Recommendations Aimed At Improving Contaminated Site Cleanup Are Presented To Legislators Today

Washington State Department of Ecology

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 1996
96-154

CONTACT:
Mary Burg (360) 407-7177
Denise Clifford (360) 407-6160, pager: (360) 534-8589

Recommendations Aimed At Improving Contaminated Site Cleanup Are Presented To Legislators Today

Olympia, WA -- The Model Toxics Control Act Policy Advisory Committee is presenting its final report today to state Legislators and the Washington Department of Ecology, recommending improvements to the state's cleanup law.

Last year, the Legislature set up the statewide advisory committee to study and assess the effectiveness of the state Model Toxics Control Act and suggest changes to improve the act. Over the last 18 months the committee examined a wide range of issues pertaining to the cleanup of contaminated sites including how cleanup remedies are selected; the effectiveness of independent cleanups; the effectiveness of public participation at cleanup sites; and the extent to which site-specific risk assessment should be used.

"These recommendations give us a better, stronger cleanup program - which will result in a cleaner state," said Mary Riveland, Ecology Director. "The improvements will speed cleanups which in turn, protect public health and the environment."

The committee is recommending over 20 changes to the rules and policies that are used to carry out the state's cleanup law. Riveland said "Ecology is fully committed to carrying out these changes."

Some of the recommendations will require a change in the actual statute. All of the recommendations focus on making the business of cleanup fairer, easier to understand, more flexible, and less expensive. Examples include:

Modifying the cleanup process to allow more flexibility in using site-specific information in making cleanup decisions.
Increasing public participation opportunities by providing more money for public participation grants, helping citizens retain a third party "ombudsperson" to aid in understanding cleanup proposals, and notifying the public about certain sites undergoing independent cleanup.
Designing a process for potentially liable parties to determine whether or not they need to assess ecological risks at their cleanup site.
Clarifying the process and expectations for selecting an appropriate cleanup remedy.
Ensuring that when contamination is left on site, the physical or legal controls that are in place will remain effective and protective of human health and the environment over time.
Speeding cleanup of areawide contamination or "brownfields" properties by exempting innocent landowners from liability for contaminated groundwater beneath their property; enhancing technical assistance; allowing the transfer of settlements to future owners, and making settlements more widely available to prospective buyers.

Dan Ballbach, of Landau Associates, Inc., and Presiding Chair of the Policy Advisory Committee, said that a deep undercurrent of public service and desire to do the right thing drove the work of the committee. "We reached beyond our individual interests and specific agendas to remind ourselves of our mandate for consensus - yet did not let that requirement weaken our resulting recommendations."

The next step is for legislators to evaluate the recommendations and take action during the 1997 Legislative Session, and the Department of Ecology to go to work on regulatory changes, Ballbach said.