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• Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Part I Corrective Action Program Description



## Portland, Oregon 

## July 28, 1995

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• Revision Authorization Application to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

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# State of Oregon's Hazardous Waste Management Program (Corrective Action)

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### Department of Environmental Quality June 28, 1995

### TABLE 

### OF CONTENTS July

### 28, 

### 1995 INTRODUCTION


### I.

II. BACKGROUND • Base Program Authorization • HSWA Amendments • Federal Regulations for Corrective Action
PROGRAM SCOPE, STRUCTURE AND COVERAGE

- 40 CFR 

### § 271.6(A) Page 4

Page 6



# • A.
B. Program Scope Program Structure and Coverage

• Corrective Action is Required

• Corrective Action Will be Compelled Using RCRA Authorities

• Corrective Action in Final Permits • Definition of "Facility" • Definition of "Solid Waste Management Unit" (SWMU) • Definition of "Hazardous Constituent/Hazardous Waste"

• Corrective Action Management Units and Temporary Units III. AGENCY ORGANIZATION AND RESPONSIBILITIES

- 40 CFR 

### § 271 AND 271.6(b)

• Hazardous Waste and Toxics Use Reduction Program

• Relationship with the State's Cleanup Program

• Relationship with EPA Region 10 IV. STAFFING, FUNDING AND RESOURCES

-40 CFR 

### § 271 AND 271.6(b) Page 13

Page 17

DEQ CorrectiveActionProgramDescription 

# • A. Staffing • Existing Regional/Permits Staffwho will have Corrective Action responsibilities • Existing Regional Staff/Potential Corrective Action Workload (Excluding Management and Administrative Support) • Potential Impacts on Hazardous Waste Permit Issuance • Potential Impacts on the Regional Offices

Page 1• Accountability B. Funding 

# c J

V.
VI. TRANSITION CORRECTIVE ACTION PROCESS Page 21 Page 22

• Corrective Action Priority Setting and Ranking Method • Site Discovery, Initial Ranking, Regulated Unit Screening and Program Lead

•
. RCRA Facility Assessments (RFA) • Public Participation • Interim Corrective Measures

• RCRA Facility Investigations (RFI) • Action Levels

• Corrective Measures Study (CMS)

• Cleanup Standards • Points of Compliance

• Proposal of Selected Remedy

• Public Review and Comment on Proposed Remedy

• Remedy Approval and Implementation

• Restoration Timeframe

• Completion of Corrective Action Activities

• Corrective Action at Permit-Track Facilities

• Corrective Action at Closure-Track Facilities

• Corrective Action at Permit-by-Rule Facilities

• Corrective Action at Facilities which Undergo Non-Corrective Action Cleanup
VII. COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT Page 40 - 40 CFR 

### § 271.6(e)

• Current level of compliance monitoring and enforcement effort

• Compliance Monitoring Tasks

• Enforcement

• Classification ofViolations 

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VIII. DATA MANAGEMENTAND TRACKING

DEQ Corrective ActionProgramDescription Paqe 14

Page 2 

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# •

• ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A • Oregon Hazardous Waste Statutes (Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter466: Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Materials II; Public Health and Safety; Storage, Treatment and Disposal of Hazardous Waste and PCB) Attachment B • Oregon Hazardous Waste Management Rules (Oregon Administrative Rules 340-100 to 110 and 120 effective May 19,1995) Attachment C • Waste Management and Cleanup Organization Chart, June 1995 Attachment 0 • Memorandum, Rule Interpretation and Policy Determination, May 3, 1993 Attachment E • DEQ Site Screening for Assignment to Hazardous Waste or Cleanup (Draft) Attachment F • Map: Universe of Closure/Corrective Action/Permit Facilities in Oregon, December 1994 Attachment G • RCRA Information System Coding in Oregon Attachment H • DEQ Enforcement Procedures and Civil Penalty Guidance



# • DEQ Corrective Action Program Description Page 3

### DEQ MISSION: "The Mission of the Agency is to be 

## an active force to restore, enhance and maintain the quality of Oregon's Air, Water and Land."

INTRODUCTION 

### This Program Description and its attachments summarize Oregon's proposal for implementation of federal requirements for corrective action at permitted hazardous waste management facilities. Corrective action is only one aspect of Oregon's multi-faceted hazardous waste regulatory program. Oregon's hazardous waste regulatory program is primarily a preventative program, focused on waste minimization, waste management standards, compliance monitoring and technical assistance. The program is designed to minimize or eliminate the need for corrective action at hazardous waste management facilities. In designing a state hazardous waste management program, The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has attempted to find a balance between the preventative and remedial aspects of hazardous waste regulation. DEQ is seeking authorization for its existing corrective action program, which is authorized by ORS Chapter 466 (Attachment A) and implemented through the federal corrective action rules adopted by reference.
I. BACKGROUND 

### The DEQ is the agency designated by the Oregon State Legislature to carry out all State programs authorized by the US Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") pursuant to the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ("RCRA"), as amended.
Base Program Authorization 

### Oregon received final authorization for the base RCRA program on January 31, 1986 and revisions were approved on May 29, 1990 and October 4, 1994. Authorization for the Land Disposal Restriction Program' Phase II will become effective August 15, 1995. Authorization refers to the process by which EPA delegates primary responsibility for implementing hazardous waste regulations to a state regulatory program. Procedures and requirements for authorization are found in 40 CFR Part 271. EPA authorizes state programs which are equivalent to the federal program and may authorize state programs, or portions thereof, which are more stringent than the federal program. EPA cannot

DEQ Corrective Action ProgramDescription Page 4 

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# '. authorize state programs, or portions thereof, which are broader in scope than the federal program. Oregon's regulatory program for hazardous waste is found in Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) Chapter 340, Divisions 100 through 107; 109; 110 and 120 (Attachment B).
HSWA Amendments 

### In 1984, Congress passed the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments, known as HSWA, to RCRA. The HSWA amendments significantly expanded the scope of the federal hazardous waste program to include requirements for burning and blending of hazardous waste fuel, regulation of used oil, restrictions on the land disposal of hazardous waste, and corrective action at hazardous waste management facilities. In the legislative history of HSWA, Congress noted that a significant number of hazardous waste management facilities which received RCRA permits were becoming Superfund cleanup sites due to releases of hazardous waste and constituents from non-RCRA regulated units. Congress also noted that the stringent waste management requirements passed under core RCRA only addressed wastes generated and managed after the Act and did nothing to address past waste management activity. By imposing corrective action requirements on owners and operators of hazardous waste management facilities, Congress provided EPA and the states with a mechanism to address hazardous waste contamination at RCRA regulated facilities without depleting the Superfund Trust Fund. Among other things, the HSWA amendments authorize EPA:


## o Under RCRA Section 3004(u) to require corrective action for releases of hazardous waste and hazardous constituents from any solid waste management unit at a hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility subject to a RCRA permit, regardless of when the waste was placed in the unit, and require financial assurances for the completion of corrective action.


## o Under RCRA Section 3004(v) to require corrective action for releases of hazardous waste and hazardous constituents which have migrated beyond the boundary of a hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility subject to a RCRA permit and require financial assurances for the completion of such corrective action.


## o Under RCRA Section 3008(h) to require corrective action for releases of hazardous waste and hazardous constituents at interim status facilities. RCRA Section 3008(h) is a federal enforcement authority and cannot be delegated to states and, therefore, is not the subject of this authorization application. Only the requirements of RCRA Sections 3004(u) and 3004(v) can be delegated to states and, therefore, are the subject of this authorization application. 

# • DEQCorrectiveAction ProgramDescription PageSFederal Regulations for Corrective Action 

### On July 15, 1985, EPA published the first HSWA Codification rule (50 FR 28702, adopted 12/11/87), which included regulatory language for corrective action at solid waste management units (40 CFR 

### § 264.101). Under the July 15, 1985, Federal regulations, owner/operators of facilities seeking a permit for the treatment, storage or disposal of hazardous waste were required to:


## o Institute corrective action as necessary to protect human health and the environment for all releases of hazardous waste and constituents from any solid waste management units at the facility regardless of the time at which waste was placed in such units, and


## o Comply with Corrective Action requirements, schedules of compliance for such corrective action, and assurances of financial responsibility for completing corrective action as specified in final RCRA permits. On December 1, 1987, (52 FR 45788, adopted 6/2/89) EPA amended the regulatory requirements for corrective action, adding a requirement for owner/operators of facilities seeking a RCRA permit for the treatment, storage or disposal of hazardous waste to:


## o Implement corrective actions beyond the facility property boundary where necessary to protect human health and the environment, unless the owner/operator could demonstrate to EPA's satisfaction that, despite the owner/operator's best efforts, they were unable to obtain the necessary permission to undertake such actions, and to take on-site measures to address such releases as determined by EPA on a case-by-case basis, and to provide assurances of financial responsibility for such corrective action. 

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On July 27, 1990, (55 FR 30798) EPA proposed detailed regulations for corrective action. These proposed regulations became known as "draft Subpart S"" referring to their draft status and to their anticipated subpart in 40 CFR Part 264. Draft Subpart S has not yet been completely finalized; however, EPA is using portions of the proposed rules as guidance in implementing corrective action requirements. On February 16, 1993, (58

### ffi 8658, adopted 7/23/93) EPA finalized regulations governing the corrective action definition of facility and Corrective Action Management Units ("CAMU") and Corrective Action Temporary Units ("TU") and these two rules were adopted by DEQ by reference on July 23,1993 (OAR 340-100-002(1».

