§ 6026.304. Site-specific standard
Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated StatutesTitle 35 P.S. Health and Safety
35 P.S. § 6026.304
§ 6026.304. Site-specific standard
(a) General.--Where a site-specific standard is selected as the environmental remediation standard or where the background or Statewide health standard is selected but not achieved, remedial investigation, risk assessment, cleanup plans and final reports shall be developed using the procedures and factors established by this section.
(b) Carcinogens.--For known or suspected carcinogens, soil and groundwater cleanup standards shall be established at exposures which represent an excess upper-bound lifetime risk of between 1 in 10,000 and 1 in 1,000,000. The cumulative excess risk to exposed populations, including sensitive subgroups, shall not be greater than 1 in 10,000.
(c) Systemic toxicants.--For systemic toxicants, soil and groundwater cleanup standards shall represent levels to which the human population could be exposed on a daily basis without appreciable risk of deleterious effect to the exposed population. Where several systemic toxicants affect the same target organ or act by the same method of toxicity, the hazard index shall not exceed one. The hazard index is the sum of the hazard quotients for multiple systemic toxicants acting through a single-medium exposure pathway or through multiple-media exposure pathways.
(i) The current and probable future use of groundwater shall be identified and protected. Groundwater that has a background total dissolved solids content greater than 2,500 milligrams per liter or is not capable of transmitting water to a pumping well in usable and sustainable quantities shall not be considered a current or potential source of drinking water.
(2) Groundwater not in aquifers shall be evaluated using current or probable future exposure scenarios. Appropriate management actions shall be instituted at the point of exposure where a person is exposed to groundwater by ingestion or other avenues to protect human health and the environment. This shall not preclude taking appropriate source management actions by the responsible party to achieve the equivalent level of protection.
(e) Soil.--Concentrations of regulated substances in soil shall not exceed values calculated in accordance with subsections (b) and (c) based on human ingestion of soil where direct contact exposure to the soil may reasonably occur; values calculated to protect groundwater in aquifers at levels determined in accordance with subsections (b), (c) and (d); and values calculated to satisfy the requirements of subsection (g) with respect to discharges or releases to surface water or emissions to the outdoor air. Such determinations shall take into account the effects of institutional and engineering controls, if any, and shall be based on sound scientific principles, including fate and transport analysis of the migration of a regulated substance in relation to receptor exposures.
(g) Air and surface water.--Any regulated discharge into surface water or any regulated emissions to the outdoor air which occur during or after attainment of the site-specific standard shall comply with applicable laws and regulations relating to surface water discharges or emissions into the outdoor air.
(h) Relationship to background.--The concentration of a regulated substance in an environmental medium of concern on a site where the site-specific standard has been selected shall not be required to meet the site-specific standard if the site-specific standard is numerically less than the background standard. In such cases, the background standard shall apply.
(i) Combination of measures.--The standards may be attained through a combination of remediation activities that can include treatment, removal, engineering or institutional controls and can include innovative or other demonstrated measures. The department shall disapprove a site-specific remediation plan that consists solely of fences, warning signs or future land use restrictions unless the site-specific standard is developed on the basis of exposure factors which are no less stringent than those which would apply to the site at the time the contamination is discovered.
(2) Reduction of the toxicity, mobility or volume of regulated substances, including the amount of regulated substances that will be removed, contained, treated or destroyed, the degree of expected reduction in toxicity, mobility or volume and the type, quantity, toxicity and mobility of regulated substances remaining after implementation of the remedy.
(4) The ease or difficulty of implementing the proposed remedy, including commercially available remedial measures which are BADCT, degree of difficulty associated with constructing the remedy, expected operational reliability, available capacity and location of needed treatment, storage and disposal services for wastes, time to initiate remedial efforts and approvals necessary to implement the remedial efforts.
