As mentioned at the MassDEP Waste Site Cleanup Advisory Committee meeting last month, there will be a meeting on Wednesday, November 16, 2016 to discuss possible revisions to the Massachusetts Contingency Plan provisions concerning Imminent Hazards.
The meeting will be begin at 9:30 am and will be located in Conference Room C on the 2nd floor of MassDEP’s 1 Winter Street, Boston office. (The duration of the meeting will depend upon the depth and breadth of the discussion. The room is reserved until 12:00 pm.) Please click here for directions.
The discussion will focus on the identification and response to conditions currently considered Imminent Hazards (IH):
- The statutory and regulatory definitions of Imminent Hazard, Substantial Hazard and Significant Risk;
- How the “short period of time” inherent in Imminent Hazards is reflected in the calculations;
- Potentially limiting Imminent Hazard evaluations to short exposure periods (e.g., less than 6 months or something appropriately “short”);
- Possible re-classification of (current) Imminent Hazards based on 5-year exposures to Substantial Hazards;
- The timeliness of notifications for Imminent and Substantial Hazards (current and potential future definitions);
- The nature of the required response actions for Imminent and Substantial Hazards (current and potential future definitions);
- Other statutory and regulatory implications of a potential reclassification of SOME Imminent Hazards to Substantial Hazards, such as (but not limited to)
- The list of conditions that could pose an Imminent Hazard (310 CMR 40.0321);
- DEP’s statutory obligation to address Imminent Hazards ;
- The limitation on using AEPMMs for conditions posing an Imminent Hazard for less than 60-day exposures;
- LSP’s obligation to notify for Imminent Hazards
Stakeholders are welcome to forward additional discussion items related to this Imminent Hazard topic before the 11/16 meeting to make sure the topics are on the agenda. If you have any questions (or items), please feel free to send them to [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you on the 16th.
Related links:
Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP, 310 CMR 40)
Waste Site Cleanup Advisory Committee page
March 2016 list of DRAFT potential MCP amendments