Page 6

# •

• II. PROGRAM SCOPE, STRUCTURE AND COVERAGE - 40 CFR 

### § 271,6(a) In this section, DEQ describes the State's corrective action requirements and the relationship to existing federal corrective action requirements and other state programs. A. Program Scope In this application, Oregon is requesting authorization for the delegable portions of a corrective action program equivalent to the Federal corrective action program. The application is based on the state's existing statutory and regulatory authorities found at ORS Chapter 466. Specific regulations, citations and legal authorities to implement program are found in the Attorney General Statement B. Program Structure and Coverage Oregon's proposed corrective action program will affect all facilities seeking or required to have a RCRA permit to treat, store and/or dispose of hazardous waste. Corrective Action is Required DEQ was authorized by EPA on. January 31, 1986 for closure and remediation of regulated units (commonly referred to as Subpart F corrective action.) Requirements for RCRA corrective action are found at 40 CFR 264.100 and 40 CFR 264.101, adopted by DEQ by reference in OAR 340-100-002(1). These regulations establish corrective action requirements for facilities seeking a permit for treatment, storage, or disposal (40 CFR 264.100) of hazardous waste as necessary to protect human health and the environment for all releases of hazardous waste and hazardous constituents, including releases from solid waste management units (40 CFR 264.101). Such corrective action is required regardless of the time at which waste was managed in solid waste management units and· regardless of whether the facility or unit was intended for the management of solid or hazardous waste. Financial assurance for such corrective action is required.


## o 40 CFR 264.101 also requires facility owner/operators to implement corrective actions beyond the facility boundary when necessary to protect human health and the environment to address releases which have migrated beyond the facility boundary.

Under the federal corrective action program mandated by RCRA Sections 3004(u) and (v) and codified at 40 CFR 

### § 264.101, corrective action requirements are limited to releases 

### o Under 40 CFR 264.101, corrective action and schedules of compliance for corrective action and assurances of financial responsibility for corrective action must be specified in permits.

I 

# • DEQ Corrective Action ProgramDescription Page7

### from solid waste management units. Oregon has independent state authority to require 

# C corrective action for any release of hazardous waste or constituents regardless of its

. origin. Such provisions are broader in scope than the federal provisions for corrective action at RCRA Sections 3004(u) and (v) and (40 CFR 

### § 264.101). Although analogous legal authorities exist, Oregon is not seeking authorization for this additional, independent authority. Federal corrective action requirements stem from Congress' finding that, due to RCRA's inability to address some releases, permitted hazardous waste management facilities were potentially becoming Superfund cleanup sites. In the Legislative History to RCRA Section

# I 3004(u), Congress wrote: :
"Current EPA regulations do not address all releases of hazardous constituents from solid waste management units at facilities receiving permits under (RCRA Section) 3005(e). This could likely result in a situation of EPA issuing a final permit to a facilityWhich is causing ground water contamination from an inactive unit, without the permit addressing that contamination in any way. The Committee believes that all facilities receiving permits should be required to clean up all releases from all units at the facility, whether or not such units are currently active. Unless all hazardous constituents released from solid waste management units at permitted facilities are addressed and cleaned up the Committee is deeply concerned that many more sites will be added to the future burdens of the Superfund program with little prospect for control or cleanup. The responsibility to control such releases lies with the facility owner and operator and should not be shifted to the Superfund program, particularly when a final permit has been requested by the facility." (See, H.R. Rep. No. 198, 98th Cong., 1st Sess. 20, 61, reprinted in 1984 U.S. Code Congo &

### Admin. News 5576,5579,5620.)" DEQ similarly believes that facilities seeking or required to have permits to treat, store or dispose of hazardous waste, including facilities operating subject to Part 265 status, should be required to address releases of hazardous waste and hazardous constituents prior to or as a condition of permit issuance. 

### Corrective Action Compelled Using RCRA Authorities DEQ is seeking authorization for the RCRA corrective action program based on existing hazardous waste statutory authorities and adopted hazardous waste regulations. Although DEQ operates three cleanup programs potentially related to remediation of hazardous constituents (the Hazardous Waste Corrective Action Program aimed at 

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DEQCorrective Action ProgramDescription

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# • hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal ("TSD") facilities; the Oregon Environmental Cleanup Program based on Oregon's Cleanup Law and focused hazardous substance releases at "non-TSD" facilities; and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Program aimed at underground petroleum tank releases) 1. Corrective action at sites subject to permitting may, in rare instances, be instead referred to State Cleanup Program (as described more fully in Section entitled "Relationship with the State Cleanup Program" on page 14. Facilities will be carefully screened when either hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal practices (i.e. "management practices") or hazardous waste or constituent releases are discovered. The statutory authorities that allow DEQ to compel corrective action using hazardous waste authorities are included in the Attorney General's Statement.
Corrective Action in Final Permits At facilities seeking or required to have a final operating or post-closure RCRA permit, corrective action and a schedule of compliance for corrective action will be specified in the permit. Corrective action requirements may be imposed either prior to permitting through mutually agreed upon orders or unilateral orders, or as operating or post-closure permit conditions. When corrective action proceeds in advance of permit issuance, all applicable corrective action requirements will be incorporated into final permits upon issuance.

• ' Definition of Facility For the purposes of corrective action implementation only, DEQ has adopted by reference ' the federal RCRA corrective action definition of facility found at 40 CFR 260.10, which is: "all contiguous property under control of an owner or operator seeking a RCRA permit." HSWA mandated that all facilities receiving permits should ultimately be required to cleanup all releases from all units at the facility, whether or not such units are currently active. Congress also specified that facility owners and operators should be held responsible for all releases at hazardous waste management facilities at the time of permitting in order to reduce potential burdens on the federal Superfund program.
Definition of Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) RCRA corrective action relies in large part on identification of Solid Waste Management Units ("SWMUs") to target facility investigations and corrective actions. Although DEQ's corrective action program will not be limited to releases from solid waste management units, DEQ will identify all SWMUs at facilities subject to corrective action and assess all

1 Oregon's hazardous waste programhas already adopted rules and been authorized by EPA to administer Part 264/265 closure requirements and corrective action under 40 CFR 264.100 for hazardous wastemanagement units (regulated units). 

# • DEQCorrective Action ProgramDescription Page9

### SWMUs potential or actual releases of hazardous waste and hazardous constituents. DEQ will use EPA's definition of SWMU as defined in 3004 (u) and proposed Subpart S.
Definition of Hazardous Constituent/Hazardous Waste 

### The universe of hazardous constituents subject to corrective action under state authority pursuant to the state definitions of hazardous waste and hazardous constituent is equivalent to the universe of constituents subject to federal corrective action pursuant to the federal definitions of hazardous waste and hazardous constituents. While Oregon may define such universe more explicitly than it is defined under federal regulations, both use the same underlying test to determine constituents subject to regulatory control, that is, does the constituent pose a threat or potential threat to human health and/or the environment, either intrinsically or due to site specific conditions. Corrective Action Management Units and Temporary Units 

### DEQ's corrective action regulations include provisions for corrective action management units ("CAMU") and corrective action temporary units ("TU") at 40 CFR 

### §§ 264.552 through 264.553, adopted by reference in OAR 740-100-002(2). Corrective action management units (CAMU) 

### are areas within a facility designated by DEQ for the management of remediation wastes. Remediation waste is defined as, "all 

### 0, solid and hazardous wastes, and all media (including groundwater, surface water, soils and debris, which contain listed hazardous wastes or which themselves exhibit a hazardous waste characteristic or criteria, that are managed for the purpose of implementing corrective action requirements under 40 CFR 264.101 and RCRA Section 3008(h)". For a given facility, remediation waste may originate only from within the facility boundary, but may include waste managed in implementing RCRA Section 3004(v) or 3008(h) for releases beyond the facility boundary. Placement of remediation wastes into or within a CAMU will not constitute land disposal of hazardous waste and consolidation or placement of remediation waste into or within a CAMU will not constitute creation of a unit subject to the minimum technology requirement. Corrective action management units may only be designated in an order or permit requiring corrective action. DEQ will provide opportunities for public comment on CAMU determinations in accordance with the procedures discussed in "Public Review and Comment" on page 33 of the program description. Designation of a CAMU will not effect DEQ's existing authorities to establish cleanup levels and media specific points of compliance. Designation of a CAMU is a regulatory option which will be implemented at the discretion of DEQ. When designating a CAMU, DEQ will specify design and operation standards, including:

DEQ Corrective ActionProgram Description Page 10

## o Specific requirements for management of remediation waste in the CAMU, including CAMU design, operating, and maintenance requirements, 

## o The areal configuration of the CAMU,



# o Requirements for groundwater monitoring, and


# o Requirements for CAMU closure and/or post-closure. When designating a CAMU, DEQ will ensure the following:


## o The CAMU will facilitate reliable, effective, protective, and cost-effective remedies,


## o Waste management activities associated with the CAMU will not create unacceptable risks to human or to the environment,


## o The CAMU shall include uncontaminated areas of the facility only if including such areas for the purpose of managing remediation waste is more protective than management of such wastes at contaminated areas of the facility, _


# o Areas within the CAMU where wastes will remain in place after closure of the CAMU shall be managed and contained so as to minimize future releases to the maximum extent practicable,


## o The CAMU will expedite the timing of remedial activity implementation when appropriate and practicable,


## o The CAMU will enable the use, when appropriate, of treatment technologies (including innovative technologies) to enhance the -long-term effectiveness of remedial actions by reducing the toxicity, mobility, or volume of wastes which will remain in place after closure of the CAMU, and


## o The CAMU will, to the extent practicable, minimize the land area of the facility upon which wastes will remain in place after closure of the CAMU. It is DEQ's intent to use CAMU provisions to facilitate more environmentally protective, cost-effective, site-specific, and appropriate remedial decisions. While CAMUs may, in some cases, be used to consolidate remediation wastes at a facility, it is DEQ's intent that CAMUs will primarily be used to perform more on-site treatment of remediation wastes. CAMUs will be used at RCRA corrective action sites only when other RCRA requirements can not be appropriately applied at the site. CAMU will also be used at state cleanup, non-corrective action projects. When designating CAMUs in the Cleanup Program, the 

# • DEQ Corrective Action Program Description Page 11Hazardous Waste program will be consulted. Other DEQ programs also may establish CAMU's, but not as part of RCRA corrective action. These CAMU's will be required to follow the same substantive requirements and considerations, including facilitating more on-site environmentally protective treatment of remediation wastes and including public involvement in the decision-making. An on-going consultation process which involves the HWTUR RCRA program staff will be continued to ensure that CAMU's will be established only when appropriate Under the provisions for Temporary Units (TU), DEQ can modify a design, operating or closure standard for hazardous waste tank or container treatment or storage unit. Similar to corrective action management units, temporary units may only be used for management of remediation wastes and are a regulatory option to be exercised only at the discretion of DEQ. When designating a temporary unit, DEQ will consider the following factors:


## o Length of time the unit will be in operation,


## o Type of unit,


## o Volumes of waste to be managed in the unit,


## o Physical and chemical characteristics of the waste to be managed in the unit,


## o Potential for releases from the unit, o Hydrogeological and other relevant environmental conditions at the facility which may influence the migration of any potential releases from the unit, and


## o Potential for exposure of human and environmental receptors if releases from the unit were to occur. Temporary units will operate for only one year, except DEQ may extend the operating period for up to one additional year if DEQ determines that: (1) Continued operation of the temporary unit will not pose a threat to human health or the environment, and (2) Continued operation of the unit is necessary to ensure timely and efficient implementation of remedial actions at the facility. DEQ will provide for public review and comment on temporary unit designations in accordance with 40 CFR 264.553 (f) and (g).

