R 299.5528 Purpose And Scope Of Remedial Investigation Generally; Certain Facility Characterization Distinguished; Department Approval.

Rule 528. 

          (1)  The purpose of a remedial investigation is to assess site conditions in order to select an appropriate remedial action, if one is required, that adequately addresses those conditions.  The remedial investigation identifies the source or sources of any contamination and defines the nature and extent of contamination originating from that source.  Defining the nature and extent of contamination includes identifying contamination that may have migrated beyond the boundary of the source property in excess of applicable generic residential cleanup criteria.  A remedial investigation work plan or report prepared under this rule shall be consistent with this part and sufficient to support determinations under parts 6 and 7 of these rules, R 299.5526(6)  or (7), if applicable, R 299.5532, R 299.5534, R 299.5536, section 20118(5)  and (6)  of the act, if applicable, and sections 20120a and 20120b of the act.

          (2)  Prior department approval of a remedial investigation is required only as noted in section 20114(2)  of the act and for a remedial investigation requested by the department pursuant to section 20114(1)(h)  of the act or under the terms of an administrative order or agreement or judicial decree.  Any person preparing a remedial investigation work plan or report may request department approval.  The department shall approve remedial investigation work plans or reports for work done in phases if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

                    (a)  Anticipated subsequent phases of investigation are described in sufficient detail so that the department can determine that the phase being proposed or reported on is appropriately defined.

                    (b)  The remedial investigation described in the work plan or report complies with the requirements of this rule for the scope it is intended to address.

                    (c)  If conducting the remedial investigation in phases will not prevent the remedial investigation from being completed in a timely fashion.

          (3)  A remedial investigation work plan prepared or remedial investigation conducted under part 201 of the act shall address the factors described in this subrule, as appropriate to the facility.  If a likely category of remedial action, as set forth in section 20120a of the act, has been identified at the time that the remedial investigation is planned, then the scope of the remedial investigation may be guided by that remedial action objective.  A subsequent change in remedial action objective may necessitate additional remedial investigation.  The information that  shall be provided in a remedial investigation, as appropriate to the facility, is as follows:

                    (a)  Definition of the nature and extent of contamination at the facility.  At a minimum, areas known or likely to have been used for hazardous substance storage, handling, transfer, transport, and disposal shall be investigated.  

                    (b)  Risks to the public health, safety, and welfare and to the environment and natural resources, including the identification of any water wells and wellhead protection zones in the vicinity of the facility and an evaluation of the impact of the facility on any such wells or zones.

                    (c)  Relevant exposure pathways.

                    (d)  All of the following with respect to hazardous substances that are present:

                              (i)  Amount.

                              (ii)  Concentration.

                              (iii)  Hazardous properties.

                              (iv)  Environmental fate.

                              (v)  Bioaccumulative properties.

                              (vi)  Persistence.

                              (vii)  Mobility.

                              (viii)  Physical state.

                    (e)  All of the following with respect to the physical setting of the facility:

                              (i)  Geology.

                              (ii)  Hydrology.

                              (iii)  Hydrogeology.

                              (iv)  Depth to saturated zone.

                              (v)  Hydrologic gradients.

                              (vi)  Proximity to aquifers.

                              (vii)  Proximity to surface water.

                              (viii)  Proximity to floodplains.

                              (ix)  Proximity to wetlands.

                    (f)  Current and potential groundwater use.

                    (g)  Source identification and evaluation.

                    (h)  Whether hazardous substances at the facility can be reused or recycled.

                    (i)  The likelihood of future releases if the hazardous substances remain at the facility.

                    (j)  The extent to which natural or human-made barriers currently contain the hazardous substances and the adequacy of the barriers.

                    (k)  The impact of any planned demolition activities on conditions at the facility.

                    (l)  The extent to which hazardous substances have migrated or are expected to migrate from the area of release, including the potential for hazardous substances to migrate along preferential pathways.

                    (m)  An evaluation of injury to, destruction of, or loss of natural resources related to the release.

                    (n)  Contribution of the hazardous substances at the facility to contamination of the air, land, or water.

                    (o)  Legally applicable or relevant and appropriate state and federal requirements.

                    (p)  Sampling design and rationale for parameter selection.

                    (q)  description of monitoring well construction.

                    (r)  A description of, and rationale for, any geophysical techniques used in the investigation.  The data from geophysical testing shall be made available to the department on request.

                    (s)  Sample collection and preparation procedures.

                    (t)  Identification of the laboratory or laboratories responsible for sample analysis.

                    (u)  Laboratory methods used to generate all remedial investigation data,  quality assurance and quality control data that document the accuracy and precision of the reported data shall be made available to the department on request.         

                    (v)  A description of any statistical methods used to evaluate laboratory data relative to cleanup criteria and a discussion of the reasons why the statistical methods that were used are appropriate to the circumstances.

                    (w)  Other matters appropriate to the facility. department requests for information under this subdivision shall be limited to factors not adequately addressed by information required by  other subdivisions of this subrule and shall be accompanied by an explanation of the need for such additional information.

          (4)  If the work has been completed, then the person may seek the department's approval by submitting a remedial investigation report that describes activity that has been completed and how it meets the requirements of this rule and R 299.5526(5)(c)(i)  or R 299.5532, as applicable. 

          (5)  Facility evaluation activities are not considered a remedial investigation if they are not intended to support preparation of a feasibility study, an interim response activity designed to achieve cleanup criteria, or a remedial action plan.  Examples of facility evaluation that are not required to include all the elements of remedial investigation are property evaluation to support a baseline environmental assessment and focused evaluation to support an interim response that is not intended to achieve specific cleanup criteria.  Facility or property evaluation activities conducted to meet these more limited goals shall be sufficient to support the objectives they are designed to meet.