PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 2, 412 PRINTER'S NO. 525
No. 1 Session of 1995
INTRODUCED BY BRIGHTBILL, PORTERFIELD, SHAFFER, LAVALLE, MUSTO, STEWART, BELAN, JUBELIRER, LOEPER, ROBBINS, STAPLETON, STOUT, WAGNER, BAKER, AFFLERBACH, BELL, ANDREZESKI, CORMAN, BODACK, FISHER, FUMO, GERLACH, JONES, GREENLEAF, KASUNIC, HART, MELLOW, O'PAKE, HELFRICK, HOLL, TARTAGLIONE, LEMMOND, PETERSON, PUNT, RHOADES, SALVATORE, SHUMAKER, TILGHMAN, ULIANA, WENGER, MADIGAN AND DELP, JANUARY 17, 1995
SENATOR TILGHMAN, APPROPRIATIONS, RE-REPORTED AS AMENDED, FEBRUARY 13, 1995
AN ACT 1 Providing for the recycling of existing industrial and 2 commercial sites; further defining the cleanup liability of 3 new industries and tenants; establishing a framework for 4 setting environmental remediation standards; establishing the 5 Voluntary Cleanup Loan Fund and the Industrial Land Recycling 6 Fund to aid industrial site cleanups; assigning powers and 7 duties to the Environmental Quality Board and the Department 8 of Environmental Resources; and making repeals. 9 TABLE OF CONTENTS 10 Chapter 1. General Provisions 11 Section 101. Short title. 12 Section 102. Declaration of policy. 13 Section 103. Definitions. 14 Section 104. Powers and duties. 15 Section 105. Cleanup Standards Scientific Advisory Board. 16 Section 106. Scope. 17 Section 107. Existing standards. 18 Chapter 3. Remediation Standards and Review Procedures
1 Section 301. Remediation standards. 2 Section 302. Background standard. 3 Section 303. Statewide health standard. 4 Section 304. Site-specific standard. 5 Section 305. Special industrial areas. 6 Section 306. Privatization. 7 Section 307. Local land development controls. 8 Section 308. Immediate response. 9 Section 309. Appealable actions. 10 Chapter 5. Cleanup Liability Protection 11 Section 501. Cleanup liability protection. 12 Section 502. Special industrial sites. 13 Section 503. Existing exclusions. 14 Section 504. New liability. 15 Section 505. Reopeners. 16 Section 506. Authority reserved. 17 Chapter 7. Industrial Land Recycling Fund 18 Section 701. Industrial Land Recycling Fund. 19 Section 702. Voluntary Cleanup Loan Program. 20 Section 703. Fees. 21 Chapter 9. Miscellaneous Provisions 22 Section 901. Plain language. 23 Section 902. Permits. 24 Section 903. Future actions. 25 Section 904. Relationship to Federal and State programs. 26 Section 905. Enforcement. 27 Section 906. Past penalties. 28 Section 907. Repeals. 29 Section 908. Effective date. 30 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 19950S0001B0525 - 2 -
1 hereby enacts as follows: 2 CHAPTER 1 3 GENERAL PROVISIONS 4 Section 101. Short title. 5 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Land 6 Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act. 7 Section 102. Declaration of policy. 8 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows: 9 (1) The elimination of public health and environmental 10 hazards on existing commercial and industrial land across 11 this Commonwealth is vital to their use and reuse as sources 12 of employment, housing, recreation and open-space areas. The 13 reuse of industrial land is an important component of a sound 14 land-use policy that will help prevent the needless 15 development of prime farmland, open-space areas and natural 16 areas and reduce public costs for installing new water, sewer 17 and highway infrastructure. 18 (2) Incentives should be put in place to encourage 19 responsible persons to voluntarily develop and implement 20 cleanup plans without the use of taxpayer funds or the need 21 for adversarial enforcement actions by the Department of 22 Environmental Resources which frequently only serve to delay 23 cleanups and increase their cost. 24 (3) Public health and environmental hazards cannot be 25 eliminated without clear, predictable environmental 26 remediation standards and a process for developing those 27 standards. Any remediation standards adopted by this 28 Commonwealth must provide for the protection of public health 29 and the environment. 30 (4) It is necessary for the General Assembly to adopt a 19950S0001B0525 - 3 -
1 statute which sets environmental remediation standards to 2 provide a uniform framework for cleanup decisions because few 3 environmental statutes set cleanup standards and to avoid 4 potentially conflicting and confusing environmental 5 standards. The General Assembly also has a duty to implement 6 the provisions of section 27 of Article I of the Constitution 7 of Pennsylvania with respect to environmental remediation 8 activities. 9 (5) Cleanup plans should be based on the actual risk 10 that contamination on the site may pose to public health and 11 the environment, taking into account its future use and the 12 degree to which contamination can spread offsite and expose 13 the public or the environment to risk, not on cleanup 14 policies requiring every site in this Commonwealth to be 15 returned to a pristine condition. 16 (6) The Department of Environmental Resources now 17 routinely through its permitting policies determines when 18 contamination will and will not pose a significant risk to 19 public health or the environment. Similar concepts should be 20 used in establishing cleanup policies. 21 (7) The public is entitled to understand how remediation 22 standards are applied to a site through a plain language 23 description of contamination present on a site, the risk it 24 poses to public health and the environment and any proposed 25 cleanup measure. 26 Section 103. Definitions. 27 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall 28 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the 29 context clearly indicates otherwise: 30 "Agricultural chemical." A substance defined as a 19950S0001B0525 - 4 -
1 fertilizer, soil conditioner or plant growth substance under the 2 act of May 29, 1956 (P.L.1795, No.598), known as the 3 Pennsylvania Fertilizer, Soil Conditioner and Plant Growth 4 Substance Law, or a substance regulated under the act of March 5 1, 1974 (P.L.90, No.24), known as the Pennsylvania Pesticide 6 Control Act of 1973. 7 "Agricultural chemical facility." A facility where 8 agricultural chemicals are held, stored, blended, formulated, 9 sold or distributed. The term does not include facilities 10 identified by SIC 2879 where agricultural chemicals are 11 manufactured. 12 "Aquifer." A geologic formation, group of formations or part 13 of a formation capable of a sustainable yield of significant 14 amount of water to a well or spring. 15 "Background." The concentration of a regulated substance 16 determined by appropriate statistical methods that is present on 17 the site, but is not related to the release of regulated 18 substances at the site. 19 "BADCT" or "Best Available Demonstrated Control Technology." 20 The commercially available engineering technology which has 21 demonstrated at full scale on a consistent basis that it most 22 effectively achieves the standard for a remediation action for a 23 regulated substance at a contaminated site under similar 24 applications. 25 "Board." The Cleanup Standards Scientific Advisory Board 26 established in section 105. 27 "Carcinogen." A chemical, biological or physical agent 28 defined by the Environmental Protection Agency as a human 29 carcinogen. 30 "Contaminant." A regulated substance released into the 19950S0001B0525 - 5 -
1 environment. 2 "Control." To apply engineering measures, such as capping or 3 treatment, or institutional measures, such as deed restrictions, 4 to sites with contaminated media. 5 "Department." The Department of Environmental Resources of 6 the Commonwealth or its successor agency. 7 "Engineering controls." Remedial actions directed 8 exclusively toward containing or controlling the migration of 9 regulated substances through the environment. These include, but 10 are not limited to, slurry walls, liner systems, caps, leachate 11 collection systems and groundwater recovery trenches. 12 "EPA." The Environmental Protection Agency or its successor 13 agency. 14 "Fate and transport." A term used to describe the 15 degradation of a chemical over time, and where chemicals are 16 likely to move given their physical and other properties and the 17 environmental medium they are moving through. 18 "Groundwater." Water below the land surface in a zone of 19 saturation. 20 "Hazard index." The sum of more than one hazard quotient for 21 multiple substances and multiple exposure pathways. The hazard 22 index is calculated separately for chronic, subchronic and 23 shorter duration exposures. 24 "Hazard quotient." The ratio of a single substance exposure 25 level over a specified period, e.g. subchronic, to a reference 26 dose for that substance derived from a similar exposure period. 27 "Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund." The fund established under 28 the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), known as the 29 Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act. 30 "Health advisory levels" or "HALs." The health advisory 19950S0001B0525 - 6 -
1 levels published by the United States Environmental Protection 2 Agency for particular substances. 3 "Industrial activity." Commercial, manufacturing, public 4 utility, mining or any other activity done to further either the 5 development, manufacturing or distribution of goods and 6 services, including, but not limited to, administration of 7 business activities, research and development, warehousing, 8 shipping, transport, remanufacturing, stockpiling, storage, 9 solid waste management, repair and maintenance of raw materials, 10 intermediate and final products and solid waste created during 11 such activities, commercial machinery and equipment. 12 "Institutional controls." A measure undertaken to limit or 13 prohibit certain activities that may interfere with the 14 integrity of a remedial action or result in exposure to 15 regulated substances at a site. These include, but are not 16 limited to, fencing or restrictions on the future use of the 17 site. 18 "Medium-specific concentration." The concentration 19 associated with a specified environmental medium for potential 20 risk exposures. 21 "Mitigation measures." Any remediation action performed by a 22 person prior to or during implementation of a remediation plan 23 with the intent to protect human health and the environment. 24 "Municipality." A township, borough, city, incorporated 25 village or home rule municipality. This term shall not include a 26 county. 27 "Nonresidential property." Any real property on which 28 commercial, industrial, manufacturing or any other activity is 29 done to further either the development, manufacturing or 30 distribution of goods and services, including, but not limited 19950S0001B0525 - 7 -