Page 12/ 

# •• III. AGENCY ORGANIZATION AND RESPONSIBILITIES - 40 CFR 

### § 271.6(b) 

### In this section, DEQ discusses agency organization and where responsibilities for corrective action are carried out.
Hazardous Waste and Toxics Use Reduction Program 

### DEQ implements corrective action through each of its three regional offices: Northwest Region, Western Region and Eastern Region and through the Hazardous Waste Policy and Program Development Section in DEQ headquarters. In November, 1992, then DEQ Director Fred Hansen began a major reorganization of the agency, which was effective one year later. The reorganization replaced the current Regional Managers with Regional Administrators reporting directly to the Director, which flattened the organizational structure; created three regions from the original five; and shifted approximately 140 positions from the Headquarters office to the regions. The former RCRA permits section, which was responsible for permitting, closure and corrective action activities, was decentralized in November, 1993, with staff distributed to each of the three regions. Also decentralized in November, 1993, was the Toxics Use Reduction Program. The Hazardous Waste Compliance Program had been decentralized since 1992. (See Attachment D for a current organizational chart for Waste Management and Cleanup Division and Regional Staff.) • DEQ is headed by a Director, hired by the Environmental Quality Commission. Eight Program or Regional Administrators report'to the DEQ Director. The Administrators supervise DEQ's Program Managers in either Headquarters or Regions and are responsible for long-range budgeting and planning for DEQ's Air Quality, Water Quality and Waste Management and Cleanup Programs. Program Managers are responsible for either policy and program development if in Headquarters, or program implementation if in the Regions. The HazardousWaste Program is responsible for the corrective action program and is one of the five programs within the Waste Management and Cleanup Division. The Waste Management and Cleanup Division includes the Hazardous Waste, Solid Waste, Cleanup, Spill Response, and the Underground Storage Tank cleanup and compliance programs: The Hazardous Waste Program currently has 62 positions at DEQ Headquarters and in the three Regional Offices, including staff in the Management Services Division, Enforcement Unit, and Laboratory Division. Program implementation, including corrective action, is now almost entirely performed in the regions, while program development, management, information management, policy and planning are performed at Headquarters. The reorganization has resulted in enhanced communications between the regions and headquarters and has facilitated 

# • DEQ CorrectiveActionProgram Description Page 13**I~-------**



### decision making regarding program implementation. Regions now playa much stronger support/input role in policy and program development. Regional Offices are responsible for day-to-day interpretations of state and federal rules and existing state policies. A formal process has been developed to elevate complex rule or policy interpretations, the need for new rules or policies, and consistency issues to the Hazardous Waste Policy and Program Development Section in Headquarters (See Attachment E for process on rule interpretation and policy determination.). Once elevated, both Regional and Headquarters Program Managers work as a team to develop program direction or to resolve the issue. Once authorized, DEQ will have the responsibility for the corrective action program at all affected facilities in the State; however, DEQ has already been the lead in carrying out RCRA corrective action at many facilities. During development of the annual State/EPA Program Agreement (SEA), lead roles for both DEQ and EPA have been defined for each specific facility. Over the past four years, DEQ has increased its role in corrective action by assuming a lead role on an increasing number of facilities. Regional staff are responsible for implementation of corrective action requirements, compliance monitoring and enforcement'at facilities undergoing corrective action, including facilities which undergo corrective action as part of a RCRA operating, post-closure permit or order. Regional staff will also be responsible for gathering and submitting site-specific information

.for tracking corrective action activities and for implementing the public involvement process. Regional staff are responsible for arranging for peer review of corrective action activities. Relationship with the State Cleanup Program 

### As previously discussed, there are three cleanup programs potentially involved in hazardous waste remediation. Only the RCRA Corrective Action Program is the subject of this corrective action application. This section describes the relationship 

### betweenthe RCRA Corrective Action Program and the Environmental Cleanup Program. Details on the RCRA Corrective Action Program are provided throughout this Program Description and only minimal information will be provided on Oregon's Environmental Cleanup Program since this program only rarely does work at RCRA corrective action sites.**-~** I



### The Oregon Environmental Cleanup Program was created in 1988 to implement Oregon's Environmental Cleanup Law (ORS 465.200 to 900). The Cleanup Law applies to any site where oil or hazardous substances have been released or where there is a threat 

## eft release. The Cleanup Law does not apply to releases where cleanup has been completed under either spill response pursuant to ORS 466.605 to 466.680 or to corrective action of a release of a hazardous waste pursuant to ORS 466.005 to 466.350.

DEQ CorrectiveAction Program Description 

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I 

### The Cleanup Law provides for a "State Superfund" that can be utilized by DEQ for remedial action activities at facilities where a hazardous substance release or threat of release pose a threat to public health and the environment. If a site is declared an "orphan site", due to the responsible party's inability or unwillingness to fund a remedial action or where no responsible parties exists, the state's Orphan Site Account will be used to fund high priority orphan sites. The state's HSRAF (Hazardous Substance Remedial Action Fund) also supports the state cleanup efforts. A significant component of Oregon's cleanup program is its Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). Long recognized as a model for other states and EPA, the VCP allows parties to enter into agreements with DEQ to conduct self-initiated cleanups. The program is funded through cost recovery. DEQ provides sign-off only on the portion of the cleanup completed. DEQ is not seeking authorization for corrective action using the Cleanup Law and does not '/.. intend to utilize the Cleanup Law to compel corrective action except in limited instances. These instances will generally be limited to facilities where the owner/operator does not have the financial means to comply with RCRA closure, post-closure and/or corrective action requirements and the orphan site account must be tapped to protect public health and the environment; where facility-wide corrective action. can be completed in a very short timeframe and where no ongoing RCRA Hazardous Waste requirements (such as an operating or post-closure permit) must be met; and to generators who have had systematic releases of hazardous waste to the environment, but are not being addressed as RCRA treatment, storage or disposal facilities. In practice, sites that are "clearly . RCRA" will be managed by the HW Program; sites that are "clearly non-RCRA" will be managed by the Cleanup Program; and for sites that are not clearly either program lead, a case-by-case determination by management will be made (See

### attachmen~for DEQ's Site Screening for Assignment to Hazardous Waste or Cleanup.) 

# e: Relationship with EPA Region 10 

### DEQ's implementation of corrective action under permit authorities will be governed by the State/EPA MOA. The proposed State/EPA MOA specifies that DEQ and EPA are committed to continued successful implementation of corrective action. The State/EPA MOA is attached as Part III to this application. In addition to the State/EPA MOA, State/EPA relations are governed by State/EPA Agreements and yearly Workplans. The State/EPA agreement and workplan outlines the activities· DEQ will undertake and complete each year in consideration of the RCRA grant moneys awarded by EPA. Agreement and workplan negotiations will include any transition of sites from EPA to DEQ oversight. DEQ and EPA negotiate agreement and workplan commitments after consideration of the yearly workload planning guidance provided by EPA in the RCRA Implementation Plan ("RIP").

DEQCorrective Action ProgramDescription 

# o Page 15Agreement and workplan milestones for corrective action will, at a minimum, be negotiated biannually and may include:
Human exposure Control Determination Groundwater Releases Determination
RFA Complete Corrective Action prioritization Impose RFI Receive draft RFI workplan Review RFI workplan NOD on draft RFI workplan Approve RFI workplan RFI oversight RFI oversight inspection RFI complete Receive RFI report Review RFI report ImposeCMS Receive CMS workplan Review CMS workplan NOD on CMS workplan Approve CMS workplan CMS oversight CMS oversight inspections CMS complete/Review CMS Report Public Notice CMS report Select Remedy/Public Notice Impose CMI Receive CMI workplan Review CMI workplan NOD on CMI workplan Approve CMI workplan CMI oversight CMI oversight inspections CMI complete Impose Interim Measures Receive Interim Measures workplan Review Interim Measures workplan NOD on Interim Measures workplan Approve Interim Measures Interim Measures oversight Interim Measures oversight inspections Interim Measures complete It is the mutual goal of DEQ and EPA to ensure that sites are cleaned up effectively and efficiently. It is also a goal of DEQ and EPA to assure that governmental jurisdiction does**",,** JI**~/**

DEQ CorrectiveActionProgramDescription Page 16

# •

• not adversely affect the management of a corrective action site and is, in fact, seamless to the regulated community.

