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# Q~~~:-41 POLICY 

# • PROVIDING PUBLIC NOTICEPOR CORRECTIVEACTION SITES UNDER ALTERNATIVEAUTHORITIES (MTCA) 

### This policy applies to conducting pUblic notice under Chapter 70.1050 RCW andWAC 173-340-600 except as specified for the biennial report inWAC 173-340-340. Public Notice provides the HWTRProgramwith an opportunity to identify site-specific concerns from the community and other interested groups or individuals, encourages communicationwith these groups, andmay provide additional information about the site.
1. Ecology

### Must Provide Public Notice 

### The HWTR Programmust providepUblic notice of: A) Consent Decrees; B) Agreed orders; C) Enforcement Orders;

. D) Remedial Investigation and Feasibility studies; E) Draft corrective action plans; F) Routine and interim actions; G) All major steps in the corrective action (including completion ofthe cleanup); and H) Notices ofviolation; Generally, pUblic notice will include issuing a fact sheet, advertising the commentperiod in the newspaper of largest circulation and in the site register, and possibly holding a pUblic meeting orhearing. See Public Notice Procedure, PRO 3-41, for explicit instructions.


### 2. ASite Mailing Listwill Be**Maintained~** 

### Amailing listwill be developed andmaintained for each site requiring pUblic notice. The list shall include the persons from the potentially affected vicinity and others, such as: A) Interested citizens; B) Interested private and C1V1C 

### groups; C) Local and state government representatives; D) Businesses; E) Environmental groups; and F) Anyone requesting inclusion on the list.

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_ The potentially affected vicinity shall include all property adjoining the site and any other area that the 

# 0 department determines to be directly affected by the proposed action.
3. Public Notice will Be Provided To The Groups Listed: Public Notice and an opportunity for commentwill be sent to the following groups: A. Potentially affected vicinity. Be mailed or delivered to those residing within the potentially affected vicinity. 

### B. Persons who have made a timely request. A request for notice is timely ifreceived prior to or during the pUblic commentperiod for the currentphase ofremedial action at the facility. However, the receipt of a request shall not require the department to extend the comment period associated with the notice. 

### C. Published in the newspaper. Public notice shall be pUblished in the newspaper ofthe largest circulation in the city or county of the proposed action. Notice may also be placed in local community papers. One or more of the following methods shall be used: display ad; legal notice; or any other appropriate format, as determinedby the department. D. Other news media. Distributedto appropriate News media as the department determines appropriate. Consideration shouldbe given to how effective the medium is in reaching the community surrounding the site.
4. Public Notices Shall Indicate Comment Periods. All public notices shall indicate the pUblic comment period on the proposed action. Comment periods will last for a minimum of 30 days. Comment periods may be extended ifthere area large number of documents for the public to review or if several holidays occur during the comment period. 

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# ------ 5. Ecology May Determine ThatAdditional Notice Is Necessary. The site manager and pUblic participation staffmay determine that additional notice 

### is desirable. An elevated level of public notice should be considered for such sites as those receiving substantial pUblic/community attention; sites of interest to those outside the potentially affected vicinity; and of regional or state-wide significance. When selecting additional methods for providing pUblic notice, consideration shouldbe given to how the medium compares with the newspaper of largest circulation in terms of: audience reached; timeliness (frequency of pUblication); adequacy in conveying the particular information in the notice; cost; or other relevant factors. Additional methods that may be used for providing pUblic notice are: A) Press releases; B) Fact sheets; C) Public meetings; D) PUblications; E) Personal contact by department employees; F) Posted signs at the facility; and G) other methods as determined by the department.
6. Extension

### ot APublic CommentPeriod. The site manager and public participation staffmay extend a comment period ifthey determine that it is necessary to allow the public additional time to provide comment. If a commentperiod 

### is extended, an additional public notice announcement indicating the extensionmust be made. However, Ecology is not required to extend a commentperiod based on request of the pUblic.
7. Public Comment Periods May Be Combined. Whenever reasonable, the site manager shall consolidate pUblic notice and opportunities for pUblic comment under MTCA and RCRA with pUblic notice and comment requirements under other laws and regulations such as the state Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).

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_ 8. Publio participation StaffShall CoordinateWith Public Information Staff. 

### The HWTRProgrampublic participationstaffperson for the site shall informtheprogram's assignedpUblic information officer (PIO) ofanypendingpublic notice announcementfor themedia ora press release. The programpUblicparticipation staffandPIO shallkeep each other informed ofpress releases andannouncements regarding the site.
9. Public Participation Staff Shall ProvideACopy Of Public Notices To BWTR Public Records Coordinator. 

### Public participation staffshall providetheHWTR pUblic records coordinator atheadquarterswith a copy ofall press releases; announcements to themedia; site fact sheets; or other informationused to notify the public ofa public notice andcommentperiodconcurrent withthe information beingreleasedto thepublic. 

