Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
[Comment: For dates of non-regulatory government publications,
publications of recognized organizations and associations, federal rules, and
federal statutory provisions referenced in this rule, see
rule
3745-300-15 of the Administrative Code titled
"Incorporation by reference - voluntary action
program."]
(A)
Purpose and scope of a phase I property assessment
under the voluntary action program. The purpose of a phase I property
assessment is to determine whether there is any reason to believe that
any releases of hazardous substances or petroleum have or may have occurred on
or from a property including any release due to
management, handling, treatment, storage, or disposal activities from on or
off-property activities. The scope of a phase I property assessment is to
characterize a property for the purposes of participation in the voluntary
action program, and to determine the necessity
for and initial scope of a phase II property assessment.
[Comment: If the voluntary action is part of a property
transfer or is to be financed in part or in whole by a lending institution,
additional requirements for an environmental investigation at the property may
be imposed by the lending institution.]
(B)
If the volunteer has information that establishes any
reason to believe that any releases of hazardous substances or petroleum have or may have occurred on or from the
property, including any release due to management, handling, treatment, storage, or
disposal activities from on or off-property activities, upon completion of the phase I property assessment,
the volunteer shall conduct a phase II
property assessment that addresses each release in accordance with rule
3745-300-07
of the Administrative Code prior to obtaining a no further action letter from a
certified professional, except when paragraph (E)(2) of this rule is
applicable.
(C)
At a minumum,
the volunteer shall perform a review of the historic and current
uses of the property, review the environmental history of the property, and
review the history of the property pertaining to the treatment, storage,
management, or disposal of hazardous substances or petroleum, and the existence
of source areas on the property, and
conduct a property inspection. Any
current owner of a property upon which a voluntary action is
conducted shall provide to
the volunteer any information known by that owner which may be relevant to
the
determination of the existence of source areas on the property or whether
treatment, storage, management, or disposal of hazardous substances or
petroleum occurred or may have occurred at the property. Any information that
is determined not to be reasonably available
shall be
identified, and an explanation
shall be
provided in the phase I property assessment report as to why
the
information was not reasonably available.
(1) Historic and current uses of the
property. The objectives of this portion of the phase I property assessment are
to establish a continuous history of the uses of the property
from the present back to the property's first developed
use, or back to 1940, whichever is earlier, and to determine if those uses may have included the
treatment, management, handling, storage, or
disposal of hazardous substances or petroleum, which have or may have led to
any releases of hazardous substances or petroleum on or from the property.
The volunteer shall identify the first industrial or commercial use
of the property through and including the present use of the property. To
complete the property history portion of the phase I property assessment, a
volunteer shall perform the following as necessary to provide a
continuous history:
(a) History
analysis. A diligent inquiry of reasonably available historical records to
establish a continuous history of the use of the property, including
significant changes in the use of the property, and to determine
whether there were any releases of hazardous
substances or petroleum on or from the property.
(b)
Land title and
property tax file investigation. A review of the
recorded
land title records and property tax file
records for the property to evaluate current and previous ownership and
identifiable uses of the property. The investigation shall include a
review of documents pertinent to the
determination of whether there is any reason to believe that any releases
of hazardous substances or petroleum have or may have occurred on or from the
property. The documents include but are not limited to deeds, mortgages, easements of record and similar
documents that are reasonably available to the volunteer.
(c) Interviews. Reasonable attempts to locate
and conduct interviews with persons who reside or have resided or who are or were employed at or within the
areas surrounding or adjoining the property regarding the current and past uses
of the property to determine if there is any reason to believe that a release
of hazardous substances or petroleum has or may have occurred on or from the
property.
(2)
Environmental history review. The objective of this portion of the phase I
property assessment is to provide a continuous environmental history to
determine whether any management, handling, treatment, storage, or disposal
activities at the property have occurred
which have or may have led to any release of hazardous substances or petroleum
on or from
the property.
(a) To the extent that
such
information is reasonably available, or available through diligent
inquiry, a volunteer shall review any previous environmental assessments or
studies, property assessments, or geologic
studies for the property.
(b) A
volunteer shall conduct a diligent
investigation of the environmental compliance history
of the property and all persons who owned or operated the property. This
investigation shall relate to releases of hazardous substances or
petroleum and to factors which may affect the eligibility of the property to
participate in the voluntary action program and , at a minimum, shall include a review of reasonably available
information from U.S. EPA,
Ohio EPA, the Ohio department of
natural resources, and the Ohio bureau of
underground storage tank regulations.