IV. STAFFING. FUNDING. AND RESOURCES - 40 CFR 

### § 271.6(b) In this section, DEQ discusses the sources and distribution of existing corrective action resources. A. Staffing Currently the Hazardous Waste Compliance, Technical Assistance, Toxies Use Reduction and Permitting (including Closure, Post-Closure and Corrective Action) have 62 FTE of which there are 38.25 in the regional offices. Of these full-time regional positions, currently 8.25 are dedicated to the permitting, closure and corrective action activities. Staff in these positions include Environmental Engineers, Environmental Specialists, Hydrogeologists, Clerical/Administrative Support and Regional Managers. Portions of two additional positions in the Headquarters Policy and Program Development Section provide support and data entry for reporting corrective action progress in EPA's RCRIS database, coordination of development of the annual SEA work plan and program development. The Northwest Corrective Action Strategy (July, 1990) states that successful implementation of a corrective action program will require the following mix of skills:


## o Hydrogeologic expertise 

## o Engineering expertise 

## o Chemistry expertise 

## o Accounting and financial expertise 

## o Site management, communication, and legal skills, and 

## o Administration skills In addition, DEQ would add the following:


## o RiskAssessment/toxicology expertise DEQ believes the mix of skills recommended in the Northwest Corrective Action Strategy can be adequately represented by existing DEQ regional office staff assigned TSDF responsibilities. Currently, DEQ's regional offices support five environmental engineers, two hydrogeologists, and two environmental specialists. Staff in the Regional offices interact with the public and the regulated community on a daily basis, developing extensive communication skills. Additionally, Regional Office staff can draw on the site management experience of site managers from DEQ's Cleanup Program. Expertise in the field of chemistry is provided by DEQ's Laboratories Division. Similarly, expertise in 

# • DEQ CorrectiveActionProgram Description Page 17accounting, including the ability-to-pay evaluations, is provided by DEQ's Business Office. Legal support is provided through the Attorneys' General in the Oregon Department of Justice. Toxicology support is provided by two toxicologists available to the Corrective Action Program on an agency-wide basis. Existing Regional/Permits Staffwho will have Corrective Action Responsibilities DEQ's three Regional offices have a total of 38.25 Hazardous Waste program positions. Currently, the Regional offices are carrying no vacancies. The regions have had very low turnover rates during the last five years.

, Currently, Regional TSDF staff function as resources for regional compliance/inspection staff and are largely dedicated to implementation and oversight of TSDF compliance requirements. In some cases, DEQ staff are working with the Cleanup Program staff to implement the cleanup law and regulations at hazardous waste facilities which are TSDFs, but require timely remedial action and owners/operators do not have financial resources. Two of the regional hazardous waste managers (Dave St. Louis and Brett McKnight) oversee staff and implementation of portions of the State Cleanup Program in addition to hazardous waste responsibilities. The following figure illustrates the distribution of DEQ Regional staff. This and all staffing figures were prepared based on the current DEQ and the current universe of hazardous waste managementfacilities from the RCRA Information System (attached as Attachment 6). Existing Regional Staff/Potential Corrective Action Workload (Excluding Managementand Administrative Support)
REGION FTE #TSD FTEITS Northwest 3.5 9 0.38 Western 2.5

. 8 0.31

Eastern 2.25 

### 4 0.56

Total: 8.25 21 0.39
Notes:

## o Northwest Region FTE includes a hydrogeologist position that is currently shared with Western Region. Eastern Region FTE includes a hydrogeologist that is dedicated up to 50% to corrective action.**~-** - , DEQ Corrective Action ProgramDescription

- --- --- -**~~** - - --
-
- - -- ---- -- --------- - Page 18

# • o EPA is currently administering corrective action at four facilities (two in Western Region and two in Northwest Region), not included above.


## o The universe of Oregon closure/corrective action/permit facilities is portrayed in Attachment G. Potential Impacts on Hazardous Waste Permit Issuance 

### All hazardous waste management facility permits issued after November, 1984, must contain corrective action requirements and schedules of compliance for corrective action. DEQ has implemented the bulk of corrective action requirements through enforcement authorities, prior to facilities becoming a permitting priority and plans to incorporate such corrective action requirements into permits at the time of permit issuance. Modifications to permits made necessary by corrective action implementation (e.g., for discovery of new releases or solid waste management units) may also occur. Existing corrective action staff assigned to the Regions will be responsible to ensure that all permits issued, either operating permits or post-closure permits, contain all applicable corrective action requirements and schedules of compliance for completion of corrective action and financial responsibility requirements for completing corrective action. Potential Impacts on the Regional Offices 

### • Corrective action implementation in the three Regional offices will occur based on the priority of the site as determined by the National Corrective Action Priority System (NCAPS) ranking method (see Section VI of the program description for discussion of this priority ranking system). Based on the current end reasonably-projected universe of operating and/or post-closure facilities subject to permit, the Department has sufficient resources to operate the corrective action program. The only explicit need in the corrective action program is for additional hydrogeologic resources for the Western Region Office. Currently, hydrogeologic support for corrective action facilities located in the Western Region is provided by the Northwest Region hydrogeologist. DEQ is investigating several options to obtain additional hydrogeology support and has the ability to contract for any necessary hydrogeologic support that cannot be provided by the Northwest Region hydrogeologist. DEQ may request support from EPA as needed. Where state decisions regarding RCRA are precedent setting or require in-depth interpretation of the RCRA law or federal rules adopted by reference, DEQ will seek technical assistance or concurrence from EPA. Accountability 

# • DEQ is committed to implementing a high quality corrective action program and ensuring that an adequate infrastructure is established to assist individual corrective action site

DEQCorrectiveAction ProgramDescription Page 19managers in making informed and consistent corrective action decisions. DEQ's 

# C=: mechanisms to ensure appropriate levels of accountability for corrective action decision making include:


## o General corrective action policy decisions and day-to-day oversight of program development/implementation will be the responsibility of regional hazardous waste managers.


### o Complex corrective action policy interpretation or rule interpretation and policy and rule development needs.can be elevated to the Hazardous Waste and Toxics Use Reduction ("HWTUR") Management Team for interpretation and/or development of new Statewide policies or rules.


## o The HWTUR Management Team is chaired by the Policy and Program Development Manager and made up of all HWITUR Managers. This group meets every four weeks and is used as a forum for decision making on issues of programwide significance.


## o DEQ consistently emphasizes early and thorough peer review in all aspects of program implementation. Corrective action implementation activities will undergo extensive peer review, especially at the point of remedy selection, to ensure all corrective action requirements are met in a man,ner which is consistent with overall program direction. 

# c

o DEQ management conducts periodic, after the fact, audits and checks of regional work products to ensure consistency with program policies and overall direction.


## o DEQ is receptive to periodic EPA program reviews, including the annual and midyear program reviews, to assist us in assessing implementation of the hazardous waste management program and targeting program areas for improvement.


## o DEQ is also investigating the use of the ASTWM02 peer match program with other states as a way to enhance our corrective action program. B. Funding Funding for DEQ corrective action staffwill come from these sources, (1) The state RCRA 3011 grant and state matching funds, and any corrective action bonus or set-aside money;

2 Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials.
DEQ Corrective Action ProgramDescription Page20 

# o

# • (2) 

### TSDF annual compliance determination fees for facilities undergoing permitted corrective action (currently $13,680 annually per facility);



# I. (3) TSDF permitting fees that can be utilized to develop corrective action requirements in permits (maximum of $70,000 per facility, based on actual Department costs); and (4) Other sources of hazardous waste revenue. DEQ'is planning to conduct a major overhaul to its fee program for hazardous waste management facilities in 1995-1996 to better reflect areas of agency activity and increasing activity, e.g. permit modifications and corrective actions. A strong possibility for the future fee base will be cost recovery fees modeled on the state Cleanup Program's cost recovery system. The object of DEQ, however, is to establish a sound and stable source for funding for TSD work reflecting our regulatory priorities and activities.


### V. TRANSITION 

### Transition of the corrective action program from federal administration to state administration will be governed by the State/EPA MOA and through the annual State/EPA Agreement (SEA) negotiations. Facilities currently in the corrective action universe will fall into one of the following categories and transition upon state authorization:
1.

. Facility is currently subject to a RCRA permit that has been jointly issued by EPA and DEQ and includes a "table of authorities" that delineates current EPA authority, joint authority and DEQ authority. The State's basis for

- 

### eW assuming authority over federal permit provisions for which the State is 

## n ...- authorized is ORS 466.086 which authorizes the State to take any action

### ~:~-letf. within the legal authority of the Environmental Quality Commission 

### o . necessary to gain federal authorization of any portion of the Subtitle C program. Transition: Upon or shortly after authorization, EPA and DEQ will notify the permittee that the table of authority as provided for in current permits is being changed accordingly. 2. Facility is currently on a DEQ order independently issued by DEQ. Transition: DEQ will independently administer and enforce these orders and will no longer seek concurrent EPA review and concurrence on work plans and work products. Any Part 

### 8 permits including HSWA corrective action will be issued as State permits

.. Where State decisions regarding RCRA are 

# • DEQCorrectiveAction ProgramDescription Page2!----- ----, 

# J
precedent setting or require in-depth interpretation of the 

# C RCRA law or federal rules adopted by reference, DEQ will seek technical assistance or concurrence from EPA. 3. Facility is under interim status only and currently has not been issued a permit or order by either EPA or DEQ.
Transition: 

### DEQ will independently review and approve work plans and products and no longer seek EPA approval on work plans or work products. Any permit will be issued in accordance with the provisions of the MOA.. Where State decisions regarding RCRA are precedent setting or require in -depth interpretation of the RCRA law or federal rules adopted by reference, DEQ will seek technical assistance or concurrence from EPA.

VI. CORRECTIVE ACTION PROCESS 

### As a general rule, DEQ has not developed extensive independent procedures for permitting, closure and/or corrective action that are different from EPA because of the relatively small size of the regulated universe in Oregon. DEQ plans to rely on and incorporate EPA guidance and procedures such as the following to guideour work and serve as our standard operating procedure:


## o "RCRA Facility Assessments Guidance," OSWER October 1986.


## o "Interim Final RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI) Guidance," Volumes I - IV, EPA/530/SW-89-031, May 1989.


## o "RCRA Corrective Action Interim Measures Guidance, Interim Final," EPA/530-SW88-029, OSWER Directive 9902.4, June 1988.


## o "RCRA Corrective Action Plan, Final," EPA 520-R-94-004, OSWER Directive9902.4, June 1988.


## o Various EPA guidance publications on risk assessment, including thefollowing: • "Human Health Evaluation Manual, Supplemental Guidance: Standard Default Exposure Factors," OSWER Directive 9285.6-03, March 25, 1991. • "Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund, Volume I, Human Health Evaluation Manual, Part A, Baseline Risk Assessment." 1989 OSWER. OSWER Directive No. 9285.7-01A. EPA 540/1-89/002. 

