25 Pa. Code § 78a.66 - Reporting and remediating spills and releases
(a)
Scope. This section
applies to reporting and remediating spills or releases of regulated substances
on or adjacent to well sites and access roads.
(b)
Reporting releases.
(1) An operator or other responsible party
shall report the following spills and releases of regulated substances to the
Department in accordance with paragraph (2):
(i) A spill or release of a regulated
substance causing or threatening pollution of the waters of the Commonwealth in
the manner required under §
91.33 (relating to incidents
causing or threatening pollution).
(ii) A spill or release of 5 gallons or more
of a regulated substance over a 24-hour period that is not completely contained
by secondary containment.
(2) In addition to meeting the notification
requirements of § 91.33, the operator or other responsible party shall
contact the appropriate regional Department office by telephone or call the
Department's Statewide toll free number as soon as practicable, but no later
than 2 hours after discovering the spill or release. To the extent known, the
following information shall be provided:
(i)
The name of the person reporting the spill or release and telephone number
where that person can be reached.
(ii) The name, address and telephone number
of the operator or other responsible party.
(iii) The date and time of the spill or
release or when it was discovered.
(iv) The location of the spill or release,
including directions to the site, GPS coordinates or the 9-1-1 address, if
available.
(v) A brief description
of the nature of the spill or release and its cause, what potential impacts to
public health and safety or the environment may exist, including any available
information concerning the pollution or threatened pollution of surface water,
groundwater or soil.
(vi) The
estimated weight or volume of each regulated substance spilled or
released.
(vii) The nature of any
injuries.
(viii) Remedial actions
planned, initiated or completed.
(3) The operator or other responsible party
shall take necessary interim corrective actions to prevent:
(i) The regulated substance from polluting or
threatening to pollute the waters of the Commonwealth.
(ii) Damage to property.
(iii) Impacts to downstream users of waters
of the Commonwealth.
(4)
The operator or other responsible party shall identify and sample water
supplies that have been polluted or for which there is a potential for
pollution in a reasonable and systematic manner. The operator or other
responsible party shall restore or replace a polluted water supply in
accordance with §
78a.51 (relating to protection of
water supplies). The operator or other responsible party shall provide a copy
of the sample results to the water supply owner and the Department within 5
business days of receipt of the sample results from the laboratory.
(5) The Department may immediately approve
temporary emergency storage or transportation methods necessary to prevent or
mitigate harm to the public health, safety or the environment. Storage may be
at the site of the incident or at a site approved by the Department.
(6) After responding to a spill or release,
the operator or other responsible party shall decontaminate equipment used to
handle the regulated substance, including storage containers, processing
equipment, trucks and loaders, before returning the equipment to service.
Contaminated wash water, waste solutions and residues generated from washing or
decontaminating equipment shall be managed as residual waste.
(c)
Remediating
releases. Remediation of an area polluted by a spill or release is
required. The operator or other responsible party shall remediate a release in
accordance with the following:
(1) Spills or
releases to the ground of less than 42 gallons at a well site that do not
pollute or threaten to pollute waters of the Commonwealth may be remediated by
removing the soil visibly impacted by the spill or release and properly
managing the impacted soil in accordance with the Department's waste management
regulations. The operator or responsible party shall notify the Department of
its intent to remediate a spill or release in accordance with this paragraph at
the time the report of the spill or release is made.
(2) For spills or releases to the ground of
greater than or equal to 42 gallons or that pollute or threaten to pollute
waters of the Commonwealth, the operator or other responsible person must
demonstrate attainment of one or more of the standards established by Act 2 and
Chapter 250 (relating to administration of Land Recycling Program) in the
following manner:
(i) Within 15 business days
of the spill or release, the operator or other responsible party shall provide
an initial written report that includes, to the extent that the information is
available, the following:
(A) The regulated
substance involved.
(B) The
location where the spill or release occurred.
(C) The environmental media
affected.
(D) Pollution or
threatened pollution of water supplies.
(E) Impacts to buildings or
utilities.
(F) Interim remedial
actions planned, initiated or completed.
(G) A summary of the actions the operator or
other responsible party intends to take at the site to address the spill or
release such as a schedule for site characterization, to the extent known, and
the anticipated time frames within which it expects to take those
actions.
(ii) After the
initial report, any new pollution or other impacts identified or discovered
during interim remedial actions or site characterization shall also be reported
in writing to the Department within 15 business days of their
discovery.
(iii) Within 180
calendar days of the spill or release, the operator or other responsible party
shall perform a site characterization to determine the extent and magnitude of
the pollution and submit a site characterization report to the appropriate
Department regional office describing the findings. The time to submit the site
characterization report may be extended by the Department. The report must
include a description of any interim remedial actions taken.
(iv) The report under subparagraph (iii) may
be considered to be a final remedial action completion report if the interim
remedial actions meet all of the requirements of an Act 2 cleanup standard.
(v) If the site characterization
indicates that the interim remedial actions taken did not adequately remediate
the spill or release, the operator or other responsible party shall develop and
submit a remedial action plan to the appropriate Department regional office for
approval. The plan is due within 45 calendar days of submission of the site
characterization to the Department. Remedial action plans must contain the
elements outlined in §
245.311(a)
(relating to remedial action plan), as well as a schedule for the submission of
remedial action progress reports.
(vi) Within 45 days after the selected
remediation standard has been attained, the operator or other responsible party
shall submit a remedial action completion report to the appropriate Department
regional office for approval. Remedial action completion reports shall contain
the elements outlined in §
245.313(b)
(relating to remedial action completion report).
Notes
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