1 to, administration of business activities, research and 2 development, warehousing, shipping, transport, remanufacturing, 3 stockpiling of raw materials, storage, repair and maintenance of 4 commercial machinery and equipment or intermediate and final 5 products and solid waste management. This term shall not include 6 schools, nursing homes or other residential-style facilities. 7 "Person." An individual, firm, corporation, association, 8 partnership, consortium, joint venture, commercial entity, 9 authority, nonprofit corporation, interstate body or other legal 10 entity which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and 11 duties. The term includes the Federal Government, State 12 government, political subdivisions and Commonwealth 13 instrumentalities. 14 "Point of compliance." For the purposes of determining 15 compliance with groundwater standards, the property boundary at 16 the time the area of contamination is defined or such point 17 beyond the property boundary as the Department of Environmental 18 Resources may determine to be appropriate. 19 "Practical quantitation limit." The lowest limit that can be 20 reliably achieved within specified limits of precision and 21 accuracy under routine laboratory conditions for a specified 22 matrix and based on quantitation, precision and accuracy, normal 23 operation of a laboratory and the practical need in a 24 compliance-monitoring program to have a sufficient number of 25 laboratories available to conduct the analyses. 26 "Public utility." The term shall have the same meaning as 27 given to it in 66 Pa.C.S. (relating to public utilities). 28 "Regulated substance." The term shall include hazardous 29 substances regulated under the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, 30 No.108), known as the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, and 19950S0001B0525 - 8 -
1 substances covered by the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, 2 No.394), known as The Clean Streams Law, the act of January 8, 3 1960 (1959 P.L.2119, No.787), known as the Air Pollution Control 4 Act, the act of July 7, 1980 (P.L.380, No.97), known as the 5 Solid Waste Management Act, the act of July 13, 1988 (P.L.525, 6 No.93), referred to as the Infectious and Chemotherapeutic Waste 7 Law, and the act of July 6, 1989 (P.L.169, No.32), known as the 8 Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act. 9 "Release." Spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, 10 emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping or 11 disposing of a regulated substance into the environment in a 12 manner not authorized by the Department of Environmental 13 Resources. The term includes the abandonment or discarding of 14 barrels, containers, vessels and other receptacles containing a 15 regulated substance. 16 "Remediation." To clean up, mitigate, correct, abate, 17 minimize, eliminate, control or prevent a release of a regulated 18 substance into the environment in order to protect the present 19 or future public health, safety, welfare or the environment, 20 including preliminary actions to study or assess the release. 21 "Residential property." Any property or portion of the 22 property which does not meet the definition of "nonresidential 23 property." 24 "Responsible person." The term shall have the same meaning 25 as given to it in the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), 26 known as the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, and shall include a 27 person subject to enforcement actions for substances covered by 28 the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394), known as The Clean 29 Streams Law, the act of January 8, 1960 (1959 P.L.2119, No.787), 30 known as the Air Pollution Control Act, the act of July 7, 1980 19950S0001B0525 - 9 -
1 (P.L.380, No.97), known as the Solid Waste Management Act, the 2 act of July 13, 1988 (P.L.525, No.93), referred to as the 3 Infectious and Chemotherapeutic Waste Law, and the act of July 4 6, 1989 (P.L.169, No.32), known as the Storage Tank and Spill 5 Prevention Act. 6 "Secretary." The Secretary of Environmental Resources of the 7 Commonwealth. 8 "Site." The extent of contamination originating within the 9 property boundaries and all areas in close proximity to the 10 contamination necessary for the implementation of remediation 11 activities to be conducted under this act. 12 "Systemic toxicant." A material that manifests its toxic 13 effect in humans in a form other than cancer. 14 "Treatment." The term shall have the same meaning as given 15 to it in the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), known as 16 the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act. 17 Section 104. Powers and duties. 18 (a) Environmental Quality Board.--The Environmental Quality 19 Board shall have the power and its duty shall be to adopt by 20 regulation Statewide health standards, appropriate 21 mathematically valid statistical tests to define compliance with 22 this act and other regulations that may be needed to implement 23 the provisions of this act. Any regulations needed to implement 24 this act shall be proposed by the department no later than 12 25 months after the effective date of this act and shall be 26 finalized no later than 24 months after the effective date of 27 this act, unless otherwise specified in this act. 28 (b) Department.--The department shall have the power and its 29 duty shall be to implement the provisions of this act. 30 Section 105. Cleanup Standards Scientific Advisory Board. 19950S0001B0525 - 10 -
1 (a) Establishment.--There is hereby created a 13-member 2 Cleanup Standards Scientific Advisory Board for the purpose of 3 assisting the department and the Environmental Quality Board in 4 developing Statewide health standards, determining the 5 appropriate statistically and scientifically valid procedures to 6 be used, determining the appropriate risk factors and providing 7 other technical and scientific advice as needed to implement the 8 provisions of this act. 9 (b) Membership.--Five members shall be appointed by the 10 secretary and two members each by the President pro tempore of 11 the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of 12 the House of Representatives and the Minority Leader of the 13 House of Representatives. Members shall have a background in 14 engineering, biology, hydrogeology, statistics, medicine, 15 chemistry, toxicology or other related scientific education or 16 experience that relates to problems and issues likely to be 17 encountered in developing health-based cleanup standards and 18 other procedures needed to implement the provisions of this act. 19 The board membership shall include representatives of local 20 government, the public, the academic community, professionals 21 with the appropriate background and the regulated community 22 (manufacturing, small business and other members of the business 23 community). The members shall serve for a period of four years. 24 The initial terms of the members shall be staggered so that at 25 least one-half of the members' terms expire in two years. 26 (c) Organization.--The board shall elect a chairperson by 27 majority vote and may adopt any bylaws or procedures it deems 28 necessary to accomplish its purpose. Recommendations, positions 29 or other actions of the board shall be by a majority of its 30 members. 19950S0001B0525 - 11 -
1 (d) Expenses.--Members of the board shall be reimbursed for 2 their travel expenses to attend meetings as authorized by the 3 executive board. 4 (e) Support.--The department shall provide the appropriate 5 administrative and technical support needed by the board in 6 order to accomplish its purpose, including support for surveys 7 and technical studies the board may wish to undertake. The 8 department shall publish a notice of meeting dates, times and 9 locations and a list of topics to be discussed at any meeting no 10 less than 14 days prior to the meeting, published in the same 11 manner as required by the act of July 3, 1986 (P.L.388, No.84), 12 known as the Sunshine Act. 13 (f) Interested persons list.--The department shall maintain 14 a mailing list of persons interested in receiving notice of 15 meetings and the activities of the board. The department shall 16 name a contact person to be responsible for board meetings and 17 to serve as a contact for the public to ask questions and get 18 information about the board. 19 (g) Access to documents.--The board shall have access to all 20 policies and procedures, draft proposed or final regulations or 21 issue papers which the board determines are necessary to 22 achieving its purpose. 23 Section 106. Scope. 24 The environmental remediation standards established under 25 this act shall be used whenever site remediation and cleanup is 26 conducted under the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394), 27 known as The Clean Streams Law, the act of January 8, 1960 (1959 28 P.L.2119, No.787), known as the Air Pollution Control Act, the 29 act of July 7, 1980 (P.L.380, No.97), known as the Solid Waste 30 Management Act, the act of July 13, 1988 (P.L.525, No.93), 19950S0001B0525 - 12 -
1 referred to as the Infectious and Chemotherapeutic Waste Law,
2 the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), known as the
3 Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, and the act of July 6, 1989
4 (P.L.169, No.32), known as the Storage Tank and Spill Prevention
5 Act, to be eligible for cleanup liability protection under
6 Chapter 5.
7 Section 107. Existing standards.
8 (a) General rule.--The department may continue to use
9 cleanup standards not adopted under the provisions of this act
10 for a period of up to three years after the effective date of
11 this act, unless such existing standards are revised or replaced
12 by regulations adopted under this act. All regulations,
13 policies, guidance documents and procedures relating to
14 remediation which were not adopted under the provisions of this
15 act shall expire three years after the effective date of this
16 act. The standards established in sections 302, 303(b)(3) and
17 304 shall be available for use on the effective date of this act
18 and shall supersede existing regulations, policies, guidance
19 documents and procedures.