# 0,1

DEQCorrective Action ProgramDescription Page 22 

# ci '

# • • "Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund, .Volume I, Human Health Evaluation Manual, Part 8, 

### Development of Risk-based Remediation Goals." 19910SWER. OSWER Directive No. 9285.7-018. EPA 540/R-92/003. • "Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund, Volume I, Human Health Evaluation Manual, Part C, Evaluation of Remedial Alternatives." 1991 OSWER. OSWER Directive No. 9285.7-01C. EPA 540/R-921004. • "Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund, Volume II, Environmental

.Evaluation Manual." 1989. OSWER. EPA 540/1-89/001A. • "EPA Region 10 Supplemental Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund: Interim Final." August 16, 1991. • "Ecological Assessment of Hazardous Waste Sites: A Field and Laboratory Reference." 1989. EPA/600/3-89-013. • "Guidelines for Developing Risk-based Cleanup Levels at RCRA Sites in", Region 10," Interim Final or as updated, EPA 910/9-92-019. The corrective action process, or pipeline, is similar to the Federal Superfund process and include the following steps (more details pre provided on each in the following sections: o Corrective Action Priority Setting and Facility Ranking'


## o Site Discovery, Initial Ranking and Screening for Regulated Units and Program

. (Authority) Lead


## o RCRA FacilityAssessment (ltRFAIt)


# o Interim Corrective Measures


### o RCRA Facility Investigation (ltRFIIt)



## o Corrective Measures Study(ltCMSIt)



## o Proposal of Selected Remedy


# o Public Review and Comment on Proposed Remedy o Remedy Approval and Corrective Measures Implementation


### o Re-ranking at Each Process Step


### o AssessmentofCorrective Action PerformanceIn general, corrective action requirements can be imposed using either an enforcementtype mechanism (e.g. to issue unilateral or mutually-agreed upon orders) or a permit-type

DEQ CorrectiveActionProgramDescription Page23

### authority (e.g. to issue RCRA operating or post-closure permits). In many cases, facilities willbe subjectto both the enforcement and permitting authority, so a choice must be made as to which authority to use for implementation of corrective action. The Northwest Corrective Action Strategy, prepared in 1990, recognized that decisions regarding corrective action implementation mechanisms would likely be complex, and offered the following factors and advice for consideration:


# o The Cooperation of the Owner/Operator. Recalcitrant owner/operators may be more responsive to an order, particularly a unilateral order, although appeals may be time and resource consuming and there may be benefits to being under the "structure" ofthe permit process. Cooperative owner/operators may respond well to the permit process.


# o Projected Length of Regulatory Oversight. In general, enforcement authoritiesare less suited for activities requiring long-term oversight, whereas permits are designed to address long-term activities.


# o Timing of Corrective Action. An enforcement order may be more appropriate where a prompt action is necessary and where a permit is not scheduled to be issued in. the near future. DEQ recognizesthat many facilitieswhich undergo corrective action through a unilateral or agreed-upon order will eventually require operating or post-closure permits which must include corrective action requirements and schedules of compliance for corrective action. However, DEQ intends to pursue corrective action implementation initially through an order where an operating or post-closure permit has not yet been issued due to the small universe of TSDFs. This also allows the DEQ to control the schedules and scope of Corrective activities while the permit is being developed. Corrective action requirements imposed in advance of permitting will be incorporated into permits at the time of permit issuance. Corrective Action Priority Setting and Ranking Method It is DEQ's intent to address sites which pose the greatest risk to human health and the environment first. This is known as "worst first" site prioritization. EPA Region 10 uses a modified version of the NCAPS referred to as "Ten-CAPS" to assign corrective action priorities. Site rankings under ten-CAPS consider the extent of contamination, the toxicity of known or suspected releases, and the facility environmental setting to justify a high, medium, or low corrective action priority or ranking. DEQ will use facility corrective action

DEQ Corrective ActionProgramDescription Page24

# •

• rankings calculated under ten-CAPS to determine priorities for purposes of workload planning and will rank newly discovered/newly regulated corrective action candidates using ten-CAPS. In addition to the ten-CAPS ranking, DEQ may consider the following factors when determining facility priorities for workload planning purposes:


## o The facility's compliance and enforcement history;


## o Financial status of the facility owner/operator;


## o The extent to which the nature of the release is known;


## o The type and complexity of the required corrective action activity; , 

## o The ability of the facility to conduct corrective action activities; and


## o Public interest and/or concern.


## o Where cumulative health risks from environmental releases not related to the facility exist for people living in the vicinity of the facility, those circumstances will be taken into consideration in the corrective action prioritization process. In addition to the facility specific factors outlined above, DEQ will consider the guidance provided by EPA in the biennial RCRA Implementation Plan ("RIP") when conducting corrective action workload planning. DEQ and EPA will negotiate specific corrective action workload commitments during State/EPA Agreement negotiations. 

### Site Discovery, Initial Ranking and Screening for Regulated Units and Program Lead Most known facilities subject to corrective action have been ranked by EPA Region 10 or DEQ using ten-:-CAPS. The ten-CAPS system assigns sites a high, medium, or low corrective action priority based on site specific conditions, including extent of contamination, toxicity of known or suspected releases, and environmental setting. Unless new information on a facility becomes available, DEQ does not intend to re-rank federallyranked sites. When ranking newly discovered facilities, DEQ intends to utilize the tenCAPS ranking system, as discussed previously. DEQ anticipates three types of new corrective action facilities: (1) New facilities receiving permits; (2) Newly-discovered TSDFs (including generators who are classified as treatment, storage or disposal facilities; and 

# • DEQCorrective Action ProgramDescription Page2S(3) 

### Newly-regulated TSDFs. 

# c DEQ anticipates that some newly-discovered TSDFs will be hazardous waste generators who did not operate in compliance with the generator requirements by storing hazardous waste (including treatment in tanks or containers) for over ninety days, or by treatment in other than tanks or containers or by land disposing of hazardous waste without interim status, or a RCRA permit. At each newly-discovered and newly-regulated corrective action facility, DEQ will first use ten-CAPS to rank the site based on available information. Site rankings will determine facility placement on the RFA priority list. Newly-discovered corrective action facilities which are ranked as a high priority for corrective action will be given a high priority on the RFA priority list. Site discovery and initial ranking will be tracked in the RCRA Information System ("RCRIS"). In the case of site referral to the Cleanup Program, site discovery and initial ranking will be tracked in RCRIS, however corrective action activities will also be tracked in the Cleanup Program's Site Environmental Cleanup Site Information ("ECSI") database and subsequent remedial work. RCRA Facility Assessments ("RFA") 

### Each hazardous waste management facility subject to corrective action must undergo a preliminary evaluation to gather information which will assist regulatory agencies with priority setting. This preliminary evaluation is referred to as a "RCRA FacilityAssessment" or "RFA". The purpose of an RFA is to identify all releases and solid waste management units at the facility and assess each units potential or actual releases of hazardous waste and hazardous constituents. RFA's generally include a desk top review of available information on the facility, a visual facility inspection to confirm available information, collect additional information, and note any visual evidence of releases, and, in some cases, a sampling visit to confirm or disprove suspected releases. DEQ will conduct RFAs or equivalent evaluation and documentation in accordance with EPA guidance document, "RCRA Facility Assessment Guidance" (October, 1986).DEQ does not intend to routinely re-evaluate facilities which have final, recent EPAconducted, RFAs. Where a lapse has occurred since the EPA-conducted RFA was completed, DEQ will undertake additional investigation of the facility to assure any new SWMUs or areas of concern have not been created since the RFA was performed. At facilities newly-subject to corrective action, and at facilities subject to corrective action which have not undergone an EPA conducted RFA, DEQ w'i11 provide for or conduct an RFA. DEQ will conduct RFAs using DEQ staff or by employing contractors through a professional service contract. RFA staffing determinations will be made on a resource availability basis. DEQ believes it may be possible to negotiate some RFAs into the 

# c

DEQ Corrective ActionProgramDescription Page 26

# •

• annual State/EPA agreement, in which case, EPA contractor personnel would perform the RFAs under joint DEQ/EPA oversight. Regardless of their funding mechanism, specific RFA commitments will be negotiated by EPA and DEQ in the State/EPA agreement. Following the RFA, DEQ will use ten-CAPS to re-rank all facilities requiring additional corrective action activities with a high, medium, or low corrective action priority. RFAs and facility priorities will be tracked by the DEQ in RCRA Information System ("RCRIS") (Attachment H).
Public Participation 

### DEQ believes that public participation is an integral part of our effort to reach the public. DEQ'sgoal is to provide the public with timely information and meaningful opportunities for participation in corrective action decision making, including meaningful opportunities for public comment on corrective action remedy selection, cleanup levels, and points of. compliance. To the maximum extent possible, DEQ intends to rely on the existing public participation infrastructure in the Hazardous Waste Program to meet the public participation needs for corrective action and to ensure corrective action activities provide for adequate and meaningful public involvement. DEQ will develop and implement public participation and may require facility owner/operators to develop and implement a public participation plan at any point in the

. corrective action pipeline. Such plans are subject to review, modification, and approval by DEQ. At a minimum, public participation plans are required at the time of remedy selection. The purpose of a public participation plan is to encourage a coordinated and effective public involvement process, tailored to the public's needs at a particular facility. The scope of the plans will be commensurate with the nature of the proposed remedial actions, the levels of public concern, and the risks posed by the facility

.. Many facility owner/operators who are required to develop and implement a public participation plan under corrective action are already subject to the public participation requirements for RCRA permit applicants and recipients. At RCRA permitted and permit track facilities, DEQ site managers will ensure that corrective action public participation plans incorporate applicable public participation requirements for RCRA permit issuance and/or modifications. In the case of the disposal and treatment permits, the culmination of the permit development processis review and subsequent approval by the EQC. For storage permits, a similar process of review and approval is carriedout by the director.

