Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

Cleanup Standards

Connecticut's Release-Based Cleanup Regulations (RBCRs) provide detailed guidance and criteria to be used to determine whether cleanup of a release is necessary to protect human health and the environment and when cleanup is complete. Factors that may affect the degree of cleanup of a release include the groundwater quality classification of the location, the land use, and proximity to sensitive receptors. Any remediation plan must consider the soil and groundwater criteria for the location of the release.

Soil Standards

There are two criteria for soil remediation, the Direct Exposure Criteria (DEC) and the Pollutant Mobility Criteria (PMC).

Direct Exposure Criteria

DEC are established to protect human health from exposure to contaminants in soil. With some exceptions, these criteria apply to soil located within fifteen feet of the ground surface, which must be remediated to a concentration that is consistent with the Residential DEC, unless:

  • the site is used exclusively for industrial or commercial purposes, so the less stringent Industrial/Commercial (I/C) Direct Exposure Criteria may be used, provided an Environmental Use Restriction (EUR) is recorded to prevent future residential use.
  • residential use is restricted to managed multifamily residences (MMFR) that prohibit residents from digging in soil and an EUR is recorded to ensure it no future residential use other than MMFR.
  • the property is used for passive recreation (PR) and either an EUR is recorded or a conservation easement granted to any political subdivision to ensure no future use other than passive recreation

Pollutant Mobility Criteria

PMC are established to prevent the contamination of groundwater caused by soil pollution that is available to migrate into groundwater. The PMC apply to soil above either the seasonal low (GB) or high (GA) water table, depending on the release area groundwater quality classification.

Groundwater Standards

Three criteria apply to the remediation of a groundwater plume. These criteria include Groundwater Protection Criteria (GWPC), Surface Water Protection Criteria (SWPC), and Volatilization Criteria (VC).

Groundwater Protection Criteria

GWPC require that groundwater plumes in high quality groundwater areas be remediated to background quality, or, in certain instances, to levels that adequately protect existing and future uses of groundwater as public or private drinking water supplies. In areas that have been classified as having degraded groundwater quality, the groundwater must be remediated to adequately protect any existing use of groundwater.

Surface Water Protection Criteria

SWPC apply to a groundwater plume at the point where the plume discharges to a surface water body. These criteria are established to ensure that surface water quality is not impaired by the discharge of contaminated groundwater into a surface water body at contaminant concentrations above the Water Quality Standards.

Volatilization Criteria

VC are established to protect human health from volatile substances in groundwater that may migrate from the groundwater into overlying buildings. The VC vary depending on whether the overlying building is used for residential or industrial/commercial purposes.

Technical Support Documents

Release-Based Cleanup Program


Content Last Updated February 27, 2026