SITE INFORMATION AND CORRESPONDENCE_FILE 1

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Excerpts on Ground Waters and Site Cleanup Page 15 from the Water Quality Control Plan discharger to pay the costs of cleanup, but rather to the objective balancing of the incremental benefit of attaining more stringent levels of constituents of concern as compared with the incremental cost of achieving those levels. Factors to be considered in the establishment of cleanup levels greater than background are listed in 23 CCR, Section 2550.4(d). The discharger's ability to pay is one factor to be considered in determining whether the cleanup level is reasonable. However, availability of economic resources to the discharger is primarily considered in establishing reasonable schedules for compliance with cleanup levels. vii. Compliance with (iii) above shall be determined through risk assessments performed by the discharger, using the most current procedures authorized by the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, or the USEPA. The Regional Water Board is not the lead agency for specifying risk assessment procedures or for reviewing risk assessments. The Board will assist the discharger, as necessary, in obtaining the appropriate, most current procedures from the above listed agencies. To prevent duplication of effort, the Board will rely on the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, or appropriately designated local health agencies to review and evaluate the adequacy of health and environmental risk assessments. The Board will assist the discharger, as necessary, in determining which of these agencies will review the risk assessments for a particular site. Priority will be given to those agencies that are already involved with the assessment and cleanup of the site. h. Compliance with Ground Water Cleanup Levels To protect potential beneficial uses of the water resource as required by Water Code Sections 13000 and 13241,compliance with ground water cleanup levels must occur throughout the pollutant plume. i. Modifying Ground Water Cleanup Levels The Regional Water Board may consider modifying site-specific ground water cleanup levels (that have been determined pursuant to subsection (g) above) that are more stringent than applicable water quality objectives, only when a final remedial action plan has been pursued in good faith, and all of the following conditions are met: i. Modified cleanup levels meet the conditions listed in g(ii) and(iii) above ii. An approved cleanup program has been fully implemented and operated for a period of time which is adequate to understand the hydrogeology of the site, pollutant dynamics, and the effectiveness of available cleanup technologies; iii. Adequate source removal and/or isolation is undertaken to eliminate or significantly reduce future migration of constituents of concern to ground water;