Model Toxics Control Accounts Biennial Report
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Model Toxics Control Accounts Biennial Report 2011 – 2013 Biennium December 2013 Publication No. 13-09-058 Publication and Contact Information This report is available on the Department of Ecology’s website at https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/SummaryPages/1309058.html For more information contact: Toxics Cleanup Program P.O. Box 47600 Olympia, WA 98504-7600 Phone: 360-407-7170 Washington State Department of Ecology www.ecy.wa.gov o Headquarters, Olympia 360-407-6000 o Northwest Regional Office, Bellevue 425-649-7000 o Southwest Regional Office, Olympia 360-407-6300 o Central Regional Office, Yakima 509-575-2490 o Eastern Regional Office, Spokane 509-329-3400 If you need this document in a format for the visually impaired, call the Toxics Cleanup Program at 360-407-7232. Persons with hearing loss can call 711 for Washington Relay Service. Persons with a speech disability can call 877-833-6341. Model Toxics Control Accounts Biennial Report 2011 – 2013 Biennium Toxics Cleanup Program Washington State Department of Ecology Olympia, Washington This page left intentionally blank. Model Toxics Control Accounts Biennial Report: 2011-2013 Biennium Table of Contents Page List of Figures and Tables.................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgments……………............................................................................................v Summary………………….. ................................................................................................1 Toxics Control Accounts ...............................................................................................1 Hazardous Sites List (HSL) ...........................................................................................2 MTCA Cleanups – Toxics Control Accounts and Other State Funding ........................2 Plans for Future Reports ................................................................................................2 Streamlining the Cleanup Process .................................................................................3 Chapter 1: Introduction5 What is Ecology’s Mission? ..........................................................................................5 What is the Model Toxics Control Act? ........................................................................5 What is the purpose of this report? ................................................................................5 Chapter 2: Toxics Control Accounts....................................................................................7 What are the purposes of the Toxics Control Accounts? ...............................................7 Where does the revenue come from? .............................................................................9 How can the Toxics Control Accounts be used? .........................................................10 Who determines how the Toxics Control Accounts are spent each biennium? ...........11 How were the Toxics Control Accounts used during the Great Recession? ...............14 What changes to the Toxics Control Accounts were made by the Legislature in 2013? ......................................................................................................................................15 Chapter 3: Overview of the MTCA Site Cleanup Process ................................................17 What is a hazardous waste site? ...................................................................................17 How does a site get listed? ...........................................................................................17 How many confirmed or suspected cleanup sites has Ecology identified in Washington? ......................................................................................................................................18 What law governs cleanups of hazardous waste sites? ................................................20 What agency is responsible for implementing and enforcing the law? .......................20 Who pays for cleanups of hazardous waste sites? .......................................................21 Who is liable for cleanups of hazardous waste sites? ..................................................21 What is the nature and scope of a person’s liability? ...................................................22 What must a liable person do to resolve their liability?...............................................22 May a person take legal action to require other liable persons share in the cost of a cleanup? ......................................................................................................................................22 What processes are used to perform hazardous waste site cleanups? ..........................22 What are the steps in the cleanup process? ..................................................................25 How can the public get involved in decisions about cleanups? ...................................26 How can the public stay informed about cleanups? .....................................................26 Are grants available for local citizen groups affected by contamination? ...................27 i Model Toxics Control Accounts Biennial Report: 2011-2013 Biennium Chapter 4: Hazardous Sites List .........................................................................................29 What information did Ecology use to prepare this section of the biennial report? ......29 What is the Hazardous Sites List? ...............................................................................29 How many sites are currently on the Hazardous Sites List? ........................................30 What are the hazard waste rankings for sites on the Hazardous Sites List? ................30 How does Ecology use the hazard rankings when making cleanup or grant funding decisions? ......................................................................................................................................31 Where are the sites on the Hazardous Sites List located? ............................................31 What types of sites are included on the Hazardous Sites List? ....................................34 When have sites been added to the Hazardous Sites List? ..........................................35 Chapter 5: State Funding of MTCA Site Cleanups ...........................................................37 What information did Ecology use to prepare this section of the biennial report? ......37 What types of state expenditures are made on remedial actions? ................................37 What funds were used in the 2011-2013 biennium to conduct remedial actions at sites on the Hazardous Sites List? ...................................................................................................39 What percentage of the direct site-specific cleanup investments made during the 2011-2013 biennium were used to fund actions at highly-ranked sites? .......................................39 What types of remedial actions were started and/or completed in 2011-2013? ..........41 What Remedial Action Grants, Loans and Contracts were provided to local governments during the 2011-2013 biennium? .................................................................................42 What Site Hazard Assessment Grants were provided to local governments during the 2011- 2013 biennium? ............................................................................................................43 What Integrated Planning Grants were provided to local governments during the 2011-2013 biennium? .....................................................................................................................44 What Public Participation Grants were provided during the 2011-2013 biennium? ...45 Why were no grants awarded for Area-wide Groundwater or Safe Drinking Water Action projects during the 2011-2013 biennium? ...................................................................45 What direct investments were made at sites where Ecology conducted or contracted for remedial actions? .........................................................................................................45 How does site cost recovery from potentially liable parties and voluntary cleanup customers work?............................................................................................................................46 How much was cost recovered in the 2011-2013 biennium? ......................................47 Chapter 6: Plans for Future Reports...................................................................................49 What financial reporting is required under 2E2SSB 5296? .........................................49 What data are included in the 2011-2013 Biennial MTCA Report and what are the data limitations? ...................................................................................................................49 How will Ecology report this information in the 2013-2015 Biennial Report? ..........50 Chapter 7: Streamlining the Cleanup Process ....................................................................53 What is being done to streamline the cleanup process? ...............................................53 Why do cleanups take so long? ....................................................................................53 How will Ecology reach a target of two and three years to complete Phases 1 and 2? ......................................................................................................................................54