20 (b) Agreements and consent orders.--The standards
21 established under this act are not intended to impose more
22 stringent cleanup standards than those which are contained in
23 any prior administrative consent order, consent adjudication,
24 judicially approved consent order, or other settlement agreement
25 entered into with the department under the authority of any of
26 the statutes referred to in section 104 106 and which were <--
27 entered into with the department on or before the effective date
28 of this act, unless all parties thereto agree to such change.
29 CHAPTER 3
30 REMEDIATION STANDARDS AND REVIEW PROCEDURES
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1 Section 301. Remediation standards. 2 (a) Standards.--Any person who proposes to respond to the 3 release of a regulated substance at a site and to be eligible 4 for the cleanup liability protection under Chapter 5 shall 5 select and attain compliance with one or more of the following 6 environmental standards when conducting remediation activities: 7 (1) a background standard which achieves background or 8 the practical quantitation limit as further specified in 9 section 302; 10 (2) a Statewide health standard adopted by the 11 Environmental Quality Board which achieves a uniform 12 Statewide health-based level so that any substantial present 13 or probable future risk to human health and the environment 14 is eliminated as specified in section 303; or 15 (3) a site-specific standard which achieves remediation 16 levels based on a site-specific risk assessment so that any 17 substantial present or probable future risk to human health 18 and the environment is eliminated or reduced to protective 19 levels based upon the present or currently planned future use 20 of the property comprising the site as specified in section 21 304. 22 (b) Combination of standards.--A person may use a 23 combination of the remediation standards to implement a site 24 remediation plan and may propose to use the site-specific 25 standard whether or not efforts have been made to attain the 26 background or Statewide health standard. 27 Section 302. Background standard. 28 (a) Standard.--Persons selecting the background standard 29 shall meet a standard that is the greater of either of the 30 following concentrations for each regulated substance in each 19950S0001B0525 - 14 -
1 environmental medium: 2 (1) background as represented by the results of analyses 3 of representative samples; or 4 (2) the achievable practical quantitation limit. 5 (b) Attainment.--Final certification that a site or portion 6 of a site meets the background standard shall be documented in 7 the following manner: 8 (1) Attainment of the background standard shall be 9 demonstrated by collection and analysis of representative 10 samples from environmental media of concern, including soils 11 and groundwater in aquifers in the area where the 12 contamination occurs through the application of statistical 13 tests set forth in regulation or, if no regulations have been 14 adopted, in a demonstration of a mathematically valid 15 application of statistical tests. The Department of 16 Environmental Resources shall also recognize those methods of 17 attainment demonstration generally recognized as appropriate 18 for that particular remediation. 19 (2) A final report that documents attainment of the 20 background standard shall be submitted to the department 21 which includes, as appropriate: 22 (i) The descriptions of procedures and conclusions 23 of the site investigation to characterize the nature, 24 extent, direction, volume and composition. 25 (ii) The basis for selecting environmental media of 26 concern, descriptions of removal or decontamination 27 procedures performed in remediation, summaries of 28 sampling methodology and analytical results which 29 demonstrate that remediation has attained the background 30 standard. 19950S0001B0525 - 15 -
1 (3) Where remediation measures do not involve removal or 2 treatment of a contaminant to the background standard, the 3 final report shall demonstrate that any remaining 4 contaminants on the site will meet Statewide health standards 5 and show compliance with any postremediation care 6 requirements that may be needed to maintain compliance with 7 the Statewide health standards. 8 (4) Institutional controls such as fencing and future 9 land use restrictions on a site may not be used to attain the 10 background standard. Institutional controls may be used to 11 maintain the background standard after remediation occurs. 12 (c) Authority reserved.--If a person fails to demonstrate 13 attainment of the background standard, the department may 14 require that additional remediation measures be taken in order 15 to meet the background standard or the person may select to meet 16 the requirements of section 303 or 304. 17 (d) Deed notice.--Persons attaining and demonstrating 18 compliance with the background standard for all regulated 19 substances throughout a site shall not be subject to the deed 20 acknowledgment requirements of the act of July 7, 1980 (P.L.380, 21 No.97), known as the Solid Waste Management Act, or the act of 22 October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), known as the Hazardous Sites 23 Cleanup Act. An existing acknowledgment contained in a deed 24 prior to demonstrating compliance with the background standard 25 may be removed. 26 (e) Notice and review provisions.--Persons utilizing the 27 background standard shall comply with the following requirements 28 for notifying the public and the department of planned 29 remediation activities: 30 (1) Notice of intent to initiate remediation activities 19950S0001B0525 - 16 -
1 shall be made in the following manner: 2 (i) A notice of intent to remediate a site shall be 3 submitted to the department which, to the extent known, 4 provides a brief description of the location of the site, 5 a listing of the contaminant or contaminants involved, a 6 description of the intended future use of the property 7 for employment opportunities, housing, open space, 8 recreation or other uses, and the proposed remediation 9 measures. The department shall publish an acknowledgment 10 noting receipt of the notice of intent in the 11 Pennsylvania Bulletin. 12 (ii) At the same time a notice of intent to 13 remediate a site is submitted to the department, a copy 14 of the notice shall be provided to the municipality in 15 which the site is located and a summary of the notice of 16 intent shall be published in a newspaper of general 17 circulation serving the area in which the site is 18 located. 19 (2) Notice of the submission of the final report 20 demonstrating attainment of the background standard shall be 21 given to the municipality in which the remediation site is 22 located, published in a newspaper of general circulation 23 serving the area and in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. 24 (3) The department shall review the final report 25 demonstrating attainment of the background standard within 60 26 days of its receipt or notify the person submitting the 27 report of substantive deficiencies. If the department does 28 not respond with deficiencies within 60 days, the final 29 report shall be deemed approved. 30 (4) The notices provided for in paragraphs (1) and (2) 19950S0001B0525 - 17 -
1 are not required to be made or published if the person 2 conducting the remediation submits the final report 3 demonstrating attainment of the background standard as 4 required by this section within 90 days of the release. If 5 the final report demonstrating attainment is not submitted to 6 the department within 90 days of the release, all notices and 7 procedures required by this section shall apply. This 8 paragraph is only applicable to releases occurring after the 9 effective date of this act. 10 Section 303. Statewide health standard. 11 (a) Standard.--The Environmental Quality Board shall 12 promulgate Statewide health standards for regulated substances 13 for each environmental medium. The standards shall include any 14 existing numerical residential and nonresidential health-based 15 standards adopted by the department and by the Federal 16 Government by regulation or statute, and health advisory levels. 17 For those health-based standards not already established by 18 regulation or statute, the department shall, by regulation, 19 propose residential and nonresidential medium-specific 20 concentrations within 12 months of the effective date of this 21 act. The Environmental Quality Board shall also promulgate, 22 along with the standards, the methods used to calculate the 23 standards. Standards adopted under this section shall be no more 24 stringent than those standards adopted by the Federal 25 Government. 26 (b) Medium-specific requirements.--The following 27 requirements shall be used in defining a medium-specific 28 concentration limit: 29 (1) Any discharge or release into surface water 30 occurring during or after attainment of the Statewide health 19950S0001B0525 - 18 -
1 standard shall comply with applicable laws and regulations 2 relating to surface water discharges. 3 (2) Any emissions to the outdoor air occurring during or 4 after attainment of the Statewide health standard shall 5 comply with applicable laws and regulations relating to 6 emissions into the outdoor air. 7 (3) The concentration of a regulated substance in 8 groundwater in aquifers used or currently planned to be used 9 for drinking water or for agricultural purposes shall comply 10 with the maximum contaminant level or health advisory level 11 established for drinking water. Where no maximum contaminant 12 level or health advisory level has been established, the 13 ingestion medium-specific concentration level for residential 14 exposure shall be used. If the groundwater at the site has 15 naturally occurring background total dissolved solids 16 concentrations greater than 2,500 milligrams per liter, the 17 remediation standard for a regulated substance dissolved in 18 the groundwater may be adjusted by multiplying the medium- 19 specific concentration for groundwater in aquifers by 100. 20 The resulting value becomes the maximum contaminant level for 21 groundwater. 22 (4) For the residential standard, the concentration of a 23 regulated substance in soil shall not exceed either the 24 direct contact soil medium-specific concentration based on 25 residential exposure factors within a depth of 15 feet from 26 the existing ground surface, or the soil-to-groundwater 27 pathway numeric value throughout the soil column, the latter 28 to be determined by any one of the following methods: 29 (i) A value which is 100 times the medium-specific 30 concentration for groundwater. 19950S0001B0525 - 19 -
