SITE INFORMATION AND CORRESPONDENCE_2

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Ron Rowe Registered Environmental Specialist February 2, 2000 Page 6 Finally, the Prior Owners' efforts to assist Del Monte in implementing a remedial approach (which is both cost effective and which achieves the County's goal of fully characterizing the Property) have been thwarted. Attached hereto as Exhibit "B" are true copies of the correspondence between counsel for Del Monte and the Prior Owners in which the Prior Owners note their fundamental inability to effectively and meaningfully participate with Del Monte due to Del Monte's approach in responding to remedial directives from the County. Parmaceast does not own the Property and has no authority to enter onto the Property and independently do any of the work directed by the County. Thus, the inability to influence Del Monte to adopt a pragmatic approach to remediation has left the Prior Owners without any effective means or responding to the problems at the Property. j In light of the lack of credible evidence that Parmaceast was the owner and/or operator of the fi underground storage tanks immediately before the termination of their use, the new evidence regarding the level of oxygenates found in the groundwater and the quandary in which Parmaceast finds itself in not having an opportunity to fulfill the County's directives, Parmaceast respectfully requests that the County remove Parmaceast as a responsible party for remediation of the Property. The following discussion reviews the appropriate standard for naming a responsible party, the new evidence calling into question Parmaceast's responsible party status and evidence presented to the County prior to its naming Parmaceast as a responsible party. DISCUSSION Discussion 1. Legal Standard For Naming Responsible Parties There are three primary sources that provide guidance on naming responsible parties. The first is the underground storage tank regulations6; the second is Resolution 92-497, and the third is a 6 The underground storage tank regulations define responsible party as one or more of the { following: (1) Any person who owns or operates an underground storage tank used for the storage of any hazardous substance; (2) in the case of any underground storage tank no longer in use, any person who owned or operated the underground storage tank immediately before the discontinuance of its use; (3) any owner of Property where the unauthorized release of a hazardous substance from an underground storage tank has occurred; and (4) any person who had or has control over an underground storage tank at the time of or following an unauthorized release of a hazardous substance. pp - 761778.3