NJDEP Subsurface Evaluator Exam

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Exam Overview

The NJDEP Subsurface Evaluation certification enables an individual to conduct remediation activities for unregulated heating oil tanks. This online exam is being offered for those consultants and contractors who limit their remediation activities to those involving unregulated heating oil tanks and who do not wish to pursue more extensive licensing such as that offered under the Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) license.

Qualifying for the Subsurface Evaluator Certification

In order to qualify for a Subsurface Evaluator certification, you must:

• Possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in a natural (earth, biological, or environmental), physical, or chemical science or appropriate engineering discipline;
• Have either a minimum of two years of experience performing subsurface evaluation services with participation in at least five subsurface evaluation services performed during each year of experience (within the last 3 years) or nine months experience with participation in at least 25 subsurface evaluations in that nine-month period (within the last year); and
• Have completed the appropriate health and safety training given in accordance with the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Standard Operating Safety Guides (Hazardous Materials Incident Response Operations Course (165.5)) and the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Safety and Health Standards (29 CFR 1910 and 1926 et seq.).
• Complete the approved recertification class (either 12 months prior or within 12 months of the initial license being issued). Individuals who are adding SSE as a category to an already effective license do not need to take another class in addition to that which will be taken for their license renewal.

First, please download, fill out, and submit your SSE application to the DEP. After application review, you will then have 30 days to complete the exam and report the results to the NJDEP UST Licensing Unit at ust@dep.nj.gov.

Please contact the DEP UST licensing unit directly with any questions about qualifications or certification eligibility at (609) 633-1205.

Preparing for Your Subsurface Evaluator Exam

During this exam, you will be allowed to view and reference the following UST and remediation rules and technical guidance documents. We recommend familiarizing yourself with them thoroughly BEFORE beginning the exam. You WILL NOT be allowed to open any other tabs or windows to do web searches during your exam.

• N.J.A.C. 7:14B Underground Storage Tanks
• N.J.A.C. 7:26F Heating Oil Tank System Remediation Rules
• N.J.A.C. 7:9C Ground Water Quality Standards
• Evaluation of Extractable Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Soil Technical Guidance
• Field Sampling Procedures Manual – August 2005

Exam Guidelines

You will have 1.5 hours (90 minutes) to complete the 60-question online exam. A current, government-issued, photo ID (driver’s license/passport) is required (for online proctoring service to confirm).

Exams are monitored by Proctorio, a remote proctoring service. To use Proctorio, you must have a computer with a webcam and be using the Google Chrome web browser. A room scan (including a view of your desk/table where your computer is) MUST be completed when prompted by the proctoring service or your exam will not be graded.

Items not permitted in the testing area:

• Cell phones
• Headphones/Earphones/Earbuds
• Scrap paper, notebooks, or hand-written notes
• Pens, pencils, or highlighters
• Talking or conferring with others

Exam Results

Results will be emailed to you within 5 business days after you have completed the exam. You will be responsible for submitting your passing score sheet along with all other required documents and payment(s) to the DEP to obtain your Subsurface Evaluator License.

Passing scores are 75% and above.

Failing scores are 74% and below.

Should your result be a failing score, you will be eligible to retake this exam one (1) time immediately. Should that outcome result in a failing score, you must wait 90 days from that exam date to retake the exam. Further information about retaking exams will be provided with your results sheet.

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