.DEQ CorrectiveActionProgramDescription Page27

# • Interim Corrective Measures In some cases it may be appropriate to take stabilization or interim measures during a corrective action. Interim measures will be those actions which are required in advance of final site characterization, remedy selection, or remedy implementation to address an immediate threat to human health or the environment or to prevent further environmental degradation or contaminant migration. When making determinations regarding interim measures, DEQ may consider such factors as:


## o Time required to develop and implement a final remedy;


## o Actual or potential exposure of nearby populations or environmental receptors to hazardouswastes or constituents; o Actual or potential contamination of drinking water supplies or sensitive ecosystems';


## o Further degradation of the medium that may occur if remedial action is not initiated expeditiously; 

# • o

o Presenceof hazardous waste or constituents in containers which may pose a threat of release; Presence of high levels of hazardous waste or constituents in soils largely on or near the surface which may present an exposure threat to humans or other receptors or which have the potential to migrate; . 0 Environmental conditions, including weather conditions, which may cause hazardouswastes or constituents to migrate or be released; and


## o Risks of fire or explosion or potential for exposure to hazardous waste or constituents as a result of accident or other cause. To the extent that the final corrective measure is known, interim measures will be conducted in a manner not inconsistent with that final measure.

DEQ Corrective Action Program Description Page28

# •

• owner/operators to conduct a more detailed assessment of site conditions and potential cleanup strategies. This assessment is referred to as a Corrective Measures Study or "CMS". Determination that a CMS is necessary can occur at any point during the RFI. In many cases, it will be appropriate for the RFI and CMS to overlap or occur simultaneously.
Given the wide range of facilities potentially subject to RCRA corrective action, EPA utilizes considerable flexibility in defining the scope and analytic approach to developing corrective measures studies. This requires that the process remain flexible, with the scope of the RFI/CMS varying from site to site to avoid the collection of unnecessary information. Although varied site-specific conditions require flexibility, in all cases, a CMS must provide sufficient information for DEQ to select a clean up action (for additional information on remedy selection criteria, see "remedy selection", below). Elements of a CMS may include evaluations of the performance, reliability, ease of implementation, and impacts (including safety, cross-media contaminant transfer, and control of exposures to residual contamination) associated with any potential remedy, evaluations of the appropriateness of specific remedial technologies to the contamination being addressed, and evaluation of the ability of those technologies to achieve "target" cleanup. Analysis of a remedy's performance and reliability should include an assessment of the effectiveness of a remedy in controlling the source of a release and its long-term reliability. Where treatment is planned, an assessment of treatment capacity will typically be required. In addition, the CMS should consider proposed remedies in preference for remedies which use permanent solutions to the maximum extent practicable and minimize the amount of untreated hazardous constituents remaining at a site. Cleanup Standards DEQ has broad statutory authority to establish cleanup levels on a site by site basis. DEQ intends to rely upon EPA risk assessment guidance documents (including those listed on page 37) and toxicological data bases such a's IRIS to determine the appropriate cleanup levels for a given facility. The DEQ Environmental Cleanup Program is required to follow cleanup levels established in the Revised Oregon Environmental Cleanup Law. This law establishes a standard of 

### 1 x 

### 10-6 excess cancer risk to be achieved by remediation and/or institutional controls and for non-carcinogenic hazardous constituents, the hazard quotient must not exceed 1. These cleanup standards apply to all media (groundwater, surface water, soils and air) and current and reasonable future land use is to be considered as a basis when establishing acceptable cleanup levels. The revised Cleanup Law requires development of a risk protocol for probabilistic risk assessment, DEQ may apply the new cleanup law 

# • DEQCorrective Action ProgramDescription Page3!and risk protocol to corrective action sites in the future; however this application is based 

# C upon current risk protocol described above Points of Compliance
Points of compliance are the locations at which cleanup standards must be met. DEQ's setting of cleanup standards will include specification of points of compliance. It is DEQ's intent to establish points of compliance which are at least as stringent as those required by EPA 'during implementation of Federal corrective action. At a minimum, points of compliance shall be:


## o For groundwater

-- throughout the contaminated groundwater plume and at the edge of the appropriate Solid Waste Management Unit as specified by DEQ;


## o For air -- at the location of the most exposed individual and/or.other specified point as specified by DEQ;


## o For surface water -- at the point where the release enters the surface water and/or at designated locations where hazardous constituents have accumulated in surface water or sediments as specified by DEQ;


## o For soils -- at any point where direct exposure to soils may occur, and/or at locations determined to indicate groundwater protection as specified by DEQ. 

# c
Proposal of Selected Remedy
At completion of the site investiqation ("RFI") and remedial alternatives study ("eMS"), the owner/operator of a facility implementing corrective action will report all his/her findings to DEQ, and may recommend a preferred remedial alternative and remedy implementation plan to DEQ. DEQ may accept the preferred remedial alternative, require implementation of an alternative remedial alternative, require additional assessment of remedial options, or some combination of these activities. DEQ will then prepare and issue a draft cleanup action plan which summarizes and explains DEQ's proposed remedial alternative, cleanup levels, and points of compliance. After public notice and opportunities for public comment, DEQ will issue a final cleanup action plan and also provide public notification of the selected corrective measure. The final cleanup action plan will then be implemented by the facility under a permit or in a few instances, through an order. DEQ may require a facility owner/operatorto submit a draft cleanup action plan. The level of detail in the proposed cleanup action plan will be commensurate with the complexity of the facility and the proposed cleanup action. All proposed cleanup action plans must include:

DEQCorrectiveAction ProgramDescription Page 32' 

# c

# • (1 ) A general description of the proposed cleanup action including proposed compliance monitoring; (2) A brief summary of site investigations and feasibility studies and a brief summary of other cleanup actions evaluated; (3) Site cleanup levels and points of compliance for each hazardous constituent and for each media of concern; (4) A schedule for implementation of the proposed cleanup action plan, including, if known, the restoration time frame; (5) Required institutional controls and site use restrictions, if any; (6) Justification for selection of a cleanup action which relies on cleanup technologies that have a lower preference than higher preference cleanup technologies; (7) Applicable state and federal laws for the proposed cleanup action; 

# • (8) When the cleanup action involves on-site containment, specification of the types, levels, and amounts of hazardous wastes and constituents remaining on site and the measures that will be utilized to prevent migration and contact with those wastes and constituents. All chosen remedial alternatives shall provide for protection of human health and the environment, comply with the cleanup standards, comply with other applicable state and federal laws, provide for compliance monitoring, use permanent solutions to the maximum extent practicable, and provide for a reasonable restoration time frame.
Public Review and Comment on Proposed Remedy In accordance with the public participation requirements discussed in the section on "Public Participation" on page 27, DEQ will provide for public comment as follows: Opportunities for public comment on remedial alternatives will be in accordance with a DEQ prepared or overseen, site-specific public participation plan. At a minimum, public participation on proposed remedies and draft Cleanup Action Plans will include:

DEQ CorrectiveAction ProgramDescription 

# • o Public Mailout. Notice shall be mailed to persons who reside within the potentially affected vicinity of the proposed remedial alternative. The potentially affected vicinity shall include all property adjoining the facility and any other areas DEQ determines to be directly affected by the proposed corrective measure. In the case of a final corrective measure which is incorporated by reference into a RCRA permit, or is the subject of a permit modification, the public maHout will include all

Page 33

### persons on the facility mailing list maintained by DEQ and the appropriate units of 

# C state and local government. The public shall be given a minimum of thirty (30) days to provide comment on the proposed remedial alternative.


## o Newspaper Notice. Notice of the proposed corrective measure shall be published in the newspaper of the largest circulation in the city or county of the proposed action by display ad, legal notice, or other appropriate format. Notice of the proposed remedial alternative shall also be mailed to any other news media which DEQ determines to be appropriate. The public shall be allowed a minimum of thirty (30) days to provide comment on the proposed corrective measure.


## o Public Hearing. If, during the public comment period, ten or more persons request a public hearing on the proposed remedial alternative, DEQ shall hold a public hearing for the purpose of receiving public comments. DEQ may, at its discretion or at the request/recommendation of the owner/operator of the facility undergoing corrective action, hold a public hearing for the purpose of receiving public comments regardless of public request or intent. The Department considers public input during the remedy selection process. Any member of the public may question or oppose a department or commission action on any aspect of the protection of the environment or public health during the public forum portion of any Commission meeting. Formal public appeal of any permit decision regarding corrective action may occur as follows: 

# c

o Permit actions by the Department generally may not be appealed by a third party unless the applicant appeals the permit and the Commission allows the third party to become a party to the case.


## o Permit actions by the Commission can be appealed by any person to a Circuit Court in a county of proper venue. J)oes.

### ...\-~**O--P~** SD

### \-e-~ 

# to..uu.-**~.eA.-W\dtee.** Public review and comment activities will be tracked using the RCRA Information System. Corrective action activities for the small number of sites referred to the Cleanup Program will be tracked in the Cleanup Program's Environmental Cleanup Information System ("ECSI"). Remedy Approval and Implementation 

### Based on the findings of the RFI and CMS, the preferred remedial alternative and justification provided by the facility owner/operator, comments received during the public comment period, and other site-specific information, DEQ will specify cleanup levels and points of compliance, choose a remedy to be implemented at the facility and finalize a facility Corrective Action Plan. DEQ will publish the availability of the final Corrective

DEQ Corrective ActionProgramDescription Page 34 

# c

# •

• Action Plan through the permitting or order public involvement processes previously described. Since implementation of remedies will often require an extended period of time, DEQ may require facility owner/operators to submit periodic progress reports during remedy implementation. DEQ will specify the frequency, content, and format of progress reports when specifying final remedies. All raw data and information developed or submitted during remedy implementation must be maintained at the facility as long as the facility operates under a RCRA permit, or in the case of interim status facilities, until interim status is terminated (through denial of a permit) by DEQ. DEQ will conduct periodic inspections to monitor continued compliance with the approved Corrective Action Plan and to gauge remedyperformance. In the case of the disposal and treatment permits, the culmination of the permit development process is a review and subsequent approval by the EQC. For storagepermits, a similar process of review and approval is carried out by the director. Remedy proposals and decisions will be tracked using the RCRA Information System or in the Cleanup Program's Environmental Cleanup Information System ("ECSI").
Restoration Time Frame 

