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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 

)	 jointly developed this Letter of Intent that addresses state and EPA 

measures to further enhance state program implementation capabilities in 

compliance, enforcement and permitting. This Letter of Intent becomes 

effective upon the date the state receives final authorization to operate their program in lieu of the federal program and will remain in effect until 

June 30, 1986, at which time it will be reviewed and renegotiated as part of 

the FY 87 State/EPA Agreement. 

Ecology will: 

1• Tak i n9 into consi derati on EPA I· S FY 85 end-of-year program revi ew, 

evaluate i'nternal operations in compliance, enforcement and permitting and 

provide EPA with a plan that will assure continued improvement in the areas 

listed below. This plan is to be completed by.June 30,1986, and will be 

considered in the preparation of the FY 87 State/EPA Agreement•. Ecology will provide a status report on the development of this plan in conjunction 

wi th the FY 86 mi dyear eval uati on to be hel d on February .18, 1986. 

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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, draft and final permits in a timely manner 

f. obtaining additional hydrogeological expertise in support of the 

state permit program 

Prior to June 30, 1986, Ecology will be implementing interim actions that 

will in part, establish a basis 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. 
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Establish a full time position within the Hazardous Waste Section to 

provide further inspector/permit writer training 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 greater consistency among field 

offices. To be implemented immediately. . 

By January 31, 1986, complete the state ground water monitoring 

checklist and provide it to the 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's enforcement 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 that requires full application of state regulations regarding the cleanup of listed wastes 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 continued joint permitting mode discussed below, the 

state will request all land disposal facilities to simultaneously submit'to 

EPA, all site ground water characterization and ground water monitoring 

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 , the	 FY 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. 

EPA will: 

1. As resources allow, make available to the state, EPA staff and 

associated cont~actura1 expertise to assist in implementation of the 

authorized program. 

2. Explore the possibility of a one or two year IPA position to support the 

state's penni tti ng program. ' 
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3. To the extent possible, provide training opportunities to the state in 

the following program areas: permit writing, compliance inspections, ground 

water monitoring 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. . . 

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 together will: 

1. Beginning. in the third quarter of the state's FY 86, conduct quarterly 

state/EPA permit status meetings to discuss general issues, facility 

management plans and progress on specific permit actions. Specific agendas 

will be developed jointly by 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 that the state and 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 prior to the pUblic notice period, provided that the public notice 

will not be delayed if EPA is unable to meet 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 'for which the state is proceeding on 

without EPA participation, EPA will 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 pUb1 ic comment' 

period in accordance with 40 CFR Part 271. 

Enclosures If 

"--~k,,-- ) An~r. --I

Director Ernesta B. Barnes 

Washington State Regional Administrator, Region 10 

Department of Ecology Environmental Protection Agency 

Date: JAN 31 1986 Date: JAN :t 1 1986