SITE INFORMATION AND CORRESPONDENCE FILE 2

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Ms. Terry bell July 15, 2003 Page 3 (3) Any owner of property where an unauthorized release of a hazardous substance from an underground storage tank has occurred; [or] (4) Any person who had or has control over a [sic] underground storage tank at the time of or following an unauthorized release Bingham McCutchen LLP of a hazardous substance. bingham.com Cal. Code of Regs., tit. 23, § 2720 (2003). In SWRCB Order No. WQO 2002-0021,In the Matter of the Petition of Mehdi Mohammadian (November 19, 2002),the SWRCB affirmed the test to determine RP designation: Following an unauthorized release, it is appropriate for an agency participating in the LOP to designate a person as a responsible party for cleanup at a site if it has `credible and reasonable evidence' to indicate that the person has responsibility. . . . Credible and reasonable evidence that a person `has responsibility' at an LOP site exists if the person meets the definition of a `responsible party,' as the term is defined in section 2720 of the California Code of Regulations.5 The SJCEHD has authority and acted properly in designating Palisades as an RP. Palisades has owned and operated the Site since November 1997, and, as outlined in more detail below, the SJCEHD has credible and reasonable evidence of releases under Palisades' watch. Accordingly, Palisades' Petition is without merit, and the SWRCB should deny it. B. There Is Ample Evidence Of Unauthorized Releases During Palisades' Ownership and Operation of the Site Environmental testing at the Site indicates that unauthorized releases have occurred during Palisades' ownership and operation. This testing shows both increased concentrations of methyl tertiary butyl ether("MtBE") and tertiary butanol ("TBA") in the groundwater since March of 2002, and, that Palisades' 5 Id.