La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § VI-117
Abandoned Hazardous Waste Site- a site that has been declared abandoned in accordance with R.S. 30:2225 and LAC 33:VI.Chapter 3.
Act- the Louisiana Environmental Quality Act, R.S. 30:2001 et seq.
Administrative Authority-the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality or his designee or the appropriate assistant secretary or his designee.
Agent in Charge- the person who represents a site at the time of sampling. This can be a representative of the following: the owner or operator, a PRP or group of PRPs, a bankruptcy trustee, the executor of an estate, an attorney representing any of these parties, or any other person with similar responsibilities.
Applicable Requirements- those cleanup standards, standards of control, and other substantive requirements, criteria, or limitations promulgated under federal environmental laws, state environmental laws, or facility siting laws that specifically address a hazardous substance, pollutant, contaminant, remedial action, location, or other circumstance found at a site.
Background Concentration- the natural ambient concentration of a hazardous substance, including both naturally occurring concentrations and concentrations from human-made sources other than the site being evaluated.
CERCLA- the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 9601 et seq.
Closure Plan- a plan that identifies the steps necessary to perform the final closure of a facility . For the purposes of these regulations, a closure plan may be a remedial action work plan or removal work plan as described in LAC 33:VI.Chapter 5.
Confirmed Site- a site where the disposal or discharge of a hazardous substance has been confirmed by the department.
Contaminant- any hazardous substance that does not occur naturally or occurs at greater than natural background levels.
Cooperative Agreement- a legally enforceable contract between the department and a potentially responsible party.
Corrective Action Study or CAS- a process performed interdependently with the remedial investigation (RI) process whereby data generated from the RI are used to develop alternative remedial actions. These alternative remedial actions are then evaluated in terms of criteria established by these regulations to select an appropriate remedial action.
Department- Department of Environmental Quality.
Direct Hours- time expended by employees of the department with regard to a specific site.
Discharge- the placing, releasing, spilling, percolating, draining, pumping, leaking, seeping, emitting, or other escaping of hazardous substances into the air, surface waters, subsurface or groundwater, soil, or sediments as the result of a prior act or omission, or the placing of hazardous substance s into natural or manmade pits, drums, barrels, or similar containers under such conditions and circumstances that leaking, seeping, draining, or escaping of hazardous substances can be reasonably anticipated.
Disposal- the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any hazardous substances into or on any land or water such that hazardous substances could enter the environment, be emitted into the air, or be discharged into any water.
Environmentally Sensitive Area- an area needing an increased level of environmental protection, such as areas near schools and within wellhead protection areas; or an area having a terrestrial or aquatic resource, fragile natural setting, or other highly-valued environmental or cultural features such as wetlands, endangered or threatened species habitat or breeding areas, national or state parks, wildlife refuges or management areas, areas near scenic or wild rivers or streams, or national or state forests.
EPA- the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Facility- any building, structure, installation, equipment, pipe or pipeline (including any pipe into a sewer or publicly-owned treatment works), well, pit, pond, lagoon, impoundment, ditch, landfill, storage container, motor vehicle, rolling stock, or aircraft; or any site or area where a hazardous substance has been deposited or could reasonably have been deposited, stored, disposed of, placed, or otherwise come to be located, not including any consumer product in consumer use.
Financially Responsible- able, through the use of insurance, bonds, or other assets, to take action as necessary or as ordered by the secretary in accordance with these regulations.
Groundwater- water in the saturated zone beneath the land surface.
Hazardous Substance- any gaseous, liquid, or solid material that, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or biological composition when released into the environment, poses a substantial present or potential hazard to human health, the environment, or property, regardless of whether it is intended for use, reuse, or is to be discarded. This term includes all hazardous waste, hazardous constituents, hazardous materials, and pollutants . The term hazardous substance does not include petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof, that is not otherwise specifically listed or designated as a hazardous substance under this Section, and does not include natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, or synthetic gas usable for fuel (or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas). The term does include petroleum products that contain hazardous waste, hazardous substance s, or hazardous wasteconstituents, except where the nature of such hazardous waste, substances, or constituents and the concentrations in which they are found in the petroleum products indicate that the contaminant is an indigenous component of the petroleum product. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term hazardous substance does not include compressed air, firecrackers, carbon paper, coal briquettes, dry ice, fish meal, flares, electric wheel chairs, motor vehicles, and tear gas devices. The following substances have been designated as hazardous by regulation:
a. hazardous waste as defined by R.S. 30:2173 and the hazardous waste regulations, LAC 33:V.Subpart 1;
b. pollutants listed in LAC 33:I.3931;
c. toxic air pollutants listed in LAC 33:III.5112; and
d. hazardous materials listed in LAC 33:V.Subpart 2.