### DEQ's strong preference is for rapid cleanup and/or restoration of contaminated media; however, we recognize that many factors affect remedy timing. For example, implementation of preferred remedial technologies (e.g., on-site treatment) may justify a longer restoration time frame than reliance on less preferred remedial options (e.g. off-site disposal). DEQ will consider the following factors when establishing a restoration time frame: (1) Potential risks posed by the site to human health and the environment; (2) Practicability of achieving a shorter restoration time frame; (3) Current use of the site, surrounding areas, and associated resources that are, or may be affected by releases from the site; (4) Potential future use of the site, surrounding areas, and associated resources that are, or may be affected by releases from the site; (5) Availability of alternative water supplies; (6) Likely effectiveness and reliability of institutional controls; (7) Ability to control and monitor migration of hazardous substances from the site;

,

# Ie DEQ Corrective ActionProgramDescription Page 35(8) Toxicity of the hazardous substances at the site; and 

# c
(9)- Natural processes which reduce concentrations of hazardous substances and have been documented to occur at the site or under similar site conditions. Completion of Corrective Action Activities
III general, corrective action activities will be considered complete when the cleanup standards have been met for all media throughout the site and all sources of hazardous waste and hazardous constituents have been addressed as required by the operating or

-post-closure permit or corrective action order. RCRA facilities will remain under interim

status or under an operating or post-closure permit or order until all corrective action activities are completed. In the case of RCRA facilities operating under interim status, interim status will not be terminated until all closure and corrective activities are completed or until the facility obtains a final RCRA operating or post-closure permit. In the case of final remedies which incorporate institutional controls and/or periodic site reviews corrective action activities will not be deemed completed until DEQ has determined that the institutional controls and/or periodic site reviews are no longer necessary. Corrective Action at Permit-Track Facilities Permit-track facilities are those hazardous waste .rnanaqernent facilities which are seeking or required to have a final operating or post-closure hazardous waste management permit. Final hazardous waste management permits must address all aspects of hazardous waste management at a facility, including corrective action requirements for known releases and corrective action provisions for releases which may occur during the permitted life of the facility. All permit track facilities are subject to corrective action requirements. In most cases, DEQ intends that corrective action activities for known releases at permit track facilities will occur in advance of permitting. Corrective action requirements will be imposed in agreed or unilateral enforcement orders. At the time of final permit issuance, corrective action requirements and schedules of compliance for corrective action will be incorporated into permits. Changes to corrective action requirements during the operating life of a permitted facility are subject to the Federal hazardous waste regulation's requirements for permit modifications. These rules divide permit modifications into three classes. Class 1 permit modifications are considered the least significant, for example, addition of a roof to a container unit without alteration of the containment system is a class 1 permit modification.

Class 2 permit modifications are considered more significant, modification of a container 

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14 unit without increasing the capacity of the unit is a class 2 permit modification. Class 3 permit modifications are considered the most significant, modification of a container unit which result in greater than a 25% increase in a facilities container storage capacity is a class 3 permit modification. All class 2 and 3 modifications are subject to DEQ approval and must provide opportunity for public comment. DEQ approval of a corrective action management unit (see discussion of corrective action management unit in Section III) is considered a class 3 permit modification. DEQ approval of a corrective action temporary unit (see discussion of corrective action temporary units in Section III) or time extension for a temporary unit is considered a class 2 permit modification. If requirements for corrective action extend beyond the operating life of the permitted facility, the facility permit will be extended to cover the time required to complete corrective action.
Corrective Action at Closure-Track Facilities All hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal facilities which have or should have interim status are subject to corrective action as necessary to protect public health and the environment. Hazardous waste management facilities qualified for interim status under the federal RCRA rules by meeting three tests:


## o The facility must be in existence on the date a regulation causing it to become subject to hazardous waste management standards becomes effective; and


## o The facility owner/operator must file a timely notification of hazardous waste management activities with EPA or DEQ as appropriate; and


## o The facility owner/operator must file, in a timely manner, a Part A hazardous waste management facility permit application with EPA or DEQ as appropriate. Under OAR 340-105-010(2)(a), existing solid waste management facilities in Oregon that receive from off-site solid waste which by virtue of federal or state statute or regulation becomes hazardous waste and who treat or dispose of such waste must comply with the siting standards at OAR 340 Division 120 and receive a final permit before managing the waste. These facilities, therefore, cannot obtain interim status and cannot continue to manage the newly-regulated hazardous waste until a permit is obtained. Provided the facility ceases to treat or dispose of the newly-regulated hazardous waste, it would not be required to obtain a hazardous waste treatment or disposal permit, nor would the facility be subject to hazardous waste closure requirements or facility-wide corrective action. Only those facilities that qualified for interim status prior to the effective date of OAR 340- 105-01 0(2)(a) would be subject to closure, post-closure and facility-wide corrective action.

DEQ CorrectiveActionProgramDescription Page 37

### Facilities are not allowed to operate under interim status indefinitely. Congress has set statutory deadlines by which all interim status facilities must either submit Part B of the hazardous waste management facility operating or post-closure permit application or comply with the requirements to clean close and conduct corrective action as necessary to protect human health and the environment. These deadlines vary depending on when a facility qualified for interim status. The term "closure" refers to requirements placed on all hazardous waste management units to ensure that, at the end of the units operable life, the unit is closed in a manner which: (1) minimizes the need for further maintenance, and" (2) controls, minimizes oreliminates to the extent necessary to protect human health and the environment, postclosure escape of hazardous waste, hazardous constituents, leachate, contaminated runoff, and hazardous waste decomposition products to the ground, surface water, ground water or atmosphere. In some cases, hazardous waste management units can "clean close" by removing or decontaminating all hazardous waste, waste residues, and equipment, bases, liners, soils, or other materials containing or contaminated with hazardous waste or waste residue, to the extent that the such removal or decontamination assures that the levels of hazardous waste constituents or residues left at the unit do not exceed levels which would pose a threat to human health or the environment. In other cases, hazardous waste management units are not able to meet the stringent clean closure requirements and must conform with stringent long term control and monitoring standards as set forth in a post closure permit. Facilities which hope to achieve clean closure rather than apply for a post-closure permit are referred to as "closure-track" facilities. Facilities which seek or are required to have an operating or post-closure permit are referred to as "permit-track" facilities (see corrective action implementation at permit track facilities, above). Interim status facilities must continue to meet all applicable interim status standards until they clean close and conduct corrective action as necessary to protect human health and the environment, or receive a final operating or post closure permit. Corrective action at interim status facilities will, in all cases, be equivalent in scope, stringency, and application to corrective action at permit-track facilities. Although the regulatory requirements for corrective action are distinct from unit-specific closure requirements, DEQ will attempt to integrate closure and corrective action wherepracticable and appropriate. In some cases, corrective action remedies will include atonqterm monitoring component. If a facility owner/operator has clean closed all hazardous waste management units and completed corrective action" except for a long term monitoring component, the facility will continue to be regulated under interim status, but will be. referred to as a closed (or non-operating) interim status facility, and will not be subject to biennial interim status inspections, although periodic inspections to ensure the continued success of the chosen remedy and to assess the Facility's compliance with the 

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# • DEQ approved final Corrective Measure will be performed. Facilities who undergo "dirty" or "landfill" closures will remain subject to post-closure requirements, including post-closure permitting requirements, in addition to requirements for corrective action. At a closure-track facility, when the facility owner/operator has completed DEQ approved clean closures of all regulated units, and fulfilled all applicable corrective action requirements, DEQ may terminate the Facility's interim status by issuing a letter of termination and permit denial. 

### Corrective Action at Permit-by-Rule Facilities Permit by rule facilities are those facilities which have received and are in compliance with a permit (other than an interim status or final hazardous waste managementfacility permit) which addresses the management of hazardous wastes. Such facilities are said to have "permit-by-rule" because they are allowed to manage hazardous wastes in compliance with their existing permit rather than apply for a separate hazardous waste management facility permit. DEQ recognizes four types of permit-by rule facilities:


## o Ocean disposal barges or vessels with a permit for ocean dumping issued under 40 CFR Part 220; 

# • o Underground injection wells with an underground injection control permit issued by DEQ under a federally approved program for underground injection and in compliance with federal standards for underground injection at 40 CFR 

### § 144.14;


## o Publicly owned treatment works ("POlW') with a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") permit; and


## o Totally enclosed treatment facilities or elementary neutralization or wastewater treatment units with an NPDES permit or written discharge authorization from the local sewerage authority. Under the Federal corrective action system, only underground injection wells and POTWsare explicitly subject to corrective action requirements due to their status under permit-byrule. Corrective action at permit-by-rule facilities will be equivalent in scope, stringency, and application to corrective action at permit-track facilities. 

### Corrective Action at Facilities which Undergo Non-Corrective Action Cleanup It is DEQ's intent that facilities undergo comprehensive site-wide cleanup only once. To that end, DEQ may decide to defer corrective action activities at a facility implementing environmental cleanup under a different authority (e.g. federal-or state Superfund) until 

# • DEQ Corrective ActionProgramDescription Page 39that cleanup is finished. Deferral of corrective action activities will not constitute a waiver from applicable corrective action requirements. DEQ HWTUR Program staff will coordinate with individuals overseeing the non-corrective action cleanup to include as many corrective action requirements as are appropriate in the non-corrective action cleanup. When the non-corrective action cleanup is completed, DEQ HWTUR Program staff will assess the cleanup and determine if further corrective action is warranted. In some cases, the non-corrective action cleanup may not address all units which would be included under corrective action", In these circumstances, DEQ may address cleanup of those remaining units under corrective action authorities. In other cases, the non-corrective action cleanup may fulfill all known corrective action requirements such that DEQ can determine that no further corrective action is necessary at that time. Even in the event that DEQ makes the determination that no further corrective action is necessary, newly discovered units or releases remain subject to corrective action requirements and/or other applicable cleanup requirements. Facilities which undergo a non-corrective action cleanup before or during the life of a RCRA operating or post closure permit may be required to conduct corrective action forrelease and/or units which were not known (or had not occurred) at the time of the noncorrective action cleanup,

