8. Recommendations for Specific Land-Use Scenarios (continued)

8c. Commercial Areas

As discussed above, the Task Force is most concerned about exposure of children to arsenic and lead in soil. In general, commercial areas are not frequently used for play by children and tend to be covered with impervious surfaces such as buildings, parking lots, or other man-made and maintained cover, such as landscaping bark or gravel.

Recommendations
For commercial areas affected by area-wide soil contamination, the Task Force recommends:

• Where commercial areas are covered with surfaces such as buildings, parking lots, or other effective soil cover, the Task Force recommends that no further response actions are necessary to address area-wide soil contamination.
  
• For mixed-use areas, such as a childcare facility located in a shopping center, the Task Force recommendations for non-commercial use should be considered for the non-commercial operation. In other words, in this example, the child-use area recommendations should be considered for a childcare facility located in a largely commercial area.

8d. Open Land

Open land includes undeveloped properties, agricultural land that is no longer in production, and other developed properties that are currently vacant or abandoned. Agricultural land that is intended to be returned to active production within regular growing cycles (e.g., fallow land in dry-land wheat growing areas) is not considered open land and is not addressed by these recommendations. The Task Force considered two categories of open land: open land that is being developed and open land that is not proposed for development. Although there is the potential for both human health and ecological impacts from area-wide soil contamination at open land, this section only addresses risks from human exposure. Ecological concerns are discussed in Section 11.

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Recommendations
In addition to broad-based education and awareness-building, the Task Force recommends that the Agencies support and encourage the following activities for open land in areas where area-wide soil contamination is likely.

• Amending the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) checklist to include a question designed to prompt consideration of the potential for area-wide soil contamination during new development.
  
• For open land being developed, qualitative evaluations to increase understanding of whether area-wide soil contamination is likely, soil testing before construction where area-wide soil contamination is likely, and implementing additional protection measures if contamination is found.
  
• Use of plat or other notices to record information on property status.
  
• For open land being developed, implementation of existing requirements and policies governing worker protection and safety, and control of dust, erosion, and surface water runoff during construction.
  
• For open land not being developed that is in or near residential areas, use of practical, cost-effective measures to limit trespassing, the potential for exposure to contaminated soil, and windblown dust.

Open Land Being Developed into Other Land Uses
In general, the Task Force believes that responses to area-wide soil contamination at open land being developed should be consistent with the responses the Task Force recommends for the end land use, since the end land use most affects the potential for exposure. For example, the recommended responses described in Section 8a for child-use areas are appropriate to consider when open land is being developed into schools, parks, childcare facilities, or other child-use areas. Because development activities generally include manipulation of the soil and grade at a site, new development also may offer opportunities to implement certain protection measures more easily and for less cost than at developed properties. Additional precautions are also warranted to prevent or reduce exposure of people who live near or work at construction sites and may be exposed to contaminated soil (including windblown dust) during construction activities.

The Task Force believes that the most appropriate way to address potential exposures during and after development is to integrate responses to area-wide soil contamination into the land-use review and development process. The Task Force recommendations include a series of actions that developers, construction workers, and property owners should take to reduce potential exposure and recommendations for how to work with existing land-use planning and permitting processes to encourage implementation of the recommendations.

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Recommended Activities for Developers, Construction Workers, and Property Owners
The Task Force recommends that developers conduct qualitative evaluations of properties and, where warranted, carry out soil testing prior to construction. Depending on the results of these evaluations, developers should incorporate appropriate additional protection measures into site development and construction plans to reduce the potential for exposure to area-wide soil contamination after properties are developed. Developers, for example, could take advantage of the opportunities construction activities provide to contain and cap contaminated soil under roads, structures, or landscaping berms. Other options that might be considered include tilling or blending soils to reduce surface concentrations of arsenic and lead, installing protective barriers and good soil cover, and removing and replacing small quantities of soil, all of which are more cost effective if implemented during rather than after properties have been developed. In general, as indicated in the Task Force's principles, the level of effectiveness and permanence of the responses should be greatest for proposed land uses where there is the greatest potential for exposure of children, gardeners, and other adults who have frequent contact with soil. The Agencies should set an example for private developers by adopting these practices for their construction projects.

