
Ecology opens 45-day comment period on draft Vapor Intrusion Guidance
All comments on the document provided to Ecology by November 30, 2009, will be considered when the guidance is finalized. (Please see "Where do I send comments” below for instructions.) What is the purpose of this draft Vapor Intrusion Guidance?This technical guidance is intended to help responsible
parties, environmental professionals, and Ecology site managers
assess vapor intrusion at cleanup sites in Washington. Chapter 1:
Introduction What kinds of comments is Ecology looking for?Please comment on any aspect of the draft Vapor Intrusion Guidance. We welcome your thoughts. It is particularly helpful to Ecology if comments clearly identify a topic, the chapter, section, and page. This enables us to better understand the context of your comments. Should reviewers focus on specific areas?The draft guidance addresses a wide range of vapor intrusion
issues. With a number of these issues, Ecology recognizes
that a national consensus has yet to emerge. Ecology is
particularly interested in feedback on: The tiered approach. For example, is using soil gas or groundwater data to make screening decisions reasonably conservative? We have tried to be consistent with the general approaches used by other state and federal agencies. Do you believe this is a reasonable approach for implementing the current MTCA rule provisions? If not, what do you suggest?
What is the relationship between this draft guidance and the ongoing MTCA Cleanup Regulation Update?This draft guidance supports implementation of the Model Toxics Cleanup Act (MTCA) cleanup regulation. Ecology is currently in the process of reviewing and updating this regulation. As part of this process, Ecology is examining the investigation and cleanup requirements applicable to vapor intrusion to determine if changes should be made. Your feedback on this guidance document will help Ecology determine what rule changes (if any) might be needed to effectively deal with vapor intrusion problems at cleanup sites. Ecology plans to complete work on the vapor intrusion guidance document in early 2010. The rulemaking process is currently scheduled to be completed in 2011. If necessary, Ecology will update the vapor intrusion document to reflect regulatory changes following rule adoption. When is the comment period?The comment period runs from October 16, 2009, through November 30, 2009. What will Ecology do with the comments received?All comments received by 5 p.m. on November 30, 2009, will be considered when the final version of the guidance document is prepared. Although we are unable to respond to each comment individually, Ecology will issue a general responsiveness summary that describes the issues identified by reviewers and explains the changes we made to the draft document in response. Where do I send comments?Send comments to: martha.hankins@ecy.wa.gov. Please include VI Guidance in the subject line. How would Ecology like comments to be organized?Date Who should I contact if I have questions?If you have questions about the draft document or the commenting process, please contact Ed Jones at ed.jones@ecy.wa.gov or (425) 649-4449. If you have comments about the MTCA cleanup regulation update, please contact Martha Hankins at martha.hankins@ecy.wa.gov or (360) 407-6864. |
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