OAR 340-122-0072: Preliminary Assessments

(1) The Department shall conduct a preliminary assessment or approve a preliminary assessment conducted by another person in accordance with section (4) of this rule if the Department determines that a release of a hazardous substance poses a significant threat to public health, safety or welfare, or the environment. The Department may conduct or approve a preliminary assessment without such determination. The Department may determine that existing information constitutes the equivalent of all or part of a preliminary assessment. (2) Prior to conducting a preliminary assessment, the Director shall notify the owner and operator of the facility, if known, of the Department’s intent to conduct the assessment, and allow the owner or operator to submit relevant information to the Department or to request to conduct the preliminary assessment. The Department may accept or deny any such request. (3) The purpose of a preliminary assessment is to develop sufficient information to determine whether additional investigation, removal, remedial action, or long-term engineering or institutional controls related to removal or remedial action are needed at a facility to assure protection of present and future public health, safety and welfare, and the environment. (4) A preliminary assessment shall include sufficient onsite observations, maps, facility data, sampling, and other information to accomplish the purposes of a preliminary assessment as described in section (3) of this rule including, as appropriate: (a) Description of historical operations at the facility, including past and present generation, management, and use of hazardous substances; compliance with relevant environmental requirements; and investigations or cleanups of releases of hazardous substances; (b) Identification and characterization of hazardous substances that are being or might have been released and, if available, an estimate of the quantities released, the concentrations in the environment, and extent of migration; (c) Documentation of releases of hazardous substances to the environment; (d) Identification of present and past owners and operators of the facility; (e) Description of the facility, including its name, and a site map identifying property boundaries, the location of known or suspected releases of hazardous substances, and significant topographic, terrestrial, and aquatic habitat features; (f) Description of potential pathways for migration of known or suspected releases of hazardous substances, including surface water, groundwater, air, soils, and direct contact; (g) Description of human and ecological receptors potentially affected by releases of hazardous substances; (h) Description of any other physical factors that might be relevant to assessing short and long-term exposure to releases of hazardous substances; and (i) Evaluation of present and reasonably likely future threats to public health, safety and welfare, and the environment. During the preliminary assessment, the Department may consider the following information: (A) Concentrations of hazardous substances in environmental media; (B) The documented presence, in the locality of the facility, of any of the following: (i) Human populations; (ii) Any sensitive human subpopulations; (ii) Threatened and endangered species or their critical habitat; (iv) Ecological receptors including any terrestrial or aquatic habitat; (v) Exposure pathways potentially connecting receptors with released hazardous substances; (vi) Current and reasonably likely future land uses; and (vii) Current and reasonably likely future beneficial uses of water. (5) After completion of a preliminary assessment, the Director shall make one or more of the following determinations regarding a facility: (a) Additional investigation, removal, remedial action, or long-term engineering or institutional controls related to removal or remedial action are needed to assure protection of present and future public health, safety and welfare, and the environment; (b) Current regulatory action under another state or federal agency program is adequate to protect public health, safety and welfare, and the environment; (c) Other actions are necessary to assure protection of present and future public health, safety and welfare and the environment; or (d) Based on available information, no further action is needed to assure protection of present and future public health, safety and welfare, and the environment. (6) When the preliminary assessment is completed, the Director shall provide a copy to the owner and operator, if known, and shall notify them of any determination made pursuant to section (5) of this rule.