Section 40.0191 - Response Action Performance Standard (RAPS)(1) The Response Action Performance Standard (RAPS) is the level of diligence reasonably necessary to obtain the quantity and quality of information adequate to assess a site and evaluate remedial action alternatives, and to design and implement specific remedial actions at a disposal site to achieve a level of No Significant Risk for any foreseeable period of time, as defined at 310 CMR 40.1005, and where feasible, to reduce to the extent possible the level of oil and/or hazardous materials in the environment to background levels.(2) RAPS shall be employed during the performance of all response actions conducted pursuant to 310 CMR 40.0000, and shall include, without limitation, the following: (a) consideration of relevant policies and guidelines issued by the Department, EOEEA and EPA;(b) use of accurate and up-to-date methods, models, standards and practices, equipment and technologies which are appropriate, available and generally accepted by the professional and trade communities conducting response actions in accordance with M.G.L. c. 21E, and 310 CMR 40.0000 under similar circumstances; and(c) investigative practices which are scientifically defensible, and of a level of precision and accuracy commensurate with the intended use of the results of such investigations.(3) The application of RAPS shall be protective of health, safety, public welfare and the environment and shall include, without limitation, in the context of meeting the requirements of this Contingency Plan, consideration of the following: (a) technologies which reuse, recycle, destroy, detoxify or treat oil and/or hazardous materials, where feasible, to minimize the need for long-term management of contamination at or from a disposal site;(b) containment measures as feasible Permanent Solutions only where reuse, recycling, destruction, detoxification and treatment are not feasible;(c) remedial actions to reduce the overall mass and volume of oil and/or hazardous material at a disposal site to the extent feasible, regardless of whether it is feasible to achieve one or more Temporary Solutions and/or Permanent Solutions or whether it is feasible to achieve background for the entire disposal site and not include the dilution of contaminated media with uncontaminated media;(d) response actions to restore groundwater, where feasible, to the applicable standards of quality within a reasonable period of time to protect the existing and potential uses of such resources;(e) eliminating or reducing, to the extent practicable and consistent with response action requirements and objectives, total energy use, air pollutant emissions, greenhouse gases, water use, materials consumption, and ecosystem and water resources impacts, resulting from the performance of response actions through energy efficiency, renewable energy use, materials management, waste reduction, land management and ecosystem protection; and(f) response actions that incorporate climate change resilience to the extent practicable and consistent with response action requirements.Amended by Mass Register Issue 1503, eff. 3/1/2024.Amended by Mass Register Issue S1516, eff. 3/1/2024.