Section R315-101-7 - Risk Management: Site Management Plan and Closure Equivalency(a) A determination of no further action or corrective action complete without controls or unrestricted land use or risk-based clean closure and no site management shall be approved when: (1) the level of risk present at the site is less than or equal to 1x10-6 as the point of departure for carcinogens and the hazard index is less than or equal to one for non-carcinogens based on the approved risk assessment conducted assuming the land use exposure scenario defined in Subsection R315-101-5(g)(1);(2) the director determines that ecological effects as the site are insignificant based on the approved assessment conducted in accordance with Subsection R315-101-5(j); and(3) current impacts to groundwater are insignificant in accordance with Subsection R315-101-4(f)(15) and residual contamination present at the site possess no future threat to groundwater in accordance with Subsection R315-101-5(f)(8) and "Soil Screening Guidance Technical Background Document," US EPA, as incorporated by reference in Section R315-101-12, or groundwater contaminant concentrations have been shown to be below a corrective action level using statistical corrective action test in accordance with "Statistical Analysis of Groundwater Monitoring Data at RCRA Facilities," US EPA Unified Guidance, as incorporated by reference in Section R315-101-12 or the "Groundwater Statistics and Monitoring Compliance Guidance Document," Interstate Technology Regulatory Council (ITRC) as incorporated by reference in Section R315-101-12, as applicable.(b) A determination of either corrective action complete with controls or restricted land use, along with a site management plan shall be approved when: (1) the level of risk present as the site is greater than 1x10-6 but less than 1x10-4 for carcinogens and the hazard index is less than or equal to one for non-carcinogens based on the approved risk assessment conducted assuming the land use exposure scenario defined in Subsection R315-101-5(g)(1) or R315-101-5(g)(2); and(2) clean closure is not supported by conclusions of either the site investigation or corrective action risk assessment.(c) The site management plan shall:(1) be submitted within 60 days of approval of the risk assessment report and include a schedule for implementation;(2) be supported by the findings in the approved risk assessment report and contain appropriate site management activities;(3) encompass any activities, controls and conditions necessary to manage the risk to human health and the environment so that acceptable risk levels are not exceeded under current or reasonably anticipated future land use conditions;(4) ensure that the assumptions made in the estimation of risk and applicable target risk levels are being met; and(5) ensure that adverse ecological effects are controlled and managed so that documented hazard quotients and indices are less than or equal to one.(d) Appropriate site management activities shall be measures and controls taken to manage and reduce risks greater than 1 x 10-6 but less than 1x10-4 under both current and reasonably anticipated future land use conditions, through land use controls, such as institutional controls and engineering controls, groundwater monitoring, post-closure care, or corrective action as determined by the director on a case-by-case basis as defined in Subsection R315-101-13(f).(e) The site management plan shall be reviewed and approved by the director before implementation of the plan. Before approval, the site management plan shall be subject to the public notice requirements of Section R315-101-10.(f)(1) If the director finds that the site management plan is not adequate for protection of human health and the environment, the responsible party shall resubmit a revised site management plan addressing the comments of the director within an appropriate time frame as specified by the director. The director shall review and approve or reject the revised site management plan. The responsible party shall resubmit the site management plan addressing the deficiencies in a time frame specified by the director.(2) The site management plan shall be implemented in accordance with the approved schedule.(g)(1) Upon completion of the requirements in Subsection R315-101-7(a), corrective action shall be considered complete without controls and the land is acceptable for unrestricted use.(2) The requirements of Subsections R315-270-1(c)(5) and (6) shall be deemed met if Subsection R315-101-7(a) is met.(h) The site management plan shall include a land use control plan that specifies allowable and prohibited use of the site.(i) Land use controls shall guarantee that pathways of exposure to contaminants of concern remain incomplete for as long as there are hazardous wastes or hazardous waste constituents remaining that could pose an unacceptable risk to human health and the environment.(j) Land use controls shall be reliable, enforceable, and consistent with the risk posed by the contaminants of concern as documented in the approved risk assessment report. Land use controls may include engineering controls such as capping, paving, vapor barriers, fencing, signage, site security, and institutional controls, such as post-closure care and land use restrictions, as determined on a case-by-case basis and approved by the director.(k) In instances where contamination, including groundwater, has migrated off-site, and the director determines that the contaminant concentration poses a potential risk exceeding the acceptable risk level for residential land use exposure scenario defined in Subsection R315-101-5(g)(1), the responsible party shall: (1) Submit a proposed written notice of contamination to the director for approval before its distribution to the off-site property owners affected or potentially affected by the contamination. (i) The written notice shall at a minimum, include the following: (A) names of the contaminants detected above applicable screening levels;(B) the corresponding screening levels;(C) the respective detected contaminant concentrations; and(D) adverse effects on human health and the environment.