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### 3-41

. December 1, 1993 

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_ POLICY PUBLIC PARTICIPATIONPLANS FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION SITES This pOlicy applies when developing a pUblic participation plan under WAC 173-340-600. The purpose ofthe public participationplan is to define a coordinated and effective public participation process tailored to the public's needs at a particular site.
1. Plans Are Required For Remedial Actions. Except for emergency actions, a pUblic participation plan must be developed and implemented for all corrective actions whether conducted by the agency or an owner/operator (0/0) through an order or consent decree.
2. Each PlanWill Be Tailored To The Specific Site. The scope ofthe plan will reflect the nature of the proposed remedial actions, the level ofpUblic concern, and the risks to human health or the environment posed at the facility.
3. Ecology Must Ensure That APublic Participation Plan Is Developed For Every Eligible site. The Ecology HWTR Programwill develop, or work with the 0/0 to develop the pUblic participation plan for a site. The HWTR Programmay review and modify a proposed plan or amended plan developed by the % to--:- ensure consistency with plan requirements as defined in WAC 173-340-600.

4. Public Participation Plan will Be Required As Part Of Any Request For An Order or Consent Decree. An % will be required to submit a proposed public participation plan as part of its request for an agreed order or consent decree. Ecology will advise the 0/0 ofthe acceptable process and form that a public participation plan should take. If a plan already exists for the site, either the existing plan or an entirely new proposed plan, may be submitted.

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5. The proposed planmay be revised during the course of discussions or negotiations on the order or consent decree. The final plan may become part ofthe order or consent decree.
Public participation Plan Contains Four Elements: The pUblic participation plan will contain four elements as listed below. The accompanying procedures contain an attachment which clearly details these required sections.
A. Define Public Notice Requirements. The plan shall include applicable MTCA and RCRA public notice requirements and discuss how these will be met, including: when public notice will occur; the length ofthe commentperiods accompanying each notice; the boundaries ofthe potentially affected vicinity and location of other areas to be provided notice, to the extent known. B. Information Repositories. The planmust identify at least one location in the community where the pUblic can review information about the remedial action or administrative action. The pUblic library should be consideredwhen practicable. The plan will also be available for review at the Ecology office. C. Public Concerns Will Be Identified and Addressed. The plan will describe public concerns as related to the site and the methods designed to address the pUblic's concerns and methods to convey information about those concerns to the pUblic. D. When Possible, Public Participation Requirements Will Be Coordinated. 

# c

During the development of the plan, care should be taken to identify any public participation requirements of other applicable federal, state or local laws, and describe the means by which these 

# 0 requirements will be coordinated.**~-** -
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## ------- For example, ifthe state Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) applies to the proposed action, the plan should explainhow SEPA andthis chapter's public commentperiods will be coordinated.
6. EcologyMayRequire ThatAdditional Elements Be Included InThe Plan. The HWTRProgramwill have final authority inreviewing and approving the content ofa pUblic participation plan. Theprogrammaymodifyproposedportions ofthe plan or require that additional elements be included in the plan as consistentwiththe regulation.
7. Community Concerns will BeAssessed For Each site. community interviews or other appropriate methods shouldbeused to gather information from the local community or area surrounding a site. This information will beused to develop a planthatwill effectively address the concerns and interests ofthe pUblic. Appropriatemethods may include: community interviews; questionnaires; informalmeetings withmembers ofthe community; pUblicmeetings; contacts with community groups or other organizations whichhave an interest in the site; establishing citizen advisory groups for sites; or obtaining advice fromthe appropriate regional citizens' advisory committee. One ormore ofthesemethods shouldbe used in gathering information from citizens, tribal representatives, communitygroups, local**governments,-~­** 

### pUblic agencies, or otherorganizations whichhave an interest in, orknowledge of, the facility. (Alist of potential contacts is included in the Public Participation Plan boilerplate, appendix B.)
8. EcologyMay Amend An 

### Existing Plan. Existing plans may be amended. EachpUblic participationplan shall include a description ofthe process for amending an existing plan. For example, a plan originally developedto address a Corrective Actionremedial investigation/feasibility studymay be amended to address corrective action implementation phases.

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# <=)
-( Apublic participation plan shall be reviewed, and the**~,need** for changes considered ifmajor changes are made**~~** . to the consent decree, or other significant changes

### ~;r.~ occur which affect the nature of the site or community. An existing plan must be updated for the following reasons: A. New information is available regarding the scope of contamination at the site or regarding the level ofrisk to human health or the environment; B. Public concerns have either increased or decreased significantly; significant changes have been made to the corrective action plan; or 

## c. The corrective action is entering a new phase. All amendments to the plan must be approved by Ecology.

9. Ecology will Ensure Implementation OfThe Public Participation Plan. The HWTR Program retains approval authority over the actions taken by the owner/operator to implement the plan and will take steps necessary to ensure that the plan is implemented. 

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