La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § VI-911

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section VI-911 - Application Process

A. Voluntary Remedial Investigation Applications. Prior to performing a remedial investigation and submission of the application in Subsection B of this Section, the applicant may submit a voluntary remedial investigation application for review and approval by the administrative authority, which consists of the following:

1. a voluntary remedial investigation application Form VCP001, available from the Office of Environmental Assessment and on the department's website, with required attachments, accompanied by the remedial investigation work plan review fee; and

2. a remedial investigation work plan, which shall conform to the site investigation requirements of RECAP and, at a minimum, include the following:

a. identification of all data needs following the review of existing preliminary evaluation reports and other existing data;

b. identification of all potential exposure pathways/receptors and associated data needs;

c. identification of all potentially applicable, relevant, and appropriate requirements (ARARs) and associated data needs;

d. a site-specific health and safety plan including necessary training, procedures, and requirements;

e. a site-specific sampling and analysis plan that includes the number, type, and location of all samples to be taken and the types of analyses to be conducted during the required site characterization activities; and

f. a quality assurance/quality control plan that identifies the quality assurance objectives and the quality control procedures necessary to obtain data of a sufficient quality for the remedial investigation.

B. Voluntary Remediation Applications. Prior to implementation of a voluntary remedial action at a site, applicants must submit a voluntary remediation application to the Office of Environmental Assessment for review and final approval. The application shall consist of the following:

1. a voluntary remediation application Form VCP002, available from the Office of Environmental Assessment and on the department's website, with required attachments, accompanied by the remedial action plan review fee;

2. a voluntary remedial action plan that contains a remedial investigation report, a remedial design, and a remedial project plan;

3. the remedial investigation report, which shall, at a minimum, include:

a. the scope and description of the investigation;

b. a site background summary;

c. sampling and analysis results;

d. identification of the sources of the release;

e. identification of the horizontal and vertical extent of the contamination;

f. proposed remedial action goals; and

g. conclusions and recommendations for further action; and

4. t he remedial design, which shall implement the remedy that is being proposed in order to attain the remedial action goals. The remedial project plan shall include all tasks, specifications, and subplans necessary for the implementation of the remedial design, including construction and operation of the final remedy. The requirements for the remedial project plan include:

a. a work plan, including:

i. a general description of the work to be performed and a summary of the engineering design criteria;

ii. maps showing the general location of the site and the existing conditions of the facility;

iii. a copy of any required permits and approvals;

iv. detailed plans and procedural material specifications necessary for the construction of the remedy;

v. specific quality control tests to be performed to document the construction, including specifications for the testing or reference to specific testing methods, frequency of testing, acceptable results, and other documentation methods as required by the administrative authority;

vi. start-up procedures and criteria to demonstrate the remedy is prepared for routine operation; and

vii. additional information to address ARARs;

b. a sampling and analysis plan;

c. a quality assurance/quality control plan;

d. a site-specific health and safety plan;

e. a project implementation schedule;

f. if deemed necessary by the administrative authority, an operation and maintenance plan for post-remedial management including, but not limited to:

i. the name, telephone number, and address of the person responsible for the operation and maintenance of the site;

ii. a description of all operation and maintenance tasks and specifications;

iii. all design and construction plans;

iv. any applicable equipment diagrams, specifications, and manufacturer's guidelines;

v. an operation and maintenance schedule;

vi. a list of spare parts available at the site for repairs;

vii. a site-specific health and safety plan; and

viii. other information that may be requested by the administrative authority;

g. if deemed necessary by the administrative authority, a monitoring plan for post-remedial management. This monitoring plan must include a description of provisions for monitoring of site conditions during the post-remedial management period to prevent further endangerment to human health and the environment, including:

i. the location of monitoring points;

ii. the environmental media to be monitored;

iii. the hazardous substances to be monitored and the basis for their selection;

iv. a monitoring schedule;

v. monitoring methodologies to be used (including sample collection procedures and laboratory methodology);

vi. provisions for quality assurance and quality control;

vii. data presentation and evaluation methods;

viii. a contingency plan to address ineffective monitoring; and

ix. provisions for reporting to the department on a semiannual basis including, at a minimum:

(a).the findings from the previous six months;

(b). an explanation of any anomalous or unexpected results;

(c). an explanation of any results that are not in compliance with the RECAP standards; and

(d). proposals for corrective action; and

h. other information that may be required by the administrative authority. The department may allow information to be incorporated by reference to avoid unnecessary duplication.