1 (ii) A concentration in soil at the site that does 2 not produce a leachate in excess of the medium-specific 3 concentrations for groundwater in the aquifer when 4 subjected to the Synthetic Precipitation Leaching 5 Procedures, Method 1312 of SW 846, Test Methods for 6 Evaluating Solid Waste, promulgated by the United States 7 Environmental Protection Agency. 8 (iii) A generic value determined not to produce a 9 concentration in groundwater in the aquifer in excess of 10 the medium-specific concentration for groundwater based 11 on a valid, peer-reviewed scientific method which 12 properly accounts for factors affecting the fate, 13 transport and attenuation of the regulated substance 14 throughout the soil column. 15 (5) For the nonresidential standard, the concentration 16 of a regulated substance in soil within a depth of 15 feet 17 from the existing ground surface shall not exceed either the 18 direct contact soil medium-specific concentration based on 19 nonresidential exposure factors using valid scientific 20 methods reflecting worker exposure or the soil to groundwater 21 pathway numeric value determined in accordance with paragraph 22 (4). 23 (6) Exposure scenarios for medium-specific 24 concentrations for nonresidential conditions shall be 25 established using valid scientific methods reflecting worker 26 exposure. 27 (c) Additional limits.--For those regulated substances where 28 medium-specific concentration limits cannot be established using 29 the procedures in subsection (b), the medium-specific 30 concentration limits for the ingestion of groundwater, 19950S0001B0525 - 20 -
1 inhalation of soils, ingestion and inhalation of volatiles and 2 particulates from the soils shall be calculated by the 3 department using valid scientific methods, reasonable exposure 4 pathway assumptions and exposure factors for residential and 5 nonresidential land use which are no more stringent than the 6 standard default exposure factors established by EPA based on 7 the following levels of risk: 8 (1) For a regulated substance which is a carcinogen, the 9 medium-specific concentration is the concentration which 10 represents an excess upper bound lifetime cancer target risk 11 of between 1 in 10,000 and 1 in 1,000,000 due to continuous 12 lifetime exposure for residential scenarios and a 13 noncontinuous exposure for nonresidential exposure scenarios. 14 (2) For a regulated substance which is a systemic 15 toxicant, the medium-specific concentration is the 16 concentration to which human populations could be exposed by 17 direct ingestion or inhalation on a daily basis without 18 appreciable risk of deleterious effects for the exposed 19 population. 20 (d) Relationship to background.--The concentration of a 21 regulated substance in an environmental media of concern on a 22 site where the Statewide health standard has been selected shall 23 not be required to meet the Statewide health standard if the 24 Statewide health standard is numerically less than the 25 achievable practical quantitative limit. In such cases, the 26 achievable practical quantitative limit shall apply. 27 (e) Attainment.--Final certification that a site or portion 28 of a site meets the Statewide health standard shall be 29 documented in the following manner: 30 (1) Attainment of cleanup levels shall be demonstrated 19950S0001B0525 - 21 -
1 by collection and analysis of representative samples from the 2 environmental medium of concern, including soils, and 3 groundwater in aquifers at the point of compliance through 4 the application of statistical tests set forth in regulation 5 or, if no regulations have been adopted, in a demonstration 6 of a mathematically valid application of statistical tests. 7 The Department of Environmental Resources shall also 8 recognize those methods of attainment demonstration generally 9 recognized as appropriate for that particular remediation. 10 (2) A final report that documents attainment of the 11 Statewide health standard shall be submitted to the 12 department which includes the descriptions of procedures and 13 conclusions of the site investigation to characterize the 14 nature, extent, direction, rate of movement off the site and 15 cumulative effects, if any, volume, composition, 16 concentration of contaminants in environmental media, the 17 basis for selecting environmental media of concern, 18 documentation supporting the selection of residential or 19 nonresidential exposure factors, descriptions of removal or 20 decontamination procedures performed in remediation, 21 summaries of sampling methodology and analytical results 22 which demonstrate that contaminants have been removed or 23 decontaminated to applicable levels and documentation of 24 compliance with postremediation care requirements if they are 25 needed to maintain the Statewide health standard. 26 (3) Institutional controls such as fencing and future 27 land use restrictions on a site may not be used to attain the 28 Statewide health standard. Institutional controls may be used 29 to maintain the Statewide health standard after remediation 30 occurs. 19950S0001B0525 - 22 -
1 (f) Authority reserved.--If a person fails to demonstrate 2 attainment of the Statewide health standard, the department may 3 require that additional remediation measures be taken in order 4 to meet the health standard or the person may select to meet the 5 requirements of section 302 or 304. 6 (g) Deed notice.--Persons attaining and demonstrating 7 compliance with the Statewide health standard considering 8 residential exposure factors for a regulated substance on the 9 entire site shall not be subject to the deed acknowledgment 10 requirements of the act of July 7, 1980 (P.L.380, No.97), known 11 as the Solid Waste Management Act, or the act of October 18, 12 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), known as the Hazardous Sites Cleanup 13 Act. An existing acknowledgment contained in a deed prior to 14 demonstrating compliance with the residential Statewide health 15 standard may be removed. The deed acknowledgment requirements 16 shall apply where nonresidential exposure factors were used to 17 comply with the Statewide health standard. 18 (h) Notice and review provisions.--Persons utilizing the 19 Statewide health standard shall comply with the following 20 requirements for notifying the public and the department of 21 planned remediation activities: 22 (1) Notice of intent to initiate remediation activities 23 shall be made in the following manner: 24 (i) A notice of intent to remediate a site shall be 25 submitted to the department which provides, to the extent 26 known, a brief description of the location of the site, a 27 listing of the contaminant or contaminants involved, a 28 description of the intended future use of the property 29 for employment opportunities, housing, open space, 30 recreation or other uses and the proposed remediation 19950S0001B0525 - 23 -
1 measures. The department shall publish an acknowledgment 2 noting receipt of the notice of intent in the 3 Pennsylvania Bulletin. 4 (ii) At the same time a notice of intent to 5 remediate a site is submitted to the department, a copy 6 of the notice shall be provided to the municipality in 7 which the site is located and a summary of the notice of 8 intent shall be published in a newspaper of general 9 circulation serving the area in which the site is 10 located. 11 (2) Notice of the submission of the final report 12 demonstrating attainment of the Statewide health standard 13 shall be given to the municipality in which the remediation 14 site is located, published in a newspaper of general 15 circulation serving the area and in the Pennsylvania 16 Bulletin. 17 (3) The department shall review the final report 18 demonstrating attainment of the Statewide health standard 19 within 60 days of its receipt or notify the person submitting 20 the report of substantive deficiencies. If the department 21 does not respond with deficiencies within 60 days, the final 22 report shall be deemed approved. 23 (4) The notices provided for in paragraphs (1) and (2) 24 are not required to be made or published if the person 25 conducting the remediation submits the final report 26 demonstrating attainment of the Statewide health standard as 27 required by this section within 90 days of the release. If 28 the final report demonstrating attainment is not submitted to 29 the department within 90 days of the release, all notices and 30 procedures required by this section shall apply. This 19950S0001B0525 - 24 -
1 paragraph is only applicable to releases occurring after the 2 effective date of this act. 3 Section 304. Site-specific standard. 4 (a) General.--Where a site-specific standard is selected as 5 the environmental remediation standard or where the background 6 or Statewide health standard is selected but not achieved, site 7 investigation, risk assessment, cleanup plans and final reports 8 shall be developed using the procedures and factors established 9 by this section. 10 (b) Carcinogens.--For known or suspected carcinogens, soil 11 and groundwater cleanup standards shall be established at 12 exposures which represent an excess upper-bound lifetime risk of 13 between 1 in 10,000 and 1 in 1,000,000. The cumulative excess 14 risk to exposed populations, including sensitive subgroups, 15 shall not be greater than 1 in 10,000. 16 (c) Systemic toxicants.--For systemic toxicants, soil and 17 groundwater cleanup standards shall represent levels to which 18 the human population could be exposed on a daily basis without 19 appreciable risk of deleterious effect to the exposed 20 population. Where several systemic toxicants affect the same 21 target organ or act by the same method of toxicity, the hazard 22 index shall not exceed one. The hazard index is the sum of the 23 hazard quotients for multiple systemic toxicants acting through 24 a single-medium exposure pathway or through multiple-media 25 exposure pathways. 26 (d) Groundwater.--Cleanup standards for groundwater shall be 27 established using the following considerations: 28 (1) For groundwater in aquifers, site-specific standards 29 shall be established using the following procedures: 30 (i) The current and probable future use of 19950S0001B0525 - 25 -