Large Construction Sites The Task Force received a number of comments from individuals concerned about proper transportation and disposal of contaminated soil during construction projects and the potential for windblown dust during construction, particularly at large construction sites. The Task Force is sympathetic to these concerns and believes that existing regulations should be fully implemented and enforced to ensure safe management of soil with elevated levels of arsenic and lead and to control windblown dust.

During construction, the Task Force recommends that construction workers implement individual protection measures to reduce their potential for exposure to contaminated soil, consistent with U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA) requirements. Moreover, as a precautionary measure, the heightened awareness and safety precautions required for construction at properties where hazardous substances are known to be present should also be applied at properties where area-wide soil contamination is likely, unless soil sampling shows that elevated levels of contaminants are not present. Finally, the Agencies should work with State and local air and other authorities to ensure that regulations to control dust, erosion, and run-off during construction are implemented and enforced to minimize potential exposure at and near construction sites.

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Encouraging Implementation of the Task Force Recommendations for New Development
To encourage implementation of the Task Force recommendations, the Task Force recommends that the Agencies educate people who work on SEPA issues in local government, as well as other local planning and permitting officials, about area-wide soil contamination and how to respond appropriately to it. The Task Force believes that local land-use planning and permitting processes represent an important opportunity to educate developers about the Task Force recommendations and assist developers with implementation of recommended activities. Local planning and permitting officials should be provided with educational materials to distribute to developers, property owners, and others early in the site development process. Materials should provide guidance on qualitative evaluations, soil sampling, and how to select and implement protection measures.

Specific Protocols for Addressing Area-Wide Soil Contamination During the focus group meetings about the preliminary Task Force recommendations, a number of officials from local building and planning departments emphasized their need for clear, standard protocols for addressing area-wide soil contamination. The officials agreed that they were often in the best position to work with land developers and builders to address area-wide soil contamination, but explained that they were not, and were not likely to become, experts on qualitative evaluations, soil testing, or protective measures. Officials mentioned general permits under the Clean Water Act as an example of a successful standard protocol. Standard protocols (guidance) for qualitative evaluations and soil testing are included in the Task Force's recommended "toolbox." The Task Force supports standard protocols, but recognizes that in many cases it will be difficult to standardize selection and implementation of protective measures, due to the site-specific nature of these decisions. The Task Force recommends that Ecology work with local building and planning departments to continue to explore the concept of standard protocols, with a view toward providing as much certainty and predictability as possible to local planning officials, builders, and developers.

Furthermore, the Task Force recommends that the SEPA checklist, which is used to determine whether government actions require an environmental impact statement, be modified to incorporate a question about whether the property is likely affected by area-wide soil contamination. For construction activities that are exempt from SEPA requirements, such as the construction of fewer than four single-family homes, the Agencies should work with local governments to leverage appropriate land-use or building processes to reach these development activities. The Task Force also encourages local jurisdictions to use plat or other notices to record information on the status of properties where area-wide soil contamination is likely, as part of the land-use approval and development process. Notices should, for example, record whether contamination is likely to be present, whether a property has been sampled, and/or whether protection measures are in place.

Open Land Not Proposed for Development
At open land not proposed for development that is not in or near residential areas, the potential for exposure to area-wide soil contamination is generally low, because these areas are not likely to be frequented by children or other sensitive populations. The Task Force believes that broad-based education and awareness-building activities should be sufficient to address potential health risks from human exposure to area-wide soil contamination in these areas.

For open land not proposed for development that is in or near residential areas, children could be exposed to area-wide soil contamination if they play or trespass on this land. The Task Force recommends that the Agencies encourage property owners to take practical steps to limit trespassing on their properties, such as posting signs at open lots in residential areas. Concerned parents should take steps to ensure that their children do not trespass on open lands. Where appropriate, property owners might also consider taking practical, cost-effective steps to limit the potential for soil exposure and windblown dust, such as keeping open land covered with grass, hay, or other vegetation.

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