Section 6026.304 - Site-specific standard(a) General.--Where a site-specific standard is selected as the environmental remediation standard or where the background or Statewide health standard is selected but not achieved, remedial investigation, risk assessment, cleanup plans and final reports shall be developed using the procedures and factors established by this section.(b) Carcinogens.--For known or suspected carcinogens, soil and groundwater cleanup standards shall be established at exposures which represent an excess upper-bound lifetime risk of between 1 in 10,000 and 1 in 1,000,000. The cumulative excess risk to exposed populations, including sensitive subgroups, shall not be greater than 1 in 10,000.(c) Systemic toxicants.--For systemic toxicants, soil and groundwater cleanup standards shall represent levels to which the human population could be exposed on a daily basis without appreciable risk of deleterious effect to the exposed population. Where several systemic toxicants affect the same target organ or act by the same method of toxicity, the hazard index shall not exceed one. The hazard index is the sum of the hazard quotients for multiple systemic toxicants acting through a single-medium exposure pathway or through multiple-media exposure pathways.(d) Groundwater.--Cleanup standards for groundwater shall be established in accordance with subsections (b) and (c) using the following considerations:(1) For groundwater in aquifers, site-specific standards shall be established using the following procedures:(i) The current and probable future use of groundwater shall be identified and protected. Groundwater that has a background total dissolved solids content greater than 2,500 milligrams per liter or is not capable of transmitting water to a pumping well in usable and sustainable quantities shall not be considered a current or potential source of drinking water.(ii) Site-specific sources of contaminants and potential receptors shall be identified.(iii) Natural environmental conditions affecting the fate and transport of contaminants, such as natural attenuation, shall be determined by appropriate scientific methods.(2) Groundwater not in aquifers shall be evaluated using current or probable future exposure scenarios. Appropriate management actions shall be instituted at the point of exposure where a person is exposed to groundwater by ingestion or other avenues to protect human health and the environment. This shall not preclude taking appropriate source management actions by the responsible party to achieve the equivalent level of protection.(e) Soil.--Concentrations of regulated substances in soil shall not exceed values calculated in accordance with subsections (b) and (c) based on human ingestion of soil where direct contact exposure to the soil may reasonably occur; values calculated to protect groundwater in aquifers at levels determined in accordance with subsections (b), (c) and (d); and values calculated to satisfy the requirements of subsection (g) with respect to discharges or releases to surface water or emissions to the outdoor air. Such determinations shall take into account the effects of institutional and engineering controls, if any, and shall be based on sound scientific principles, including fate and transport analysis of the migration of a regulated substance in relation to receptor exposures.(f) Factors.--In determining soil and groundwater cleanup standards under subsections (d) and (e), the following factors shall also be considered: (1) Use of appropriate standard exposure factors for the land use of the site with reference to current and currently planned future land use and the effectiveness of institutional or legal controls placed on the future use of the land.(2) Use of appropriate statistical techniques, including, but not limited to, Monte Carlo simulations, to establish statistically valid cleanup standards.(3) The potential of human ingestion of regulated substances in surface water or other site-specific surface water exposure pathways, if applicable.(4) The potential of human inhalation of regulated substances from the outdoor air and other site-specific air exposure pathways, if applicable.(g) Air and surface water.--Any regulated discharge into surface water or any regulated emissions to the outdoor air which occur during or after attainment of the site-specific standard shall comply with applicable laws and regulations relating to surface water discharges or emissions into the outdoor air.(h) Relationship to background.--The concentration of a regulated substance in an environmental medium of concern on a site where the site-specific standard has been selected shall not be required to meet the site-specific standard if the site-specific standard is numerically less than the background standard. In such cases, the background standard shall apply.(i) Combination of measures.--The standards may be attained through a combination of remediation activities that can include treatment, removal, engineering or institutional controls and can include innovative or other demonstrated measures. The department shall disapprove a site-specific remediation plan that consists solely of fences, warning signs or future land use restrictions unless the site-specific standard is developed on the basis of exposure factors which are no less stringent than those which would apply to the site at the time the contamination is discovered.(j) Remedy evaluation.--The final remediation plan for a site submitted to the department shall include remediation alternatives and a final remedy which consider each of the following factors:(1) Long-term risks and effectiveness of the proposed remedy that includes an evaluation of:(i) The magnitude of risks remaining after completion of the remedial action.(ii) The type, degree and duration of postremediation care required, including, but not limited to, operation and maintenance, monitoring, inspections and reports and their frequencies or other activities which will be necessary to protect human health and the environment.(iii) Potential for exposure of human and environmental receptors to regulated substances remaining at the site.(iv) Long-term reliability of any engineering and voluntary institutional controls.(v) Potential need for repair, maintenance or replacement of components of the remedy.(vi) Time to achieve cleanup standards.(2) Reduction of the toxicity, mobility or volume of regulated substances, including the amount of regulated substances that will be removed, contained, treated or destroyed, the degree of expected reduction in toxicity, mobility or volume and the type, quantity, toxicity and mobility of regulated substances remaining after implementation of the remedy.(3) Short-term risks and effectiveness of the remedy, including the short-term risks that may be posed to the community, workers or the environment during implementation of the remedy and the effectiveness and reliability of protective measures to address short-term risks.(4) The ease or difficulty of implementing the proposed remedy, including commercially available remedial measures which are BADCT, degree of difficulty associated with constructing the remedy, expected operational reliability, available capacity and location of needed treatment, storage and disposal services for wastes, time to initiate remedial efforts and approvals necessary to implement the remedial efforts.(5) The cost of the remediation measure, including capital costs, operation and maintenance costs, net present value of capital and operation and maintenance costs and the total costs and effectiveness of the system.(6) The incremental health and economic benefits shall be evaluated by comparing those benefits to the incremental health and economic costs associated with implementation of remedial measures.(k) Attainment.--Compliance with the site-specific standard is attained for a site or portion of a site when a remedy approved by the department has been implemented in compliance with the following criteria: (1) Soil, groundwater, surface water and air emission standards as determined under subsections (a) through (h) have been attained.