1 groundwater shall be identified and protected. 2 Groundwater that has a background total dissolved solids 3 content greater than 2,500 milligrams per liter or is not 4 capable of transmitting water to a pumping well in usable 5 and sustainable quantities shall not be considered a 6 current or potential source of drinking water. 7 (ii) Site-specific sources of contaminants and 8 potential receptors shall be identified. 9 (iii) Natural environmental conditions affecting the 10 fate and transport of contaminants, such as natural 11 attenuation, shall be determined by appropriate 12 scientific methods. 13 (2) Groundwater not in aquifers shall be evaluated using 14 current or probable future exposure scenarios. Appropriate 15 management actions shall be instituted at the point of 16 exposure where a person is exposed to groundwater by 17 ingestion or other avenues to protect human health and the 18 environment. This shall not preclude taking appropriate 19 source management actions by the responsible party to achieve 20 the equivalent level of protection. 21 (e) Soil.--Concentrations of regulated substances in soil 22 shall not exceed: values calculated in accordance with 23 subsections (b) and (c) based on human ingestion of soil where 24 direct contact exposure to the soil may reasonably occur; values 25 calculated to protect groundwater in aquifers at levels 26 determined in accordance with subsections (b), (c) and (d); and 27 values calculated to satisfy the requirements of subsection (g) 28 with respect to discharges or releases to surface water or 29 emissions to the outdoor air. Such determinations shall take 30 into account the effects of institutional and engineering 19950S0001B0525 - 26 -
1 controls, if any, and shall be based on sound scientific 2 principles, including fate and transport analysis of the 3 migration of a regulated substance in relation to receptor 4 exposures. 5 (f) Factors.--In determining soil and groundwater cleanup 6 standards under subsections (d) and (e), the following factors 7 shall also be considered: 8 (1) Use of appropriate standard exposure factors for the 9 land use of the site with reference to current and currently 10 planned future land use and the effectiveness of 11 institutional or legal controls placed on the future use of 12 the land. 13 (2) Use of appropriate statistical techniques, 14 including, but not limited to, Monte Carlo simulations, to 15 establish statistically valid cleanup standards. 16 (3) The potential of human ingestion of regulated 17 substances in surface water or other site-specific surface 18 water exposure pathways, if applicable. 19 (4) The potential of human inhalation of regulated 20 substances from the outdoor air and other site-specific air 21 exposure pathways, if applicable. 22 (g) Air and surface water.--Any discharge into surface water 23 or any emissions to the outdoor air which occur during or after 24 attainment of the site-specific standard shall comply with 25 applicable laws and regulations relating to surface water 26 discharges or emissions into the outdoor air, unless the site 27 investigation and site assessment demonstrate, using the latest 28 peer-reviewed toxicological data, that a standard other than 29 those in applicable laws and regulations would protect public 30 health and the environment. 19950S0001B0525 - 27 -
1 (h) Relationship to background.--The concentration of a 2 regulated substance in an environmental medium of concern on a 3 site where the site-specific standard has been selected shall 4 not be required to meet the site-specific standard if the site- 5 specific standard is numerically less than the achievable 6 practical quantitative limit. In such cases, the achievable 7 practical quantitative limit shall apply. 8 (i) Combination of measures.--The standards may be attained 9 through a combination of remediation activities that can include 10 treatment, removal, engineering or institutional controls and 11 can include innovative or other demonstrated measures. 12 (j) Remedy evaluation.--The final remediation plan for a 13 site submitted to the department shall include remediation 14 alternatives and a final remedy which consider each of the 15 following factors: 16 (1) Long-term risks and effectiveness of the proposed 17 remedy that includes an evaluation of: 18 (i) The magnitude of risks remaining after 19 completion of the remedial action. 20 (ii) The type, degree and duration of 21 postremediation care required, including, but not limited 22 to, operation and maintenance, monitoring, inspections 23 and reports and their frequencies or other activities 24 which will be necessary to protect human health and the 25 environment. 26 (iii) Potential for exposure of human and 27 environmental receptors to regulated substances remaining 28 at the site. 29 (iv) Long-term reliability of any engineering and 30 voluntary institutional controls. 19950S0001B0525 - 28 -
1 (v) Potential need for repair, maintenance or 2 replacement of components of the remedy. 3 (vi) Time to achieve cleanup standards. 4 (2) Reduction of the toxicity, mobility or volume of 5 regulated substances, including the amount of regulated 6 substances that will be removed, contained, treated or 7 destroyed, the degree of expected reduction in toxicity, 8 mobility or volume and the type, quantity, toxicity and 9 mobility of regulated substances remaining after 10 implementation of the remedy. 11 (3) Short-term risks and effectiveness of the remedy, 12 including the short-term risks that may be posed to the 13 community, workers or the environment during implementation 14 of the remedy and the effectiveness and reliability of 15 protective measures to address short-term risks. 16 (4) The ease or difficulty of implementing the proposed 17 remedy, including commercially available remedial measures 18 which are BADCT, degree of difficulty associated with 19 constructing the remedy, expected operational reliability, 20 available capacity and location of needed treatment, storage 21 and disposal services for wastes, time to initiate remedial 22 efforts and approvals necessary to implement the remedial 23 efforts. 24 (5) The cost of the remediation measure, including 25 capital costs, operation and maintenance costs, net present 26 value of capital and operation and maintenance costs and the 27 total costs and effectiveness of the system. 28 (6) The incremental health and economic benefits shall 29 be evaluated by comparing those benefits to the incremental 30 health and economic costs associated with implementation of 19950S0001B0525 - 29 -
1 remedial measures. 2 (k) Attainment.--Compliance with the site-specific standard 3 is attained for a site or portion of a site when a remedy 4 approved by the department has been implemented in compliance 5 with the following criteria: 6 (1) Soil, groundwater, surface water and air emission 7 standards as determined under subsections (a) through (h) 8 have been attained. 9 (2) Attainment of the site-specific standard shall be 10 demonstrated by collection and analysis of samples from 11 affected media, as applicable, such as surface water, soil, 12 groundwater in aquifers at the point of compliance through 13 the application of statistical tests set forth in regulation 14 or, if no regulations have been adopted, in a demonstration 15 of a mathematically valid application of statistical tests. 16 The Department of Environmental Resources shall also 17 recognize those methods of attainment demonstration generally 18 recognized as appropriate for that particular remediation. 19 (l) Site investigation and remedy selection.--Any person 20 selecting to comply with site-specific standards established by 21 this section shall submit the following reports and evaluations, 22 as required under this section, for review and approval by the 23 department: 24 (1) A remedial investigation report shall be submitted 25 which includes: 26 (i) Documentation and descriptions of procedures and 27 conclusions from the site investigation to characterize 28 the nature, extent, direction, rate of movement, volume 29 and composition of regulated substances. 30 (ii) The concentration of regulated substances in 19950S0001B0525 - 30 -
1 environmental media of concern, including summaries of 2 sampling methodology and analytical results, and 3 information obtained from attempts to comply with the 4 background or Statewide health standards, if any. 5 (iii) A description of the existing or potential 6 public benefits of the use or reuse of the property for 7 employment opportunities, housing, open space, recreation 8 or other uses. 9 (iv) A fate and transport analysis may be included 10 in the report to demonstrate that no present or future 11 exposure pathways exist. 12 (v) If no exposure pathways exist, a risk assessment 13 report and cleanup plan are not required and no remedy is 14 required to be proposed or completed. 15 (2) If required, a risk assessment report shall describe 16 the potential adverse effects under both current and planned 17 future conditions caused by the presence of a regulated 18 substance in the absence of any further control, remediation 19 or mitigation measures. A baseline risk assessment report is 20 not required where it is determined that a specific 21 remediation measure can be implemented to attain the site- 22 specific standard. 23 (3) A cleanup plan shall evaluate the relative abilities 24 and effectiveness of potential remedies to achieve the 25 requirements for remedies described in subsection (k) when 26 considering the evaluation factors described in subsection 27 (j). The plan shall select a remedy which achieves the 28 requirements for remedies described in subsection (k). The 29 department may require a further evaluation of the selected 30 remedy or an evaluation of one or more additional remedies in 19950S0001B0525 - 31 -
