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# .' LETTER OF INTENT BETWEEN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON**DEPAR~tENT** OF ECOLOGY.AND

.THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY FOR FINAL AUTHORIZATION OF

THE STATE HAZARDOUS wASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. Based on the enclosed Capability Assessment, the Washington"State Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the Enyironmental Protection Agency (EPA) have ) jointlydeveloped this Letterof Intent that addresses state and EPA measures to further enhance state program implementation capabilities in compliance, enforcement and permitting. This Letterof Intentbecomes effective upon the date the state receives final authorization to operate their program in lieu ofthe federal program and will remain in effectuntil June 30, 1986, atwhich time itwill be reviewed and renegotiated as partof the FY 87 State/EPA Agreement. Ecology will: 1• Takin9 into consideration EPAI·S FY 85 end-of-year program review, evaluate i'nternal operations in compliance, enforcement and permitting and provide EPA with a plan thatwill assure continued improvement in the areas listedbelow. This plan is to be completed by.June 30,1986, and will be considered in the preparation ofthe FY 87 State/EPA Agreement•.Ecology will provide a status reporton the development of this plan in conjunction with the FY 86 midyear evaluation to be heldon February .18, 1986. 

# • a. consistency of enforcement follow-up actions with thestate's enforcement response policy b. potential inconsistencies of the statels enforcement response policy with national minimum criteria for appropriate enforcement

c. consistency in quality, well documented compliance inspections and record reviews d. consistency in issuing technically sound and thorough comments on permit applications and closure plans

·e. consistency in issuing permit application Notices of Deficiency, closure plan comments, draftand final permits in a timely manner f. obtaining additionalhydrogeological expertise in support ofthe statepermit program Prior to June 30, 1986, Ecology will be implementing interim actions that will in part, establish abasis for enhancing capabilities in the areas discussed above. These interim actions are: Review of state enforcement actions by the Office of Operations and Enforcement, to assure consistency with the state enforcement response policy. To be implemented immediately.2 Establish a full time position within the Hazardous Waste Section to provide further inspector/permitwritertraining in the field offices. Review inspection reports within the Hazardous Waste Section to provide feedback to field offices on inspection report quality and ) documentation, and to provide for greaterconsistency among field offices. To be implemented immediately.

. By January 31, 1986, complete the state ground watermonitoring checklist and provide ittothe field 6ffices for**us~** on all ground water monitoring inspections. 2. By'January 31, 1986, establish a system by which all inspectors classify vio1ations'using the state'senforcement response policy. By February 28, 1986, inspectors shall provide violation classification information along with inspection reports to the Hazardous Waste Section for data entry, and have this'information available on an automated data system. The target date for completing in'itial violation classification data entry is March 31, 1986. 3. By February 28, 1986, develop and distribute to the field offices a policy document thatrequires full application of state regulations regarding the cleanup oflistedwastes at facility closure. 4. Assure the national minimum reporting requirements are met; including submission of revised facility status sheet information to EPA by May 15, 1986. Load the initial data and implement the permit tracking system on a statewide basis, by March 31,1986. 5. To facilitate the continuedjointpermittingmode discussed below, the statewill request all land disposal facilities to simultaneously submit'to EPA, all site ground water characterization and ground watermonitoring information. In the event that the facility refuses to provide the information to EPA, Ecology will provide the information to EPA as soon as possible, but allowing sufficient time for administrative processing and duplication. 6. In accordance with the National Ground Water Enforcement Strategy and

,theFY 86 RCRA Implementation Plan, provide EPA with inspection reports for

all land disposal facilities and facilities that are receiving off-site CERCLA wastes, within 30 days after the inspection, aryd administrative ,orders upon issuance. EPAwill: 1. As resources allow, make available to the state, EPA staffand associated**cont~actura1** expertise to assistin implementation ofthe authorized program. 2. Explore the possibility of a one ortwo year IPA position to support the state's pennitting program. '3 3. To the extentpossible, provide training opportunities tothe state in the following program areas: permit writing, compliance inspections, ground watermonitoring and technical engineering reviews, and other program areas as identified by the state and EPA. 4. By no later than 15 days after receipt, provide permit applicant information submitted in accordance with the Hazardous and Solid Waste

.Amendments of 1984.

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5. Provide information on compliance and/or enforcement actions taken in accordance with the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984, within 15 days of such actions.( EPA and Ecology togetherwill: 1. Beginning.in the third quarter of the state's FY 86, conduct quarterly state/EPA permit statusmeetings to discuss general issues, facility management plans and progress on specific permit actions. Specific agendas will be developedjointlyby Ecology and EPA. 2. Ecology·will be the lead on land disposal facility permit actions. However, to support continued enhancement of state permit program capabilities, EPA will continue to work closely with the state on ground water related aspects of those permit actions thatthe stateand EPA have determined in the facility management planning process to be,priority permit actions for EPA involvement. To the extent possible, this will be reflected in facility management plans. EPA will provide ground water related comments priorto the pUblic notice period, provided that the public notice will not be delayed if EPA isunable tomeet this time frame. EPA comments will be discussed with the state and fully resolved through changes in the draft permit, or satisfactorily refuted before permit issuance. On non-ground**wa~er** related sections of priority permit applications and closure plans, and permit actions'forwhich the state is proceeding on without EPA participation, EPAwill attempt to provide formal 'comments prior to'the public notice period. If EPA cannot comment prior to the pUblic notice, then EPA will provide formal comment's during the pUb1ic comment' period in accordance with 40 CFR Part 271. Enclosures

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# An~r. Director Ernesta B. Barnes Washington State Regional Administrator, Region 10 Departmentof Ecology Environmental Protection Agency Date: JAN 31 

### 1986 Date: JAN 

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### 1986