(2) Notify the off-site property owners, in writing, within 30 days of director approval of written notice.(3) Provide the director with a certified mail return receipt, or any other form of delivery that provides confirmation of receipt.(4) With the property owner's consent, and with the director's approval, conduct corrective action in accordance with Section R315-101-6 to reduce concentrations of constituents of concern on the property to or below residential land use exposure scenario defined in Subsection R315-101-5(g)(1) or R315-101-4(f)(15) as applicable, if it is determined by the director that the action is necessary for protection of human health and the environment, or that groundwater use is designated as a drinking water source or is potentially a drinking water source; or(5) If groundwater contamination has migrated off-site but Subsections R315-101-7(k)(1) through R315-101-7(k)(4) are not applicable, the responsible party shall inform the off-site property owner in writing of the contamination, as required by Subsection R315-101-7(k)(1), and with the property owner's consent, and with the director's approval, conduct corrective action in accordance with Section R315-101-6 to reduce concentrations of contaminants of concern on the off-site property to non-residential land use exposure levels consistent with the requirements of Subsection R315-101-5(g)(2) and the designated groundwater use, and develop a site management plan in accordance with Section R315-101-7. The responsible party shall prepare and obtain the director's approval for an environmental covenant concerning the property. The responsible party shall request the property owner to record the environmental covenant and document to the director its efforts to have the environmental covenant recorded.(l) If the responsible party cannot gain access to further characterize the off-site property, or to assess and manage risks, or to conduct corrective action on the off-site property, the responsible party shall:(1) document each attempt to gain access to the off-site property, and obtain concurrence from the director that the attempts made were reasonable and that no further attempts need to be made;(2) meet the applicable target risk levels or some approved groundwater protection standards at the boundary of the site; and(3) with a site management plan approved by the director, take the necessary actions to prevent further migration of contaminants of concern beyond the site boundary.(m) For impacts to off-site groundwater, surface water bodies and sediments, and other media, the corrective action levels shall be protective of each receptor, human and ecological, for each current and potential future exposure pathway.(n) The site management plan in Subsections R315-101-7(k)(5) and R315-101-7(l)(3) addressing off-site and site groundwater contamination respectively, shall include the activities and conditions necessary to address current and potential future impacts to groundwater. The proposed controls and measures shall be consistent with Section R315-101-3 and prevent further ground water degradation at the site or off-site property so that risks are controlled, reduced or maintained at levels within the acceptable risk range as defined in Subsection R315-101-13(c).(o) Once the site management plan as specified in Subsection R315-101-7(b), R315-101-7(k)(5) or R315-101-7(l)(3) as applicable has been approved by the director, the contamination level shall not be allowed to exceed the level of risk specified in the plan. The responsible party has the burden to demonstrate that future levels of contamination at either the site or off-site property or both are either below or within the range of risk levels specified in the site management plan.(p) If the responsible party cannot demonstrate that the level of contamination at either the site or off-site property or both is either below or within the range of risk levels specified in the site management plan, then further corrective action may be required as determined by the director to bring the risk levels to within the acceptable risk range as specified in the site management plan. A revised site management plan may be required by the director.(q) In instances where contaminated groundwater has been determined by the director as having no complete exposure pathways and there is no migration of the contaminated plume off-site, or when the director has approved a claim of technical impracticability for corrective action, then, instead of meeting specific cleanup levels, the acceptable management goals and remedy, shall be the following: (1) source control of releases of contaminants that may pose a threat to human health and the environment;(2) protection of human health and the environment from any potential exposure pathways to contaminated groundwater;(3) long-term plume containment system for protection of human health and the environment;(4) perpetual care obligation of the responsible party;(5) periodic groundwater monitoring, unless terminated by the director after an evaluation of the site-specific conditions and risk characteristics, to demonstrate that contaminant levels are not increasing and the groundwater plume is stationary; and(6) periodic re-evaluation of the technical impracticability decision as part of routine performance monitoring to ensure long-term protection of human health and the environment.Utah Admin. Code R315-101-7
Amended by Utah State Bulletin Number 2023-07, effective 3/15/2023