(c)
A volunteer shall review records for
the property and surrounding properties within a minimum of one half-mile from
the property boundary, except as indicated in
paragraphs (C)(2)(c)(i) to (C)(2)(c) (ix) of this rule.
Such review
shall
include the records
, as
the
records relate to the property and all areas located within a minimum of
one half-mile of the property boundary, except as
indicated in paragraphs (C)(2)(c)(i) to (C)(2)(c)(ix) of this rule, to
the extent necessary to determine if hazardous substances or petroleum may have
been released from surrounding properties and could potentially impact the
subject property. The records that shall be reviewed
include the following:
(i) Federal
national priorities sites list
of sites within one mile of the subject property
boundary.
(ii) Federal
Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act information system
list.
(iii)
Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act corrective
action facilities list of facilities within one mile of the subject property
boundary.
(iv) Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
treatment, storage,
and disposal facility list.
(v) Federal emergency
release notification system list.
(vi) Federal Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act information database.
(vii) Ohio EPA,
division of environmental response .
(viii) Ohio bureau
of underground storage tank regulations leaking underground storage tank
list.
(ix) Ohio EPA spill database.
(d)
A volunteer shall review records for
the property and adjoining properties. This shall include a
review of the records
, as
such
records relate to the property and all adjoining properties, to the
extent necessary to determine if hazardous substances or petroleum may have
been released onto the property or are emanating onto the property from
adjoining properties. The records that shall be
reviewed include the following:
(i)
Federal Resource and Conservation Recovery Act generators list.
(ii) Ohio bureau of underground storage tank
regulations registered underground storage tank list.
(e)
A volunteer shall review records for
the property only. This shall include a review of the
records
as
such
records relate to the potential release of hazardous substances or
petroleum on or from the property. The records that
shall be reviewed include the following:
(i) Community right-to-know inventory report
records of the state emergency response commission and the local emergency
planning committee.
(ii) Local fire
department records.
(iii) Local
health department records.
(f)
A volunteer shall review records for
the property and surrounding properties. A review of other appropriate federal,
state and local agency records, and other
databases, such as those referenced in ASTM E1527,
paragraph 8.2, when a volunteer has reason to believe that relevant information
may be obtained from such records . For example, reviews may include Ohio department of
natural resources well log information, historical society records, library
records, or historical newspaper search
engines.
(3) Interviews.
Interviews with reasonably available key property personnel, residents, or
former property personnel who have knowledge relevant to historical uses,
operations, and environmental conditions at the property or surrounding
properties. A sufficient number and quality of interviews
shall be
conducted so that those persons with relevant knowledge have the opportunity to
provide as much meaningful and relevant information about the property or
surrounding properties as is reasonably possible. All interview information, including interview questions and relevant responses
obtained during the interviews,
shall be
documented in the phase I property assessment report, as provided in paragraph
(G) of this rule.
(4) Property
inspection. The objective of this portion of the phase I property assessment is
to obtain information from a physical inspection of the property to determine
whether any releases of hazardous substances or petroleum have or may have
occurred on or from the property. The volunteer shall conduct a
physical inspection of all areas of the property, including an inspection of
the interior and exterior of all buildings and structures on the property, and an inspection of all other areas of the
property. At a minimum, to conduct the property inspection, the
volunteer shall identify and document the following:
(a)
Areas that contain hazardous substances or petroleum,
or areas where hazardous substances or petroleum were located. These areas
include, but are not limited to, the following:
(i)
Underground
storage tanks.
(ii)
Above-ground storage tanks.
(iii)
Wells
(including oil and gas wells and underground injection control
wells).
(iv)
Cans.
(v)
Boxes and other
containers.
(vi)
Pipes.
(vii)
Drains.
(viii)
Storm sewers or sanitary sewers.
(ix)
Electrical
equipment.
(x)
Cables.
(xi)
Fuel
tanks.
(xii)
Oil pans.
(xiii)
Lagoons.
(xiv)
Stacks.
(xv)
Cooling
systems.
(xvi)
Inventory.
(xvii)
Pits.
(xviii)
Piles.
(xix)
Landfills.
