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§ 6020.506. Administrative record

Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated StatutesTitle 35 P.S. Health and Safety

Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated Statutes
Title 35 P.S. Health and Safety (Refs & Annos)
Chapter 29C. Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act (Refs & Annos)
Chapter 5. Response and Investigation
35 P.S. § 6020.506
§ 6020.506. Administrative record
Currentness
(a) Contents.--The administrative record upon which a response action is based shall consist of all of the following:
(1) The notice issued under subsection (b).
(2) Information, including, but not limited to, studies, inspection reports, sample results and permit files, which is known and reasonably available to the department and which relates to the release or threatened release and to the selection, design and adequacy of the response action.
(3) Written comments submitted during the public comment period under subsection (c).
(4) Transcripts of comments made at the public hearing held under subsection (d).
(5) The department's statement of the basis and purpose for its decision, including findings of fact, an analysis of the alternatives considered and the reasons for selecting the proposed response action, and its response to significant comments made during the public comment period.
(6) The docket maintained under subsection (f), listing the contents of the administrative record.
(b) Notice.--
(1) The department shall issue a notice setting forth all of the following:
(i) A brief analysis of the response action and alternative actions that were considered.
(ii) The time and place during which the information listed on the docket maintained under subsection (f) may be inspected and copied.
(iii) A specified time and place for providing written comments on the response action.
(iv) The time and place at which a public hearing will be held to receive oral comments on the response action.
(2) The notice shall be mailed to responsible persons whose identities and addresses are known to the department. In addition, notice shall be mailed to all holders of liens of record filed against all properties subject to section 509(b).1 The notice shall also be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the area in which the release has occurred and in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The failure to provide this notice does not affect a responsible person's liability under this act.
(c) Public comment.--
(1) The public comment period shall extend for at least 90 days from the date that notice is published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. During the public comment period the department shall make available for inspection during normal business hours all of the following:
(i) The department's description of the response action.
(ii) Information, including, but not limited to, studies, inspection reports, sample results and permit files, which is known and reasonably available to the department and which relates to the release or threatened release and to the selection, design and adequacy of the response action.
(iii) Written comments submitted during the public comment period.
(iv) The docket maintained under subsection (f).
(2) The public comment period shall extend at least 30 days after the public hearing to provide an opportunity for the submission of rebuttal and supplementary information.
(d) Public hearing.--At least one public hearing shall be conducted near the site of the response action to allow interested persons to give oral or written comments. A transcript shall be kept of oral presentations. The hearing shall be scheduled at least 30 days after the publication of the notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
(e) Decision.--At the close of the public comment period, the department shall file a statement of the basis and purpose for its decision. The statement shall include findings of fact, an analysis of the alternatives considered and the reasons for selecting the proposed response action. It shall include an explanation of any major changes in the response action from that described in the notice. The department shall also file a response to each of the significant comments, criticisms and new data submitted in oral or written presentations during the public comment period.
(f) Docket.--The department shall maintain a docket listing of all the items which form the administrative record, and it shall notify a person submitting a comment that it has been entered on the docket. It shall be the responsibility of the person submitting written comments to either verify that the comments have been noted on the docket or to notify the department, before the end of the public comment period, that the docket does not note the submitted written comment.
(g) Closing.--The administrative record shall be closed, once the department has filed its statement and response under subsection (e). The department's decision may not be based, in whole or in part, upon information which has not been noted on the docket as of the date the administrative record is closed. The administrative record may be reopened only for any of the following reasons:
(1) Additional information which the department determines to be of central relevance to the selected action is obtained during the implementation of the response action.
(2) A person raising an objection to the response action can demonstrate that it was impracticable to raise the objection during the public comment period or that the grounds for the objection arose after the public comment period.
(3) The department wishes to document its response costs.
(4) A case is remanded to the department under section 508.2
(h) Reopening.--To reopen the administrative record, the department shall provide a notice setting forth the purpose of the reopening and the time and place for submitting written comments during a 60-day public comment period. The department may hold a public hearing if a written request is received within 30 days of publication of the notice of reopening. The docket shall note additional information submitted by the department, written comments, oral comments made at the public hearing and the department's responses to the significant comments. The department's decision not to reopen the administrative record may only be reviewed as provided in section 508.

Credits

1988, Oct. 18, P.L. 756, No. 108, § 506, effective in 60 days.

Footnotes

1
35 P.S. § 6020.509.
2
35 P.S. § 6020.508.
35 P.S. § 6020.506, PA ST 35 P.S. § 6020.506
Current through Act 10 of the 2024 Regular Session. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
End of Document