Hazardous Substance Site- any place where hazardous substance s have come to be located, including without limitation, any building, structure, installation, equipment, pipe or pipeline, well, pit, pond, lagoon, impoundment, ditch, landfill, storage container, motor vehicle, rolling stock, aircraft, or any other place or area where a hazardous substance has been deposited, stored, disposed of or placed, or otherwise come to be located. A hazardous substance site can extend beyond a facility 's boundary.
Hazardous Waste- those wastes identified and designated as such by the department, consistent with applicable federal laws and regulations, and any waste or combination of wastes that, because of its quantity, concentration, physical, or chemical characteristics, can cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness, or pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed. The definition of hazardous waste does not include radioactive products and byproducts regulated by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission or any successor thereto.
Hazardous Waste Constituent- any fraction or residue of a hazardous waste.
Hazardous Waste Site- any place where hazardous wastes have come to be located, including without limitation, any building, structure, installation, equipment, pipe or pipeline, well, pit, pond, lagoon, impoundment, ditch, landfill, storage container, motor vehicle, rolling stock, aircraft, or any other place or area where hazardous waste has been deposited, stored, disposed of or placed, or otherwise come to be located. A hazardous waste site may extend beyond a facility 's boundary.
Inactive or Uncontrolled Site- a site or a portion of a site that is no longer in operation.
Institutional Control- a measure undertaken to limit or prohibit certain activities that could interfere with the integrity of a remedial action or result in exposure to hazardous substances at a site.
Leachate- liquid, including any suspended components in the liquid, that has percolated through or drained from a hazardous substance or soil contaminated with a hazardous substance.
Minimum Remediation Standards- the levels of hazardous substances in media that are considered by the department to be acceptable according to risk-based standards established by the Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) in accordance with LAC 33:I.Chapter 13.
No Further Action or NFA- a determination that further evaluation or remedial actions by the department are not warranted at a particular site.
Nonparticipating Party- a person who refuses to comply with any demand by the department in accordance with LAC 33:VI, R.S. 30:2275, or with any administrative order, a person who fails to respond to any such demand or order, or a person against whom a suit has been filed by the department.
Operation and Maintenance orO and M- activities conducted at a site after a remedial action is completed to ensure that the action is effective and operating properly.
Operator- a person that is in control of or responsible for the operation of a site, facility, or pollution source.
Oversight- all activities performed by the department to ensure that the activities of PRPs in conducting site investigations or remedial actions relative to a site are performed in compliance with Louisiana statutes, applicable state and federal regulations, work plans approved by the department, and accepted practices and procedures. Oversight activities by the department include, but are not limited to, site inspections; the review and approval of work plans, submittals, and reports; confirmatory sampling and analysis; the evaluation and interpretation of data, plans, and reports as submitted by PRPs; and public participation activities.
Oversight Costs- costs incurred by the department associated with oversight.
Owner- a person that owns a site, facility, or pollution source.
Participating Party- a person who undertakes a remedial action, as approved by the department, after receiving a demand from the secretary.
Person- any individual, municipality, public or private corporation, partnership, firm, the United States government and any agent or subdivision thereof, or any other juridical person, which shall include, but not be limited to, trusts, joint stock companies, associations, the state of Louisiana, political subdivisions of the state of Louisiana, commissions, and interstate bodies.
Pollutant- those elements or compounds defined or identified as hazardous, toxic, noxious, or as hazardous, or radioactive wastes under the Act and regulations, or by the secretary or commission, consistent with applicable laws and regulations.
Pollution Source- the immediate site or location of a discharge or potential discharge, including such surrounding property necessary to secure or quarantine the area from access by the general public.
Post-Remedial Management- activities conducted at a site following the completion of a final remedy when remedial goals have not been met and, in the judgment of the department, cannot feasibly be met.
Potential Site- a site at which a discharge or disposal of a hazardous substance is suspected by the department.
