{"id":1164,"date":"2026-03-06T09:06:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T14:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/pfas\/?page_id=1164"},"modified":"2026-04-02T11:20:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T15:20:24","slug":"afff","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/pfas\/afff\/","title":{"rendered":"AFFF"},"content":{"rendered":"

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AFFF<\/span>\u00a0Collection<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Program<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection\u00a0(DEP)\u00a0and\u00a0the Department of Community Affairs\u00a0(DCA)\u00a0launched a program\u202fto collect\u202fand safely\u202fdestroy\u202fPFAS-containing\u202ffirefighting foams\u202ffrom\u202fhundreds of\u202ffire departments\u202facross the state\u202fat no cost\u202fto them.<\/span><\/h3>\n

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What is AFFF?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n
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AFFF stands for\u00a0aqueous film-forming foam\u00a0(AFFF).\u00a0The AFFF Collection Program focuses on Class B firefighting foam with intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), intended to fight high-hazard, flammable liquid fires.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What is the problem with AFFF?<\/span><\/h5>\n
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The AFFF being\u00a0collected\u00a0as part of the program\u00a0contains\u00a0PFAS, which can discharge into the environment and is associated\u00a0with negative health impacts.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AFFF has been identified as a major source of\u202fPFAS contamination in groundwater\u202fand surface water. When used in firefighting, AFFF can seep into the ground and migrate to nearby water bodies. This contamination poses a serious threat to drinking water supplies. Studies have found elevated levels of PFAS in water sources near military bases, airports, and industrial sites where AFFF has been used extensively.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about\u00a0PFAS<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Why is\u00a0New Jersey\u00a0collecting\u00a0AFFF?<\/span><\/h5>\n
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The\u00a0discharge\u00a0of\u00a0AFFF\u00a0is\u00a0currently\u00a0regulated and reportable under current environmental law\u00a0but more recently, in 2024, New Jersey passed a\u00a0<\/span>law<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that restricts the use, offering for sale, sale, manufacture, and distribution of Class B firefighting foam\u00a0containing\u00a0intentionally added PFAS in New Jersey beginning on December 31, 2026.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This law\u00a0also\u00a0directed the DEP to\u00a0establish\u00a0a program to provide for the collection and safe disposal of AFFF.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fire\u00a0departments\u202fare responsible for\u202fthe transition away from\u00a0PFAS-containing\u00a0firefighting\u202ffoams.\u202fModern alternatives\u202fto AFFF\u202fthat do not\u202fcontain\u202fthe\u202fharmful chemicals\u202fare\u202favailable and suitable for most municipal firefighting applications.\u202f\u202f<\/span><\/p>\n

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What is the collection program?<\/span><\/h5>\n
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DEP and the Division of Fire Safety in DCA conducted surveys of the state\u2019s fire departments over several years to estimate the amount of\u00a0PFAS-containing\u00a0firefighting foam\u00a0in need of collection. All state fire departments (over 700) were invited to\u00a0participate\u00a0in the collection program.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The contractor received responses from 572 departments. 164 departments reported that they had no Class B AFFF and 353 departments registered to\u00a0participate\u00a0in the program.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The program launched in early 2026 is expected to\u00a0collect approximately 150,000 gallons of\u00a0AFFF.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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What will happen to the collected foam?<\/span><\/h5>\n
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DEP\u00a0is working with a\u00a0contractor\u00a0for collection and destruction of\u00a0PFAS-containing\u00a0firefighting foam.\u00a0The\u00a0contractor\u00a0will destroy the collected foam through a high-pressure, high-temperature process known as supercritical water oxidation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike disposal methods that may transfer PFAS to air, soil, or wastewater streams, this process breaks the chemical bonds apart and converts the materials into benign mineralized byproducts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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What steps are included in the foam transition process?<\/h5>\n
\n

Three steps are included in the transition process- drain, decontaminate, and replace.<\/p>\n

When fire equipment that has held PFAS-containing firefighting foams has been drained, the interior of the equipment will remain contaminated with PFAS residue. The equipment will require specialty cleaning to reduce the likelihood that the PFAS residue will not contaminate the newer, PFAS-free foams.<\/p>\n

The recommended cleaning process<\/a>\u00a0is expected to mitigate potential releases of PFAS to the environment.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator border_width=”2″ css=””][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Reimbursement Program for Purchases of Fluorine-Free Replacement Foam<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

The NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will accept applications for funds to reimburse eligible municipalities for the costs of purchasing fluorine-free foam to replace their old AFFF.<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why is DEP paying for replacement foam?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n
\n

The Legislature directed DEP to establish, as part of the AFFF collection program, a program for awarding grants to qualifying municipalities to reimburse them for the costs of fluorine-free foams that they purchase to replace their old AFFF, up to the volume of AFFF that they turned in during the collection program.<\/p>\n

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Who can apply for a grant?<\/span><\/h5>\n
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The grant program is open to municipalities whose fire departments turned in AFFF in the Spring 2026 AFFF collection program.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Who is eligible to receive funding through this program?<\/span><\/h5>\n
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The law establishes the following eligibility criteria based on the impact of the cost of replacement foam on the municipality\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n

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  • For municipalities with a population greater than 40,000<\/strong> people and<\/strong> a population density greater than 3,000 persons per square mile<\/strong>, the cost of the replacement foam must exceed 5 percent of the fire department\u2019s annual operating expenses.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • For all other municipalities<\/strong>, the cost of the replacement foam must exceed 2.5 percent of the fire department\u2019s annual operating expenses.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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    How much funding is available?<\/span><\/h5>\n
    \n

    The Legislature has appropriated a total of $625,000 to fund this grant program.<\/p>\n

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    When will the application process begin?<\/span><\/h5>\n
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    DEP expects to establish an electronic portal to receive applications by the end of 2026.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [vc_row][vc_column][breadcrumb-shortcode][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””] AFFF\u00a0Collection\u00a0Program The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection\u00a0(DEP)\u00a0and\u00a0the Department of Community Affairs\u00a0(DCA)\u00a0launched a program\u202fto collect\u202fand safely\u202fdestroy\u202fPFAS-containing\u202ffirefighting foams\u202ffrom\u202fhundreds of\u202ffire departments\u202facross the state\u202fat no cost\u202fto them.   What is AFFF?\u00a0 AFFF stands for\u00a0aqueous film-forming foam\u00a0(AFFF).\u00a0The AFFF Collection Program focuses on Class B firefighting foam with intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), intended to fight […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"fullwidth.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1164","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/pfas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/pfas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/pfas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/pfas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/pfas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1164"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/pfas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1302,"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/pfas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1164\/revisions\/1302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deptest.nj.gov\/pfas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}