(xx)
Waste or process water treatment
systems.
(xxi)
Equipment.
(xxii)
Structures
associated with the areas listed under paragraph (C)(4) (a) of this rule that
contain or previously contained any hazardous substances or
petroleum.
(xxiii)
Areas used for the treatment, storage, management, or
disposal of any hazardous substances or petroleum.
(b)
If any of the
sources identified under paragraph (C)(4)(a) of this rule are identified in the
property inspection, the volunteer shall determine the condition of the
sources.
(c) Evidence that a release of hazardous substances or
petroleum occurred or may have occurred on or from the property. This evidence
may include, but is not limited to, the following:
(i)
Spilled materials.
(ii) Stressed
vegetation.
(iii) Discolored
soils.
(d) Any other available evidence of the current and
past uses of the property or evidence of practices regarding the management,
handling, treatment, storage, or disposal of any hazardous substances or
petroleum.
(e) The general topographic conditions of the property
and area surrounding the property.
(f) Evidence of
current and past uses of adjoining properties which may be observed from the
property or which are accessible from public rights of way.
(g)
Identifiable migration conduits for hazardous substances or petroleum including
but not limited to basements, drains, tiles, wells, and utility
lines.
(h) Any physical obstructions which limit the
visibility of conditions on the property, including but not limited to
buildings, snow or leaf cover, rain, fill, asphalt, or pavement.
(5) Property hazardous substance
or petroleum release history. Based on information obtained from paragraphs
(C)(1) to (C)(4) of this rule, areas where hazardous substances or petroleum
were or are located on or off property shall be
evaluated to determine which areas have known or suspected releases of
hazardous substances or petroleum. The volunteer shall identify
for each release, to the extent known or suspected, the following:
(a)
The contaminant type.
(b) The
quantity.
(c) The date of
release.
(d) The areas of the
property impacted by the release.
(e) The environmental media impacted by the
release, i.e. soil, soil gas, ground water, surface water, and sediments. Releases to dirt floors inside
buildings are considered releases to environmental media.
(f) Any measures taken to address the
release, including the result of those measures.
(D)
Requirements to supplement ASTM phase I property
assessment. To the extent that a previous ASTM
phase I property assessment does not comply with
the requirements of this rule it shall be supplemented to meet all requirements of this
rule.
[Comment: For example, if a phase I property assessment was
completed December 1, 1990 and was in compliance with
this rule except the requirement to provide a property history, including the
uses of the property and all adjoining properties and any surrounding areas,
the 1990 phase I property assessment shall be
supplemented to include a continuous property history in accordance with
paragraph (C)(1) of this rule, and a new phase I property assessment in
accordance with this rule shall be performed for the period between December 2,
1990 up to the date of the issuance of the no further action letter or the
performance of a phase II property assessment, whichever is applicable to the
particular voluntary action.]
(E)
Designation
of identified areas.
(1) The volunteer
shall
identify each area at the property where a release of hazardous substances or
petroleum has or may have occurred to environmental media. Each identified area
shall be
detailed in the written phase I property assessment report as
required in paragraph (G) of this rule.
(a) Each identified area may be
re-delineated or eliminated if data obtained during a
phase II property assessment conducted in accordance with rule
3745-300-07
of the Administrative Code supports re-delineation or
elimination of the identified area.
(b) If the volunteer has reason to believe a
release has or may have occurred, but cannot visually observe or otherwise
define the portion of the property that may have been affected by hazardous
substances or petroleum, the volunteer shall designate the portion of the
property as an identified areathat is suspected to be affected by the hazardous
substances or petroleum.
(c) If the
volunteer has knowledge that a release of hazardous substances or petroleum
occurred on the property but has no information on the location of the release,
the volunteer may designate the whole property as one identified
area.
(2) Exceptions to
the
designation of identified areas.
(a) De
minimis areas. As determined in this rule, areas with releases that
are de minimis are not identified areas. De minimis areas are those areas
where the following criteria are demonstrated and documented in the phase I report.
The logic and reasoning used to evaluate the information
for the de minimis demonstration shall consider the following:
(i) Whether the release of hazardous
substances or petroleum is confined to surficial soils on the property and that
no hazardous substances or petroleum were released from the de minimis
area into surface water, sediments, or ground
water on or from the property.
