Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 465 § 465.315 — Standards for degree of cleanup required; Hazard Index; risk protocol; hot

Standards for degree of cleanup required; Hazard Index; risk protocol; hot spots of contamination; exemption; rules. (1)(a) Any removal or remedial action performed under the provisions of ORS 465.200 to 465.485 and 465.900 shall attain a degree of cleanup of the hazardous substance and control of further release of the hazardous substance that assures protection of present and future public health, safety and welfare and of the environment. (b) The Director of the Department of Environmental Quality shall select or approve remedial actions that are protective of human health and the environment. The protectiveness of a remedial action shall be determined based on application of both of the following: (A) The acceptable risk level for exposures. For protection of humans, the acceptable risk level for exposure to individual carcinogens shall be a lifetime excess cancer risk of one per one million people exposed, and the acceptable risk level for exposure to noncarcinogens shall be the exposure that results in a Hazard Index number equal to or less than one. “Hazard Index number” means a number equal to the sum of the noncarcinogenic risks (hazard quotient) attributable to systemic toxicants with similar toxic endpoints. For protection of ecological receptors, if a release of hazardous substances causes or is reasonably likely to cause significant adverse impacts to the health or viability of a species listed as threatened or endangered pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. or ORS 496.172, or a population of plants or animals in the locality of the facility, the acceptable risk level shall be the point before such significant adverse impacts occur. (B) A risk assessment undertaken in accordance with the risk protocol established by the Environmental Quality Commission in accordance with subsection (2)(a) of this section. (c) A remedial action may achieve protection of human health and the environment through: (A) Treatment that eliminates or reduces the toxicity, mobility or volume of hazardous substances; (B) Excavation and off-site disposal; (C) Containment or other engineering controls; (D) Institutional controls; (E) Any other method of protection; or (F) A combination of the above. (d) The method of remediation appropriate for a specific facility shall be determined through an evaluation of remedial alternatives and a selection process to be established pursuant to rules adopted by the commission. The director shall select or approve a protective alternative that balances the following factors: (A) The effectiveness of the remedy in achieving protection; (B) The technical and practical implementability of the remedy; (C) The long term reliability of the remedy; (D) Any short term risk from implementing the remedy posed to the community, to those engaged in the implementation of the remedy and to the environment; and (E) The reasonableness of the cost of the remedy. The cost of a remedial action shall not be considered reasonable if the costs are disproportionate to the benefits created through risk reduction or risk management. Subject to the preference for treatment of hot spots, when two or more remedial action alternatives are protective as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, the least expensive remedial action shall be preferred unless the additional cost of a more expensive alternative is justified by proportionately greater benefits within one or more of the factors set forth in subparagraphs (A) to (D) of this paragraph. The director shall use a higher threshold for evaluating the reasonableness of the costs for treating hot spots than for remediation of areas other than hot spots. (e) For contamination constituting a hot spot as defined by the commission pursuant to subsection (2)(b) of this section, the director shall select or approve a remedial action requiring treatment of the hot spot contamination unless treatment is not feasible considering the factors set forth in paragraph (d) of this subsection. For contamination constituting a hot spot under subsection (2)(b)(A) of this section, the director shall evaluate, with the same preference as treatment, the excavation and off-site disposal of the contamination at a facility authorized for such disposal under state or federal law. For excavation and off-site disposal of contamination that is a hazardous waste as described in ORS 466.005, the director shall consider the method and distance for transportation of the contamination to available disposal facilities in selecting or approving a remedial action that is protective under subsection (1)(d) of this section. If requested by the responsible party or recommended by the Department of Environmental Quality, the director may select or approve excavation and off-site disposal as the remedial action for contamination constituting a hot spot under subsection (2)(b)(A) of this section. (f) The Department of Environmental Q