(2) Attainment of the site-specific standard shall be demonstrated by collection and analysis of samples from affected media, as applicable, such as surface water, soil, groundwater in aquifers at the point of compliance through the application of statistical tests set forth in regulation or, if no regulations have been adopted, in a demonstration of a mathematically valid application of statistical tests. The Department of Environmental Resources shall also recognize those methods of attainment demonstration generally recognized as appropriate for that particular remediation.(l) Site investigation and remedy selection.--Any person selecting to comply with site-specific standards established by this section shall submit the following reports and evaluations, as required under this section, for review and approval by the department:(1) A remedial investigation report which includes:(i) Documentation and descriptions of procedures and conclusions from the site investigation to characterize the nature, extent, direction, rate of movement, volume and composition of regulated substances.(ii) The concentration of regulated substances in environmental media of concern, including summaries of sampling methodology and analytical results, and information obtained from attempts to comply with the background or Statewide health standards, if any.(iii) A description of the existing or potential public benefits of the use or reuse of the property for employment opportunities, housing, open space, recreation or other uses.(iv) A fate and transport analysis may be included in the report to demonstrate that no present or future exposure pathways exist.(v) If no exposure pathways exist, a risk assessment report and cleanup plan are not required and no remedy is required to be proposed or completed.(2) If required, a risk assessment report which describes the potential adverse effects under both current and planned future conditions caused by the presence of a regulated substance in the absence of any further control, remediation or mitigation measures. A baseline risk assessment report is not required where it is determined that a specific remediation measure can be implemented to attain the site-specific standard.(3) A cleanup plan which evaluates the relative abilities and effectiveness of potential remedies to achieve the requirements for remedies described in subsection (k) when considering the evaluation factors described in subsection (j). The plan shall select a remedy which achieves the requirements for remedies described in subsection (k). The department may require a further evaluation of the selected remedy or an evaluation of one or more additional remedies in response to comments received from the community surrounding the site as a result of the community involvement plan established in subsection (o) which are based on the factors described in subsection (j) or as a result of its own analysis which are based on the evaluation factors described in subsection (j).(4) A final report demonstrating that the approved remedy has been completed in accordance with the cleanup plan.(5) Nothing in this section shall preclude a person from submitting a remedial investigation report, risk assessment report and cleanup plan at one time to the department for review.(m) Deed notice.--Persons attaining and demonstrating compliance with site-specific standards for a regulated substance shall be subject to the deed acknowledgment requirements of the act of July 7, 1980 (P.L. 380, No. 97) , known as the Solid Waste Management Act, or theact of October 18, 1988 (P.L. 756, No. 108) , known as the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act. The notice shall include whether residential or nonresidential exposure factors were used to comply with the site-specific standard.(n) Notice and review provisions.--Persons utilizing the site-specific standard shall comply with the following requirements for notifying the public and the department of planned remediation activities:(1)(i) A notice of intent to remediate a site shall be submitted to the department which provides, to the extent known, a brief description of the location of the site, a listing of the contaminant or contaminants involved and the proposed remediation measures. The department shall publish an acknowledgment noting receipt of the notice of intent in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. At the same time a notice of intent to remediate a site is submitted to the department, a copy of the notice shall be provided to the municipality in which the site is located, and a summary of the notice of intent shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation serving the area in which the site is located.(ii) The notices required by this paragraph shall include a 30-day public and municipal comment period during which the municipality can request to be involved in the development of the remediation and reuse plans for the site. If requested by the municipality, the person undertaking the remediation shall develop and implement a public involvement program plan which meets the requirements of subsection (o). Persons undertaking the remediation are encouraged to develop a proactive approach to working with the municipality in developing and implementing remediation and reuse plans.(2) The following notice and review provisions apply each time a remedial investigation report, risk assessment report, cleanup plan and final report demonstrating compliance with the site-specific standard is submitted to the department: (i) When the report or plan is submitted to the department, a notice of its submission shall be provided to the municipality in which the site is located, and a notice summarizing the findings and recommendations of the report or plan shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation serving the area in which the site is located. If the municipality requested to be involved in the development of the remediation and reuse plans, the reports and plans shall also include the comments submitted by the municipality, the public and the responses from the persons preparing the reports and plans.(ii) The department shall review the report or plan within no more than 90 days of its receipt or notify the person submitting the report of deficiencies. If the department does not respond with deficiencies within 90 days, the report shall be deemed approved.(3) If the remedial investigation report, risk assessment report and cleanup plan are submitted at the same time to the department, the department shall notify persons of any deficiencies in 90 days. If the department does not respond with deficiencies within 90 days, the reports are deemed approved.(o) Community involvement.--Persons using site-specific standards are required to develop a public involvement plan which involves the public in the cleanup and use of the property if the municipality requests to be involved in the remediation and reuse plans for the site. The plan shall propose measures to involve the public in the development and review of the remedial investigation report, risk assessment report, cleanup plan and final report. Depending on the site involved, measures may include techniques such as developing a proactive community information and consultation program that includes door step notice of activities related to remediation, public meetings and roundtable discussions, convenient locations where documents related to a remediation can be made available to the public and designating a single contact person to whom community residents can ask questions; the formation of a community-based group which is used to solicit suggestions and comments on the various reports required by this section; and, if needed, the retention of trained, independent third parties to facilitate meetings and discussions and perform mediation services.1995, May 19, P.L. 4, No. 2, § 304, effective in 60 days.