§ 300.435 - Remedial design/remedial action, operation and maintenance.

§ 300.435 Remedial design/remedial action, operation and maintenance.

(a) General. The remedial design/remedial action (RD/RA) stage includes the development of the actual design of the selected remedy and implementation of the remedy through construction. A period of operation and maintenance may follow the RA activities.

(b) RD/RA activities.

(1) All RD/RA activities shall be in conformance with the remedy selected and set forth in the ROD or other decision document for that site. Those portions of RD/RA sampling and analysis plans describing the QA/QC requirements for chemical and analytical testing and sampling procedures of samples taken for the purpose of determining whether cleanup action levels specified in the ROD are achieved, generally will be consistent with the requirements of § 300.430(b)(8).

(2) During the course of the RD/RA, the lead agency shall be responsible for ensuring that all federal and state requirements that are identified in the ROD as applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements for the action are met. If waivers from any ARARs are involved, the lead agency shall be responsible for ensuring that the conditions of the waivers are met.

(c) Community relations.

(1) Prior to the initiation of RD, the lead agency shall review the CRP to determine whether it should be revised to describe further public involvement activities during RD/RA that are not already addressed or provided for in the CRP.

(2) After the adoption of the ROD, if the remedial action or enforcement action taken, or the settlement or consent decree entered into, differs significantly from the remedy selected in the ROD with respect to scope, performance, or cost, the lead agency shall consult with the support agency, as appropriate, and shall either:

(i) Publish an explanation of significant differences when the differences in the remedial or enforcement action, settlement, or consent decree significantly change but do not fundamentally alter the remedy selected in the ROD with respect to scope, performance, or cost. To issue an explanation of significant differences, the lead agency shall:

(A) Make the explanation of significant differences and supporting information available to the public in the administrative record established under § 300.815 and the information repository; and

(B) Publish a notice that briefly summarizes the explanation of significant differences, including the reasons for such differences, in a major local newspaper of general circulation; or

(ii) Propose an amendment to the ROD if the differences in the remedial or enforcement action, settlement, or consent decree fundamentally alter the basic features of the selected remedy with respect to scope, performance, or cost. To amend the ROD, the lead agency, in conjunction with the support agency, as provided in § 300.515(e), shall:

(A) Issue a notice of availability and brief description of the proposed amendment to the ROD in a major local newspaper of general circulation;

(B) Make the proposed amendment to the ROD and information supporting the decision available for public comment;

(C) Provide a reasonable opportunity, not less than 30 calendar days, for submission of written or oral comments on the amendment to the ROD. Upon timely request, the lead agency will extend the public comment period by a minimum of 30 additional days;

(D) Provide the opportunity for a public meeting to be held during the public comment period at or near the facility at issue;

(E) Keep a transcript of comments received at the public meeting held during the public comment period;

(F) Include in the amended ROD a brief explanation of the amendment and the response to each of the significant comments, criticisms, and new relevant information submitted during the public comment period;

(G) Publish a notice of the availability of the amended ROD in a major local newspaper of general circulation; and

(H) Make the amended ROD and supporting information available to the public in the administrative record and information repository prior to the commencement of the remedial action affected by the amendment.

(3) After the completion of the final engineering design, the lead agency shall issue a fact sheet and provide, as appropriate, a public briefing prior to the initiation of the remedial action.

(d) Contractor conflict of interest.

(1) For Fund-financed RD/RA and O&M activities, the lead agency shall:

(i) Include appropriate language in the solicitation requiring potential prime contractors to submit information on their status, as well as the status of their subcontractors, parent companies, and affiliates, as potentially responsible parties at the site.

(ii) Require potential prime contractors to certify that, to the best of their knowledge, they and their potential subcontractors, parent companies, and affiliates have disclosed all information described in § 300.435(d)(1)(i) or that no such information exists, and that any such information discovered after submission of their bid or proposal or contract award will be disclosed immediately.

(2) Prior to contract award, the lead agency shall evaluate the information provided by the potential prime contractors and:

(i) Determine whether they have conflicts of interest that could significantly impact the performance of the contract or the liability of potential prime contractors or subcontractors.

(ii) If a potential prime contractor or subcontractor has a conflict of interest that cannot be avoided or otherwise resolved, and using that potential prime contractor or subcontractor to conduct RD/RA or O&M work under a Fund-financed action would not be in the best interests of the state or federal government, an offeror or bidder contemplating use of that prime contractor or subcontractor may be declared nonresponsible or ineligible for award in accordance with appropriate acquisition regulations, and the contract may be awarded to the next eligible offeror or bidder.

(e) Recontracting.

(1) If a Fund-financed contract must be terminated because additional work outside the scope of the contract is needed, EPA is authorized to take appropriate steps to continue interim RAs as necessary to reduce risks to public health and the environment. Appropriate steps may include extending an existing contract for a federal-lead RA or amending a cooperative agreement for a state-lead RA. Until the lead agency can reopen the bidding process and recontract to complete the RA, EPA may take such appropriate steps as described above to cover interim work to reduce such risks, where:

(i) Additional work is found to be needed as a result of such unforeseen situations as newly discovered sources, types, or quantities of hazardous substances at a facility; and

(ii) Performance of the complete RA requires the lead agency to rebid the contract because the existing contract does not encompass this newly discovered work.

(2) The cost of such interim actions shall not exceed $2 million.

(f) Operation and maintenance.

(1) Operation and maintenance (O&M) measures are initiated after the remedy has achieved the remedial action objectives and remediation goals in the ROD, and is determined to be operational and functional, except for ground- or surface-water restoration actions covered under § 300.435(f)(4). A state must provide its assurance to assume responsibility for O&M, including, where appropriate, requirements for maintaining institutional controls, under § 300.510(c).

(2) A remedy becomes “operational and functional” either one year after construction is complete, or when the remedy is determined concurrently by EPA and the state to be functioning properly and is performing as designed, whichever is earlier. EPA may grant extensions to the one-year period, as appropriate.

(3) For Fund-financed remedial actions involving treatment or other measures to restore ground- or surface-water quality to a level that assures protection of human health and the environment, the operation of such treatment or other measures for a period of up to 10 years after the remedy becomes operational and functional will be considered part of the remedial action. Activities required to maintain the effectiveness of such treatment or measures following the 10-year period, or after remedial action is complete, whichever is earlier, shall be considered O&M. For the purposes of federal funding provided under CERCLA section 104(c)(6), a restoration activity will be considered administratively “complete” when:

(i) Measures restore ground- or surface-water quality to a level that assures protection of human health and the environment;

(ii) Measures restore ground or surface water to such a point that reductions in contaminant concentrations are no longer significant; or

(iii) Ten years have elapsed, whichever is earliest.

(4) The following shall not be deemed to constitute treatment or other measures to restore contaminated ground or surface water under § 300.435(f)(3):

(i) Source control maintenance measures; and

(ii) Ground- or surface-water measures initiated for the primary purpose of providing a drinking-water supply, not for the purpose of restoring ground water.