1 response to comments received from the community surrounding 2 the site as a result of the community involvement plan 3 established in subsection (o) which are based on the factors 4 described in subsection (j) or as a result of its own 5 analysis which are based on the evaluation factors described 6 in subsection (j). 7 (4) A final report demonstrating that the approved 8 remedy has been completed in accordance with the cleanup plan 9 shall be submitted to the department. 10 (5) Nothing in this section shall preclude a person from 11 submitting a remedial investigation report, risk assessment 12 report and cleanup plan at one time to the department for 13 review. 14 (m) Deed notice.--Persons attaining and demonstrating 15 compliance with site-specific standards for a regulated 16 substance on a site shall be subject to the deed acknowledgment 17 requirements of the act of July 7, 1980 (P.L.380, No.97), known 18 as the Solid Waste Management Act, or the act of October 18, 19 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), known as the Hazardous Sites Cleanup 20 Act. The notice shall include whether residential or 21 nonresidential exposure factors were used to comply with the 22 site-specific standard. 23 (n) Notice and review provisions.--Persons utilizing the 24 site-specific standard shall comply with the following 25 requirements for notifying the public and the department of 26 planned remediation activities: 27 (1) (i) A notice of intent to remediate a site shall be 28 submitted to the department which provides, to the extent 29 known, a brief description of the location of the site, a 30 listing of the contaminant or contaminants involved and 19950S0001B0525 - 32 -
1 the proposed remediation measures. The department shall 2 publish an acknowledgment noting receipt of the notice of 3 intent in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. At the same time a 4 notice of intent to remediate a site is submitted to the 5 department, a copy of the notice shall be provided to the 6 municipality in which the site is located and a summary 7 of the notice of intent shall be published in a newspaper 8 of general circulation serving the area in which the site 9 is located. 10 (ii) The notices required by this paragraph shall 11 include a 30-day public and municipal comment period 12 during which the municipality can request to be involved 13 in the development of the remediation and reuse plans for 14 the site. If requested by the municipality, the person 15 undertaking the remediation shall develop and implement a 16 public involvement program plan which meets the 17 requirements of subsection (o). Persons undertaking the 18 remediation are encouraged to develop a proactive 19 approach to working with the municipality in developing 20 and implementing remediation and reuse plans. 21 (2) The following notice and review provisions apply 22 each time a remedial investigation report, risk assessment 23 report, cleanup plan and final report demonstrating 24 compliance with the site-specific standard is submitted to 25 the department: 26 (i) When the report or plan is submitted to the 27 department, a notice of its submission shall be provided 28 to the municipality in which the site is located and a 29 notice summarizing the findings and recommendations of 30 the report or plan shall be published in a newspaper of 19950S0001B0525 - 33 -
1 general circulation serving the area in which the site is 2 located. If the municipality requested to be involved in 3 the development of the remediation and reuse plans, the 4 reports and plans shall also include the comments 5 submitted by the municipality, the public and the 6 responses from the persons preparing the reports and 7 plans. 8 (ii) The department shall review the report or plan 9 within no more than 90 days of its receipt or notify the 10 person submitting the report of deficiencies. If the 11 department does not respond with deficiencies within 90 12 days, the report shall be deemed approved. 13 (3) If the remedial investigation report, risk 14 assessment report and cleanup plan are submitted at the same 15 time to the department, the department shall notify persons 16 of any deficiencies in 90 days. If the department does not 17 respond with deficiencies within 90 days, the reports are 18 deemed approved. 19 (o) Community involvement.--Persons using site-specific 20 standards are required to develop a public involvement plan 21 which involves the public in the cleanup and use of the property 22 if the municipality requests to be involved in the remediation 23 and reuse plans for the site. The plan shall propose measures to 24 involve the public in the development and review of the remedial 25 investigation report, risk assessment report, cleanup plan and 26 final report. Depending on the site involved, techniques such as 27 developing a proactive community information and consultation 28 program that includes door step notice of activities related to 29 remediation, public meetings and roundtable discussions, 30 convenient locations where documents related to a remediation 19950S0001B0525 - 34 -
1 can be made available to the public and designating a single 2 contact person to whom community residents can ask questions; 3 the formation of a community-based group which is used to 4 solicit suggestions and comments on the various reports required 5 by this section; if needed, the retention of trained, 6 independent third parties to facilitate meetings and discussions 7 and perform mediation services. 8 Section 305. Special industrial areas. 9 (a) Special sites.--For property used for industrial 10 activities where there is now no financially viable responsible 11 person to clean up contamination or for land located within 12 enterprise zones designated pursuant to the requirements of the 13 Department of Community Affairs, the review procedures of this 14 section shall apply for persons conducting remediation 15 activities who are not responsible for contamination on the 16 property. Any environmental remediation undertaken pursuant to 17 this section shall comply with one or more of the standards 18 established in this chapter. 19 (b) Baseline report.--A baseline environmental report shall 20 be conducted on the property based on a work plan approved by 21 the department to establish a reference point showing existing 22 contamination on the site. The report shall describe the 23 proposed remediation measures to be undertaken within the limits 24 of cleanup liability found in section 502. The report shall also 25 include a description of the existing or potential public 26 benefits of the use or reuse of the property for employment 27 opportunities, housing, open space, recreation or other use. 28 (c) Public review.--Persons undertaking the cleanup and 29 reuse of sites under this section shall comply with the 30 following public notice and review requirements: 19950S0001B0525 - 35 -
1 (1) A notice of intent to remediate a site shall be 2 submitted to the department which provides, to the extent 3 known, a brief description of the location of the site, a 4 listing of the contaminant or contaminants involved and the 5 proposed remediation measures. The department shall publish 6 an acknowledgment noting receipt of the notice of intent in 7 the Pennsylvania Bulletin. At the same time a notice of 8 intent to remediate a site is submitted to the department, a 9 copy of the notice shall be provided to the municipality in 10 which the site is located and a summary of the notice of 11 intent shall be published in a newspaper of general 12 circulation serving the area in which the site is located. 13 (2) The notices required by this subsection shall 14 include a 30-day public and municipal comment period during 15 which the municipality can request to be involved in the 16 development of the remediation and reuse plans for the site. 17 If requested by the municipality, the person undertaking the 18 remediation shall develop and implement a public involvement 19 program plan which meets the requirements of section 304(o). 20 Persons undertaking the remediation are encouraged to develop 21 a proactive approach to working with the municipality in 22 developing and implementing remediation and reuse plans. 23 (d) Department review.--No later than 90 days after the 24 completed environmental report is submitted for review, the 25 department shall determine whether the report adequately 26 identifies the environmental hazards and risks posed by the 27 site. The comments obtained as a result of a public involvement 28 plan developed under section 304(o) shall also be considered by 29 the department. The department shall notify the person 30 submitting the report of deficiencies within 90 days. If the 19950S0001B0525 - 36 -