Potentially Responsible Party or PRP- any person who is potentially liable for a remedial action or remedial costs under state or federal law, including but not limited to, site owners and operators, and the generators, transporters, and disposers of hazardous substances.
Preliminary RECAP Standards- the level of hazardous substances proposed to remain in the media after the successful completion of a final remedy in accordance with RECAP.
RCRA- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.
Relevant and Appropriate Requirements- those cleanup standards, standards of control, and other substantive requirements, criteria, or limitations promulgated under federal environmental or state environmental or facility siting laws that, while not applicable to a hazardous substance, pollutant, contaminant, remedial action, location, or other circumstance at a site, address problems or situations sufficiently similar to those encountered at the site that their use is well suited to the particular site.
Remedial Action- the removal, confinement, or storage of any hazardous substance, including constructing barriers, securing the site, encapsulating in clay or other impermeable material, or otherwise containing or isolating the hazardous substance ; cleaning up contamination; recycling or reusing of hazardous substances ; diverting, destroying, or segregating reactive or other wastes; dredging or excavating a site ; repairing or replacing leaking containers; collecting leachate and runoff; on-site treatment or incinerating of a substance; providing alternative water supplies; monitoring, testing, or analyzing; employing legal, engineering, chemical, biological, architectural, or other professional consultants or personnel; investigating, initiating, or prosecuting of administrative proceedings or lawsuits to final judgment; transporting and disposing of waste from a site ; and any other action the department decrees necessary to restore the site or remove the hazardous substance . The definition of remedial action shall include all types of action referred to as response actions in CERCLA and the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan [Federal Register 55(46): 8666, March 8, 1990], and includes any action referred to as a remedy in these regulations.
Remedial Cost- all reasonable costs associated with site discovery, investigation, and evaluation; administrative costs of the department relative to a site ; costs associated with public participation; oversight costs and costs including, but not limited to, removing, confining, or storing any hazardous substance ; constructing barriers, securing the site, and encapsulating in clay or other impermeable material; cleaning up of contamination; recycling or reusing of a hazardous substance ; diverting, destroying, or segregating reactive or other wastes; dredging or excavating a site ; repairing or replacing leaking containers; collecting leachate and runoff; on-site treatment or incinerating of a substance; providing alternative water supplies; monitoring, testing, or analyzing; employing legal, engineering, chemical, biological, architectural, or other professional consultants or personnel; investigating, initiating, or prosecuting lawsuits to final judgment; transporting and disposing of waste from the site ; or any other action the secretary determines necessary to restore the site or remove the hazardous substance.
Remedial Design or RD- plans, including construction plans and specifications, necessary for implementation of the final remedy.
Remedial Goals- the concentration of a hazardous substance remaining in media at a site that is protective of human health and the environment, that has been approved and accepted by the department.
Remedial Investigation or RI or Site Investigation- an in-depth study designed to gather the data necessary to determine the nature and extent of contamination at a contaminated site and establish criteria for cleaning up the site.
Remedial Investigation Work Plan- a plan defining the process to be followed by one or more PRPs or the department to conduct an RI.
Remedy or Final Remedy-remedial actions that result in achieving remedial goals at a site . Remedies are distinguished from other types of actions considered remedial under the Act and these regulations, including without limitation, investigation, monitoring, and enforcement activities.
Removal Action- a remedial action performed by the department, or by one or more PRPs as directed by the department, wherein hazardous substance s, contaminated soils, and/or other contaminated media are taken from the site to a permitted facility for treatment, storage, or disposal.
Risk- the probability that a hazardous substance, when released into the environment, will adversely affect exposed humans, other living organisms, or the environment.
Secretary- the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality.
Site- a hazardous substance site or a hazardous waste site.
SPOC -the Office of Environmental Compliance, Emergency and Radiological Services Division, Single Point of Contact (SPOC).
Treatability Study- the process of conducting bench scale and/or pilot scale studies to gather data to adequately evaluate the suitability of remedial technology on specific site wastes and conditions.
Treatment- any method, technique, or process designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character or composition of any hazardous substance so as to neutralize such substance or render it nonhazardous, safer for transport, amenable for recovery or storage, or reduced in volume. The term includes any activity or processing designed to change the physical form or chemical composition of a hazardous substance to render it nonhazardous or significantly less hazardous.
Wetlands- those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.
La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § VI-117