VII. COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT· 40 CFR 

### § 271.6(e) In this section, DEQ discusses the anticipated impacts implementation of a corrective action program will have on existing state priorities and state procedures for compliance monitoring and enforcement of corrective action requirements. Since all hazardous waste management facilities seeking or required to have a RCRA permit are currently subject to corrective action, and corrective action requirements are being actively implemented by DEQ at all but four facilities, DEQ does not anticipate a drastic change in corrective action workload after State authorization. DEQ estimates that only a small numberof additional facilities may become subject to corrective action. Transition of the corrective action program from federal administration to State administration will be governed by the State/EPA MOA. EPA may continue to administer actions which fall under federal omnibus authorities and/or which are a part of the federal oversight and overfile authorities. All 3008(h) orders issued by EPA prior to DEQ's corrective action authorization will continue to be enforced by EPA until such time as the State issues a State order or permit and the EPA order is rescinded. I



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Facilities which are subject to corrective action that have not begun implementation of corrective action requirements under federal enforcement or omnibus authority or

### federally

DEQCorrective Action ProgramDescription Page40 

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• issued permit, will be addressed by DEQ according to the priority setting and ranking system discussed in "Corrective action priority setting and ranking method" in Section VI. Current Level ofCompliance Monitoring and Enforcement Effort In fiscal year 1993/94, DEQ regional staff conducted 31 inspections of hazardous waste large quantity generators, 45 inspections of small quantity generators, and 12 inspections of management facilities. Regional staff conducted and corrective actions staff are overseeing a total of 23 hazardous waste management unit closures, and corrective actionsstatewide. DEQ believes that current staff levels provide the resources necessary to make adequate and significant progress on corrective action implementation and allow for reasonable transition of corrective action sites from federal to state oversight. Corrective action workload assignments will be prepared in accordance with state corrective action priorities determined as discussed in "Corrective action priority setting and ranking" in Section VI. DEQ has initiated quarterly meetings with all program and regional staff in attendance and. these meetings will provide a forum for discussion of issues related to corrective action at the technical staff level. Corrective action implementation, including corrective action compliance monitoring and enforcement, will occur in DEQ's three regions and will be absorbed by existing staff. Currently, Regional staff are responsible for closure, Subpart F corrective action, and permitting. DEQ is committed to making significant progress on the state-wide corrective action workload at a reasonable rate. As part of workload planning activities for Fiscal Year 1996, regional HWTUR Managers will be asked to continue high priority corrective action in their regions and to factor work at those facilities into the planning process. Compliance Monitoring Tasks Whenever possible, DEQ will integrate compliance monitoring activities for corrective action with other compliance monitoring activities. DEQ has planned the following five compliance monitoring tasks for corrective action implementation: (1) 

### Corrective action compliance monitoring inspections Corrective action compliance monitoring inspections will include the bulk of corrective action compliance monitoring activities. Corrective action oversight inspections will be used for the purpose of overseeing facility owner/operator's corrective action site activity as required in the corrective action order or permits

DEQ Corrective ActionProgram Description Page41and to confirm that the owner/operator is progressing with corrective action 

# C., investigations, studies or implementation consistent with progress being reported. If corrective action progress is significantly behind schedule and/or corrective action implementation is being conducted in a manner inconsistent with the corrective action order or permits, a violation may be cited. Corrective action compliance monitoring inspections may include duplicate sampling. (2) Comprehensive groundwater monitoring evaluations
A comprehensive groundwater monitoring evaluation is a detailed assessment of the adequacy of the design and operation of a facility's groundwater monitoring system. Comprehensive groundwater monitoring evaluations will be conducted by DEQ hydrogeologists or contractors and includes review of the owner/operator's characterization of the hydrogeology beneath hazardous and solid waste management units, monitoring well placement/depth/spacing, and well design and construction. Comprehensive groundwater monitoring evaluations will also include a review of the operation of the groundwater monitoring system through an evaluation of the owner/operator's sampling and analysis plan, and its implementation. Comprehensive groundwater monitoring evaluations may be timed to coincide with owner/operator sampling events to permit the field evaluation of sampling techniques and/or split sampling. Currently, comprehensive groundwater monitoring inspections are generally associated with subpart F corrective action, however, when appropriate DEQ intends to include assessment of facility-wide groundwater monitoring issues with planned subpart F inspections. (3) Operation and maintenance inspections Operation and maintenance inspections will be conducted by DEQ hydrogeologists or contractors to assess how well a groundwater monitoring system is functioning. Operation and maintenance inspections will focus on the conditions of the wells and sampling devices. (4) Compliance schedule inspections
A compliance schedule inspection is an on-site inspection or other re-evaluation conducted to verify compliance with enforcement actions, to verify compliance with a corrective action schedule, or to review deficiencies noted in a previous inspection. DEQ's policy-on hazardous waste inspections requires that: 

# o·

DEQ CorrectiveAction ProgramDescription (1) Hazardous waste inspections will be conducted to ensure compliance with the hazardous waste rules, policies, permits and/or orders;

Page42

# • (2) Hazardous waste inspections will be conducted by regional office staff; (3) During inspections, primary emphasis will be on protecting the health and safety of inspectors; and (4) Inspections will be conducted pursuant to the hazardous waste field activities handbook, which provides detailed guidance on pre-inspection activities, types of inspections, on-site procedures, inspection report content and format, enforcement action format, and inspection report filing and turnaround time.
In addition to corrective action field work and inspections, DEQ anticipates that administration of the corrective action pipeline will constitute an additional resource consideration. Administration tasks may include: (1) RFAs and RFA review and oversight; (2) Ranking facilities for the purposes of corrective action; (3) Negotiating corrective action orders; 

# I. (4) Preparing administrative and technical documentation for corrective action decisions; (5) Assessment of interim measures; (6) Review, modification and approval of corrective action plans (e.g., RFI workplans); and (7) Establishment offinal cleanup standards and points of compliance in the context of choosing a final site remedy. (8) Preparing draft and final permit conditions.
Enforcement
In enforcement cases, HWTUR Program staff will consider the full range of enforcement options available and choose the type(s) ofaction which will achieve, in a fair manner, full compliance with hazardous waste laws and regulations. OAR Chapter 340, Division 12 "Enforcement Procedure and Civil Penalties" and DEQ's "Enforcement Guidance for Field Staff'" specify the appropriate enforcement action for any given type of violation. DEQ's enforcement actions are divided into formal, informal, and criminal responses
. 

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### Informal enforcement tools are generally appropriate to address minor violations, and 

# C consist of Notices of Noncompliance with compliance schedules. .-/ Formal enforcement actions are frequently used when informal enforcement does not gain compliance. Formal enforcement action is appropriate to address all significant violations and required in cases of significant non-compliers and when DEQ staff determine that the violation in question poses an actual or imminent serious threat to human health or the environment. Formal enforcement may include:


## o Administrative orders. Administrative orders direct a specific course of action within a specified time to achieve compliance. Administrative orders are unilateral actions, issued by DEQ pursuant to statutory authorities.


## o Mutual Agreement and Order ("MAO") MAO's are negotiated agreements between DEQ and a regulated respondent, in the case of corrective action, the respondent will be a hazardous waste management facility owner/operator. MAO's may be negotiated in lieu of an administrative order, or as resolution of an administrative order or civil penalty. MAO's direct a specified action or actions which must be taken by the respondent within a specified schedule. MAO's may contain provisions for administrative dispute resolution, enforcement, and/or stipulated penalties.


## o Injunctive Relief. DEQ may seek injunctive relief in cases of significant violations and/or severe environmental or human health risk. Injunctive relief is sought in civil court; and will generally be initiated only after the violator has been notified of the violation and consequences of non-compliance and has refused to take appropriateaction.


## o Criminal Prosecution. 

# o

Generally, DEQ will seek criminal sanctions only when violations are continued or repeated despite formal agency notification of the violation and its possible consequences. In cases of blatant disregard for human health or the environment, DEQ may seek immediate criminal sanctions. Criminal prosecution requires a higher standard of proof than civil/administrative proceedings. In order to prevail in a criminal case, DEQ may need to, prove the regulated entity intended to violate state law. Criminal. prosecution at DEQ is the responsibility of DEQ's criminal investigators who work closely with criminal investigators at EPA Region 10 and other law enforcement agencies.

DEQ Corrective ActionProgramDescription Page 44

# • o Penalties DEQ may assess civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation per day for failure to comply with any hazardous waste requirement, including regulations for corrective action.



# • It is DEQ's intent to make enforcement response decisions and to issue enforcement response in a timely manner. Whenever practical, administrative and civil enforcement action should be issued no more than 

### 45 days after completion of the investigation. Violations which cause serious actual or imminent threats to human health or the environment should be acted upon immediately. Classification ofViolations DEQ classifies hazardous waste violations as Class I or Class II. Class I violations are those which result or could result in an imminent threat to human health and/or the environment. Class II violations are all violations that are determined not to be Class I Violations. Violation classifications are found in DEQ's OAR Chapter 340, Division 12 "Enforcement Procedures and Civil Penalties" (Attachment I). Violations and their classifications will be tracked by Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction Program staff in the RCRA Information System ("RCRIS"), as discussed in Section VIII. VIII. DATA MANAGEMENT AND TRACKING Oregon uses the RCRA Information System ("RCRIS") to track the regulatory status of all hazardous waste management facilities in Oregon. DEQ will track all corrective action activities undertaken by the Hazardous Waste Program in RCRIS, as outlined in the State/EPA RCRIS Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and negotiated in the State/EPA agreement. For those few sites referred to the, Cleanup Program, DEQ will track the site information and initial ranking, but the remainder of the cleanup activities will be tracked in the Cleanup Programs Environmental Cleanup Site Information ("ECSI") data base. It is the responsibility of staff in the DEQ regional offices to gather the site specific information necessary for adequate tracking in RCRIS, including site-specific information necessary for tracking of corrective action activities. Training on RCRIS tracking requirements has been made available to 'staff with RCRIS or corrective action responsibilities.

DEQ CorrectiveActionProgram Description Page45The HWTUR Program will be responsible for all RCRIS implementation. Site specific 

# Ct RCRIS information is entered into the database by trained data entry staff in DEQ -' Headquarters. RCRIS coordinators at headquarters maintain the RCRIS database and the computer equipment necessary to operate RCRIS and coordinate RCRIS implementation with EPA Region 10. State data entered into the RCRIS system is available to EPA Region 10 through a periodic "merges" of data in the state and Region 10 RCRIS systems. See Attachment H to the program description for DEQ's RCRIS coding and data capture procedures.



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