1 department does not respond within 90 days, the study is 2 considered approved. 3 (e) Agreement.--The department and the person undertaking 4 the reuse of a special industrial site shall enter into an 5 agreement based on the environmental report which outlines 6 cleanup liability for the property. 7 (f) Department actions.--A person entering into an agreement 8 pursuant to this section shall not interfere with any subsequent 9 remediation efforts by the department or others to deal with 10 contamination identified in the baseline environmental report so 11 long as it does not disrupt the use of the property. 12 (g) Deed notice.--Persons entering into agreements pursuant 13 to this section shall be subject to the deed acknowledgment 14 requirements of the act of July 7, 1980 (P.L.380, No.97), known 15 as the Solid Waste Management Act, or the act of October 18, 16 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), known as the Hazardous Sites Cleanup 17 Act, where applicable. 18 Section 306. Privatization. 19 (a) General.--The department shall develop a program to use 20 private firms to undertake a portion of the technical reviews 21 required under this act. As part of the program, the department 22 may: 23 (1) Develop a system of prequalified firms which 24 supervise the development and implementation of cleanup plans 25 and certify properties as meeting the environmental 26 remediation standards established in this chapter. 27 (2) Develop programs in which private firms perform the 28 technical review of remedial investigation reports, risk 29 assessment reports, cleanup plans and final reports required 30 to be submitted under this chapter. 19950S0001B0525 - 37 -
1 (b) Audits.--The department shall develop an auditing 2 program sufficient to insure that private firms meet the 3 requirements of the program. 4 (c) Report.--The department shall on October 1 of each year 5 report to the General Assembly on the activities the department 6 has undertaken pursuant to this section. 7 Section 307. Local land development controls. 8 This act shall not affect the ability of local governments to 9 regulate land development under the act of July 31, 1968 10 (P.L.805, No.247), known as the Pennsylvania Municipalities 11 Planning Code. The use of the identified property and any deed 12 restrictions used as part of a remediation plan shall comply 13 with local land development controls adopted under the 14 Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. 15 Section 308. Immediate response. 16 (a) Emergency response.--The provisions of this chapter 17 shall not prevent or impede the immediate response of the 18 department or responsible person to an emergency which involves 19 an imminent or actual release of a regulated substance which 20 threatens public health or the environment. The final 21 remediation of the site shall comply with the provisions of this 22 chapter which shall not be prejudiced by the mitigation measures 23 undertaken to that point. 24 (b) Interim response.--The provisions of this chapter shall 25 not prevent or impede a responsible person from undertaking 26 mitigation measures to prevent significant impacts on human 27 health or the environment. Those mitigation measures may include 28 limiting public access to the release area, installing drainage 29 controls to prevent runoff, stabilization and maintenance of 30 containment structures, actions to prevent the migration of 19950S0001B0525 - 38 -
1 regulated substances, on-site treatment or other measures not 2 prohibited by the department. The final remediation of the site 3 shall comply with the provisions of this chapter which shall not 4 be prejudiced by the mitigation measures undertaken to that 5 point. 6 Section 309. Appealable actions. 7 Decisions by the department involving the reports and 8 evaluations required under this chapter shall be considered 9 appealable actions under the act of July 13, 1988 (P.L.530, 10 No.94), known as the Environmental Hearing Board Act. 11 CHAPTER 5 12 CLEANUP LIABILITY PROTECTION 13 Section 501. Cleanup liability protection. 14 (a) General.--Any person demonstrating compliance with the 15 environmental remediation standards established in Chapter 3 16 shall be relieved of further liability for the remediation of 17 the site under the statutes outlined in section 106 for any 18 contamination identified in reports submitted to and approved by 19 the department to demonstrate compliance with these standards 20 and shall not be subject to citizen suits or other contribution 21 actions brought by responsible persons. The cleanup liability 22 protection provided by this chapter applies to the following 23 persons: 24 (1) The current or future owner of the identified 25 property, who participated in the remediation of the site. 26 (2) A person who develops or otherwise occupies the 27 identified site. 28 (3) A successor or assign of any person to whom the 29 liability protection applies. 30 (4) A public utility to the extent the public utility 19950S0001B0525 - 39 -
1 performs activities on the identified site. 2 (b) Assessments.--A person shall not be considered a person 3 responsible for a release or a threatened release of a regulated 4 substance simply by virtue of conducting an environmental 5 assessment or transaction screen on a property. Nothing in this 6 section relieves a person of any liability for failure to 7 exercise due diligence in performing an environmental assessment 8 or transaction screen. 9 (c) Illegal activities.--The provisions of this chapter do 10 not create a defense against the imposition of criminal and 11 civil fines and penalties or administrative penalties otherwise 12 authorized by law and imposed as the result of the illegal 13 disposal of waste or for the pollution of the land, air or 14 waters of this Commonwealth on the identified site. 15 Section 502. Special industrial sites. 16 (a) Agreement.--The department and the person undertaking 17 the reuse of an abandoned industrial site under section 305 18 shall enter into an agreement based on the environmental report 19 which outlines cleanup liability for the site. Any person 20 included in such an agreement shall not be subject to a citizen 21 suit, other contribution actions brought by responsible persons 22 not participating in the remediation of the site or other 23 actions brought by the department with respect to the site 24 except those which may be necessary to enforce the terms of the 25 agreement. 26 (b) Liability.--The cleanup liabilities for the person 27 undertaking the reuse of the site shall include the following: 28 (1) The person shall only be responsible for remediation 29 of any immediate, direct or imminent threats to public health 30 or the environment, such as drummed waste, which would 19950S0001B0525 - 40 -
1 prevent the site from being occupied for its intended 2 purpose. 3 (2) The person shall not be held responsible for the 4 remediation of any contamination identified in the 5 environmental report, other than the contamination noted in 6 paragraph (1). 7 (3) Nothing in this act shall relieve the person from 8 any cleanup liability for contamination later caused by that 9 person on the site. 10 (c) Developer or occupier.--A person who develops or 11 occupies the site shall not be considered a responsible person 12 for purposes of assigning cleanup liability. 13 (d) Successor or assign.--A successor or assign of any 14 person to whom cleanup liability protection applies for a site 15 shall not be considered a responsible person for purposes of 16 assigning cleanup liability, provided the successor or assign is 17 not a person responsible for contamination on the site who did 18 not participate in the environmental remediation action. 19 (e) Public utility.--A public utility shall not be 20 considered a responsible person for purposes of assigning 21 cleanup liability to the extent the public utility performs 22 activities on the identified site, provided the public utility 23 is not a person responsible for contamination on the property. 24 Section 503. Existing exclusions. 25 The protection from cleanup liability afforded under this act 26 shall be in addition to the exclusions from being a responsible 27 person under the statutes listed in section 106. 28 Section 504. New liability. 29 Nothing in this act shall relieve a person receiving 30 protection from cleanup liability under this chapter from any 19950S0001B0525 - 41 -
1 cleanup liability for contamination later caused by that person 2 on a site which has demonstrated compliance with one or more of 3 the environmental remediation standards established in Chapter 4 3. 5 Section 505. Reopeners. 6 Any person who completes remediation in compliance with this 7 act shall not be required to undertake additional remediation 8 actions unless the department demonstrates that: 9 (1) fraud was committed in the certification of the site 10 that resulted in avoiding the need for further cleanup of the 11 site; 12 (2) new information confirms the existence of an area of 13 previously unknown contamination which contains regulated 14 substances that have been shown to exceed the standards 15 applied to previous remediation at the site; 16 (3) the remediation method failed to meet one or a 17 combination of the three cleanup standards; or 18 (4) the level of risk is increased beyond the acceptable 19 risk range at a site due to substantial changes in exposure 20 conditions, such as in a change in land use from 21 nonresidential to a residential use, or new information is 22 obtained about a regulated substance associated with the site 23 which revises exposure assumptions beyond the acceptable 24 range. Any person who changes the use of the property causing 25 the level of risk to increase beyond the acceptable risk 26 range shall be required by the department to undertake 27 additional remediation measures under the provisions of this 28 act. 29 Section 506. Authority reserved. 30 Except for the performance of further remediation of the 19950S0001B0525 - 42 -
1 site, nothing in this act shall affect the ability or authority
2 of any person to seek any relief available against any party who
3 may have liability with respect to this site. This act shall not
4 affect the ability or authority to seek a contribution from any
5 person who may have liability with respect to the site and did
6 not receive cleanup liability protection under this chapter.
7 CHAPTER 7
8 INDUSTRIAL LAND RECYCLING FUND
9 Section 701. Industrial Land Recycling Fund.
10 (a) Fund.--There is hereby established a separate account in
11 the State Treasury, to be known as the Industrial Land Recycling
12 Land FUND, which shall be a special fund administered by the <--
13 department.