C. Acceptance for Public Review

1. After a satisfactory review of the voluntary remediation application and the incorporation of necessary modifications required by the administrative authority into the application, the administrative authority will accept the application for public review.

2. After the application is accepted for public review and before the beginning of the public comment period provided in Subsections D and F of this Section, the applicant shall provide the number of copies of the accepted application specified by the administrative authority to the Office of Environmental Assessment.

3. The applicant shall also place copies of the accepted application in local public facilities, to be determined by the administrative authority (e.g., public library, local government office), near the voluntary remediation site.

D. Public Notice. Upon acceptance of the voluntary remediation application, as set forth in Subsection C of this Section, the applicant must place a public notice of the proposed voluntary remedial action plan in the local newspaper of general circulation in the parish where the voluntary remediation site is located. The public notice shall be a single classified advertisement at least 4 inches by 6 inches in size in the legal or public notices section. The applicant must provide proof of publication of the notice to the Office of Environmental Assessment prior to final approval of the plan. The public notice shall:

1. solicit comments, for a minimum of 30 days, on the voluntary remedial action plan from interested parties;

2. provide the names of all of the applicants and the physical location of the voluntary remediation site;

3. indicate that comments shall be submitted to the Office of Environmental Assessment (including the contact person, mailing address, and physical address), as well as indicate the deadline for submission of comments;

4. indicate where copies of the proposed plan can be reviewed by the public; and

5. inform interested parties that they may request a public hearing on the voluntary remedial action plan.

E. Direct Notice to Landowners. Within five days of the public notice in Subsection D of this Section, the applicant must send a direct written notice of the voluntary remedial action plan to persons owning immovable property contiguous to the voluntary remediation site. This notice shall be sent to persons listed as owners of the property on the rolls of the parish tax assessor as of the date on which the voluntary remediation application is submitted. The notice must be sent by certified mail and contain the same information that is provided in the public notice. Return receipts or other evidence of the receipt or attempted delivery of the direct notice must be provided to the Office of Environmental Assessment prior to final approval of the plan.

F. Public Hearing and Comment

1. Comments on the voluntary remedial action plan shall be accepted by the Office of Environmental Assessment for a period of 30 days after the date of the public notice and shall be fully considered by the administrative authority prior to final approval of the plan. However, if the administrative authority determines a shorter or longer comment period is warranted, the administrative authority may provide for a shorter or longer comment period in the public notice described in Paragraph D.1 of this Section. Also, the comment period provided in the public notice may be extended by the administrative authority if the administrative authority determines such an extension is warranted.

2. A public hearing may be held if the administrative authority determines a hearing is necessary based on public comments or other information.

3. The applicant shall be responsible for the actual costs of any such public hearing including, but not limited to, the costs of building rental, security, court reporter, and hearing officer.

G. Prior to final approval of the voluntary remediation application, the administrative authority may require further modifications of the proposed plan if warranted based on issues brought forth by the public.

H. Upon final approval of the voluntary remediation application, the administrative authority may include in the approval an acknowledgement that, upon certification of completion of the remedial actions, the applicant shall receive the exemption from liability provided for in this Chapter.

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § VI-911

Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental Assessment, Environmental Planning Division, LR 27:516 (April 2001), amended by the Office of Environmental Assessment, LR 30:2024 (September 2004), amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs Division, LR 31:2485 (October 2005), LR 33:2139 (October 2007), LR 34:1901 (September 2008), amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Division, LR 38:2759 (November 2012), Amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs and Criminal Investigations Division, LR 432142 (11/1/2017).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2001 et seq., and in particular R.S. 30:2285 et seq.