(2) Attainment of the site-specific standard shall be demonstrated by collection and analysis of samples from affected media, as applicable, such as surface water, soil, groundwater in aquifers at the point of compliance through the application of statistical tests set forth in regulation or, if no regulations have been adopted, in a demonstration of a mathematically valid application of statistical tests. The Department of Environmental Resources shall also recognize those methods of attainment demonstration generally recognized as appropriate for that particular remediation.
(2) If required, a risk assessment report which describes the potential adverse effects under both current and planned future conditions caused by the presence of a regulated substance in the absence of any further control, remediation or mitigation measures. A baseline risk assessment report is not required where it is determined that a specific remediation measure can be implemented to attain the site-specific standard.
(3) A cleanup plan which evaluates the relative abilities and effectiveness of potential remedies to achieve the requirements for remedies described in subsection (k) when considering the evaluation factors described in subsection (j). The plan shall select a remedy which achieves the requirements for remedies described in subsection (k). The department may require a further evaluation of the selected remedy or an evaluation of one or more additional remedies in response to comments received from the community surrounding the site as a result of the community involvement plan established in subsection (o) which are based on the factors described in subsection (j) or as a result of its own analysis which are based on the evaluation factors described in subsection (j).
(m) Deed notice.--Persons attaining and demonstrating compliance with site-specific standards for a regulated substance shall be subject to the deed acknowledgment requirements of the act of July 7, 1980 (P.L. 380, No. 97),1 known as the Solid Waste Management Act, or the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L. 756, No. 108),2 known as the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act. The notice shall include whether residential or nonresidential exposure factors were used to comply with the site-specific standard.
(1)(i) A notice of intent to remediate a site shall be submitted to the department which provides, to the extent known, a brief description of the location of the site, a listing of the contaminant or contaminants involved and the proposed remediation measures. The department shall publish an acknowledgment noting receipt of the notice of intent in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. At the same time a notice of intent to remediate a site is submitted to the department, a copy of the notice shall be provided to the municipality in which the site is located, and a summary of the notice of intent shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation serving the area in which the site is located.
(ii) The notices required by this paragraph shall include a 30-day public and municipal comment period during which the municipality can request to be involved in the development of the remediation and reuse plans for the site. If requested by the municipality, the person undertaking the remediation shall develop and implement a public involvement program plan which meets the requirements of subsection (o). Persons undertaking the remediation are encouraged to develop a proactive approach to working with the municipality in developing and implementing remediation and reuse plans.
(i) When the report or plan is submitted to the department, a notice of its submission shall be provided to the municipality in which the site is located, and a notice summarizing the findings and recommendations of the report or plan shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation serving the area in which the site is located. If the municipality requested to be involved in the development of the remediation and reuse plans, the reports and plans shall also include the comments submitted by the municipality, the public and the responses from the persons preparing the reports and plans.
(3) If the remedial investigation report, risk assessment report and cleanup plan are submitted at the same time to the department, the department shall notify persons of any deficiencies in 90 days. If the department does not respond with deficiencies within 90 days, the reports are deemed approved.
(o) Community involvement.--Persons using site-specific standards are required to develop a public involvement plan which involves the public in the cleanup and use of the property if the municipality requests to be involved in the remediation and reuse plans for the site. The plan shall propose measures to involve the public in the development and review of the remedial investigation report, risk assessment report, cleanup plan and final report. Depending on the site involved, measures may include techniques such as developing a proactive community information and consultation program that includes door step notice of activities related to remediation, public meetings and roundtable discussions, convenient locations where documents related to a remediation can be made available to the public and designating a single contact person to whom community residents can ask questions; the formation of a community-based group which is used to solicit suggestions and comments on the various reports required by this section; and, if needed, the retention of trained, independent third parties to facilitate meetings and discussions and perform mediation services.
Credits
1995, May 19, P.L. 4, No. 2, § 304, effective in 60 days.
35 P.S. § 6026.304, PA ST 35 P.S. § 6026.304
Current through Act 10 of the 2024 Regular Session. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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