14 (b) Purpose.--The moneys deposited in this fund shall be
15 used by the department for the purpose of implementing the
16 provisions of this act.
17 (c) Funds.--In addition to any funds appropriated by the
18 General Assembly, Federal funds and private contributions and
19 any fines and penalties assessed under this act shall be
20 deposited into the fund.
21 (d) Annual report.--The department shall on October 1 of
22 each year report to the General Assembly on the expenditures and
23 commitments made from the Industrial Land Recycling Fund.
24 Section 702. Voluntary Cleanup Loan Program.
25 (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established a separate
26 account in the State Treasury, to be known as the Voluntary
27 Cleanup Loan Fund, which shall be a special fund administered by
28 the Department of Commerce. Within 60 days of the effective date
29 of this act, the Department of Commerce shall finalize
30 guidelines and issue application forms to administer this fund.
19950S0001B0525 - 43 -
1 The Department of Commerce, in conjunction with the Department 2 of Environmental Resources may establish funding priorities 3 under this program. 4 (b) Purpose.--The Voluntary Cleanup Loan Fund is to help 5 provide funding to persons undertaking the voluntary remediation 6 of a property. The funding shall be in the form of low-interest 7 loans and grants for up to 75% of the costs incurred for 8 completing an environmental study and for implementing a cleanup 9 plan for the following categories of applicants: 10 (1) Local economic development agencies, public agencies 11 and local governments and persons not responsible for 12 contamination on a site shall be eligible for grants for the 13 purpose of completing environmental studies and implementing 14 cleanup plans. 15 (2) Low-interest loans shall be available at a rate of 16 not more than 2% for the purpose of completing environmental 17 studies and implementing cleanup plans to local governments, 18 public agencies and persons undertaking site remediation 19 under this act. 20 (c) Funds.--In addition to any funds appropriated by the 21 General Assembly, at least $5,000,000 shall be transferred on 22 July 1 of each year from the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund 23 established by the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), 24 known as the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, to the Voluntary 25 Cleanup Loan Fund for the purpose of implementing the program 26 established in this section. Moneys received by the Department 27 of Commerce as repayment of outstanding loans shall be deposited 28 in the fund. Any interest earned by moneys in the fund shall 29 remain in the fund. The first transfer of funds from the 30 Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund required by this subsection shall 19950S0001B0525 - 44 -
1 occur within 60 days of the effective date of this act. 2 (d) Annual report.--The Department of Commerce shall on 3 October 1 of each year report to the General Assembly on the 4 grants, loans, expenditures and commitments made from the fund. 5 Section 703. Fees. 6 (a) Amount.--The department shall collect the following fees 7 for the review of reports required to be submitted to implement 8 the provisions of this act: 9 (1) A person utilizing the background or Statewide 10 health standards for environmental remediation shall pay a 11 fee of $250 upon submission of the report certifying 12 compliance with the standards. 13 (2) A person utilizing site-specific standards for 14 environmental remediation shall pay a fee of $250 each upon 15 the submission of a remedial investigation, risk assessment 16 and cleanup plan and an additional $500 at the time of 17 submission of the final report certifying compliance with the 18 standards. 19 (3) A person utilizing a combination of background, 20 Statewide and site-specific standards shall pay the fees 21 required by paragraphs (1) and (2), as applicable. 22 (4) No fee shall be charged for corrective actions 23 undertaken under the act of July 6, 1989 (P.L.169, No.32), 24 known as the Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act. 25 (b) Deposit.--Fees imposed under this section shall be 26 deposited in the Industrial Land Recycling Fund established 27 under section 701. 28 CHAPTER 9 29 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 30 Section 901. Plain language. 19950S0001B0525 - 45 -
1 Remedial investigation, risk assessment, cleanup plans and 2 other reports and notices required to be submitted to implement 3 the provisions of this act shall contain a summary or special 4 section that includes a plain language description of the 5 information included in the report in order to enhance the 6 opportunity for public involvement and understanding of the 7 remediation process. 8 Section 902. Permits. 9 A State or local permit or permit revision shall not be 10 required for remediation activities undertaken entirely on the 11 site if they are undertaken pursuant to the requirements of this 12 act. 13 Section 903. Future actions. 14 At any time, a request may be made to the department to 15 change the land use of the site from nonresidential to 16 residential. The department shall only approve the request upon 17 a demonstration that the site meets all the applicable cleanup 18 standards for residential use of the property. Any existing deed 19 acknowledgment contained in the deed prior to the demonstrating 20 compliance with the residential use standard may be removed. 21 Section 904. Relationship to Federal and State programs. 22 (a) Federal.--The provisions of this act shall not prevent 23 the Commonwealth from enforcing specific numerical cleanup 24 standards, monitoring or compliance requirements specifically 25 required to be enforced by the Federal Government as a condition 26 of primacy or to receive Federal funds. 27 (b) State priority list.--Any remediation undertaken on a 28 site included on the State priority list established under the 29 act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), known as the 30 Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, shall attain the site-specific 19950S0001B0525 - 46 -
1 standard established in section 304 and shall be performed in 2 compliance with the administrative record and other procedural 3 and public review requirements of Chapter 5 of the Hazardous 4 Sites Cleanup Act. 5 (c) Storage tanks.--The environmental remediation standards 6 established under this act shall be used in corrective actions 7 undertaken pursuant to the act of July 6, 1989 (P.L.169, No.32), 8 known as the Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act. However, the 9 procedures in the Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act for 10 reviewing and approving corrective actions shall be used in lieu 11 of the procedures and reviews required by this act. 12 (d) Agricultural chemical facilities.--The environmental 13 remediation standards and procedures established under this act 14 shall be used in any remediation undertaken at an agricultural 15 chemical facility. The Department of Agriculture shall have the 16 power and its duty shall be to promulgate regulations providing 17 for the option of safely reusing soil and groundwater 18 contaminated with agricultural chemicals generated as a result 19 of remediation activities at agricultural chemical facilities 20 through the land application of these materials on agricultural 21 lands. Such regulations shall provide for the appropriate 22 application rates of such materials, either alone or in the 23 combination with other agricultural chemicals, prescribe 24 appropriate operations controls and practices to protect the 25 public health, safety and welfare and the environment at the 26 site of land application. 27 (e) Oil spill response.--This act shall not apply to the 28 removal of a discharge under section 4201 of the Oil Pollution 29 Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-380, 104 Stat. 484) or the act of 30 June 11, 1992 (P.L.303, No.52), known as the Oil Spill Responder 19950S0001B0525 - 47 -
1 Liability Act. 2 Section 905. Enforcement. 3 (a) General.--The department is authorized to use the 4 enforcement and penalty provisions applicable to the 5 environmental medium or activity of concern, as appropriate, 6 established under the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394), 7 known as The Clean Streams Law, the act of January 8, 1960 (1959 8 P.L.2119, No.787), known as the Air Pollution Control Act, the 9 act of July 7, 1980 (P.L.380, No.97), known as the Solid Waste 10 Management Act, the act of July 13, 1988 (P.L.525, No.93), 11 referred to as the Infectious and Chemotherapeutic Waste Law, 12 the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), known as the 13 Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, or the act of July 6, 1989 14 (P.L.169, No.32), known as the Storage Tank and Spill Prevention 15 Act, to enforce the provisions of this act. 16 (b) Fraud.--Any person who willfully commits fraud 17 demonstrating attainment with one or more standards established 18 under this act shall, upon conviction, be subject to an 19 additional penalty of $50,000 for each separate offense or to 20 imprisonment for a period of not more than one year for each 21 separate offense, or both. Each day shall be a separate offense. 22 Section 906. Past penalties. 23 Persons who have no responsibility for contamination on a 24 site and participate in environmental remediation activities 25 under this act shall not be responsible for paying any fines or 26 penalties levied against any person responsible for 27 contamination on the property. 28 Section 907. Repeals. 29 (a) Absolute.--Section 504(b) through (f) and (h) of the act 30 of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), known as the Hazardous 19950S0001B0525 - 48 -
1 Sites Cleanup Act, are repealed. 2 (b) General.--All other acts and parts of acts are repealed 3 insofar as they are inconsistent with this act and related to 4 environmental remediation. 5 Section 908. Effective date. 6 This act shall take effect in 60 days. A9L27SFG/19950S0001B0525 - 49 -