Scope of Work

The scope of work includes the following tasks:

2.1 Project planning

Develop a site-specific Uniform Federal Policy Quality Assurance Project Plan (UFP QAPP). Both draft and final versions of the document will be forwarded to FWS and EPA via SharePoint site or similar for review and comment. The contractor should anticipate one round of responses to comments on the draft document before finalizing. One hard copy of the final document will be forwarded to FWS for archiving.

2.2 Field activities

Site reconnaissance: Conduct a site visit with a FWS staff member to determine potential porewater sampling locations; two upstream and two downstream of the OU3 landfill. All locations will be accessible by foot.

Porewater sampling: Conduct porewater sampling via methods deemed most appropriate by the contractor and in compliance with EPA regulations. Methods selected should be done so in consultation with the

FWS project manager. Sampling will be conducted using dedicated or decontaminated PFAS-free sampling equipment, such as, but not limited to, stainless steel piezometers, HDPE tubing and containers with Teflon®-free caps, etc. Other practices to prevent potential PFAS contamination should also be followed such as:

• Use of powderless nitrile gloves and change them frequently.

• Prohibit the use of any materials containing Teflon®, LDPE, or other fluoropolymers.

• Avoid personal care products, waterproof clothing, and food packaging that may contain PFAS.

• Use PFAS-free sample containers, coolers, and packing materials.

• Minimize handling of aluminum foil and fast-food items during sampling.

2.3 Laboratory Analysis

Laboratory coordination: Submit samples to a certified laboratory for PFAS analysis using an approved

EPA method (e.g., SW-846 Method 8327 for non-potable drinking water).

Analysis: Analyze samples for PFAS compounds target list as specified by the method.

3.0 Quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC)

The contractor shall collect the following field QC samples:

Field blank: Collect one field blank using PFAS-free reagent water provided by the laboratory to assess for cross-contamination.

Equipment blanks: Collect one equipment blank to ensure that non-dedicated, decontaminated equipment is PFAS-free.

Duplicate samples: Collect one duplicate sample for precision assessment.

4.0 Data Validation

Analytical results shall undergo data validation as follow:

Data verification: Review field and laboratory data package for completeness and accuracy, including chain-of-custody documentation, sample receipt conditions, and transcription errors.

Data validation: Conduct an independent, documented review of analytical results against specified QC criteria.

QC parameter evaluation: Checking QC samples against project-specific or method-specified limits, including:

• Holding times

• Method blank and field blank contamination

• Laboratory control sample (LCS) and LCS duplicate results

• Matrix spike (MS) and matrix spike duplicate (MSD) recoveries

• Surrogate recoveries

• Field duplicate precision

• Instrument tuning and calibration

Data qualification: Applying data qualifiers (e.g., "J" for estimated, "U" for non-detect, "R" for rejected) based on the validation findings.

5.0 Deliverables

UFP QAPP: Draft and Final including one round of responses to comments on the draft document.

Field report: A brief summary of field activities, including any deviations from the UFP QAPP and completed Chain-of-Custody (COC) forms. Due to the small number of samples, the above may be summarized as a memorandum.

Laboratory data package: A full data package from the laboratory, including validated analytical results and QC data.

Period of Performance: One year from award date