(ii)
That the release of hazardous substances or petroleum was a small quantity
confined to a limited area of shallow depth of the soil surface that generally
would not present a threat to human health, safety, and the environment.
(iii) That the release of hazardous
substances or petroleum was not part of a pattern of disposal or
mismanagement.
(iv) There are no
more than three de minimis areas per acre at the property.
(b) Areas previously addressed under
regulatory programs. As determined in this rule, areas previously addressed
under a regulatory program are not identified areas. Areas where a
release of hazardous substances or petroleum was previously investigated or
remediated to the most stringent standardswithout the need for institutional or engineering controls are not
identified areas if both of the following apply:
(i)
The volunteer
has evaluated documents from the regulatory program
and
determined that the release meets
current unrestricted residential standards, or the equivalent. The regulatory
program process shall address all potential constituents of the
release identified under this phase I property assessment, or the additional
constituents shall be considered an identified area. The size of
the area, the environmental media, and the
pathways investigated under the regulatory program shall be
consistent with what would have been investigated under this chapter, or the
release shall be considered an identified area.
(ii) The release was addressed under one or
more of the following regulatory jurisdictions, as appropriate:
(a) Closure of an underground storage tank
system or corrective action of petroleum releases that are subject to the
jurisdiction of the Ohio bureau of underground storage tank regulations of the
state fire marshal's office.
(b)
Closure, corrective action, or other remedial
activities that are
subject to the jurisdiction of a program administered
by Ohio EPA.
(c) Closure, corrective action, or other remedial activities that are subject to the
jurisdiction of a program administered
by U.S. EPA.
(F)
Eligibility evaluation. The volunteer shall do the
following:
(1) Evaluate the property based on
each exception to voluntary action eligibility provided in rule
3745-300-02
of the Administrative Code.
(2)
Document the completion, resolution, or
non-applicability of the exception as needed to support a demonstration to
Ohio
EPA pursuant to the rule that the property is eligible for the voluntary
action program.
(3) Identify any
activities that remain to be completed or statements from regulatory agencies
that remain necessary to confirm the eligibility of the property as required by
that rule.
(G) The
volunteer shall complete a written phase I property assessment
report which, at a minimum, includes the following:
(1) An introduction
that
identifies the property, the date that the phase I
property assessment and the written report were
completed,
the name and job title of each person who
conducts the investigation, and a summary of the current use of the
property.
(2) A summary of
the areas where hazardous substances or petroleum were or are located on or off
property and the areas of known or suspected releases of hazardous substances
or petroleum. The summary shall include all identified areas at the property of
known or suspected releases, and include, as applicable, the de minimis areas
and the previously addressed areas determined not to be identified areas pursuant to paragraph (E)
of this rule. For each designated identified area, the report
shall
include the location and the approximate boundaries of the identified area and
the contaminant type known or suspected to be present for evaluation during a
phase II property assessment. Any of the identified areas designated in the
phase I property assessment report may be re-delineated or eliminated as a result of data
collected and assessed in accordance with paragraph (E) of rule
3745-300-07
of the Administrative Code.
(3) The
results of the eligibility evaluation conducted pursuant to paragraph (F) of
this rule.
(4) Asbestos.
(a) A summary of the
asbestos-containing building material at the property,
as identified and documented in accordance with paragraph (C) (4)(a) of this
rule. An asbestos survey may be included in an appendix of the report completed
under this rule to document the presence of asbestos. The completion of an
asbestos survey is not a requirement of a phase I property assessment conducted
pursuant to this rule.
(b)
Documentation of compliance with the standards for asbestos emission control
during demolition and renovation activities, as applicable, in accordance with
Chapter 3745-20 of the Administrative Code, which may document the absence of
an asbestos release under this rule. The standards are
referred to also as national emission standards for hazardous air
pollutants ( NESHAPs).
(5) Maps.
(a) A property location map using the most
currently available 7.5 minute U.S. geological survey topographic map, which
includes the property boundary and the surrounding significant features such as
roads and other rights of way, surface water bodies, and adjacent
properties.
(b) A property map
which identifies significant structures and features, including but not limited
to property improvements, including all roads, railroads, and above ground and
below ground structures and appurtenances, the property's boundaries, and
identifies the property which is the subject of the voluntary action.
(c) Identified areas and other areas. A
property map which identifies the location and type of all known or suspected
releases of hazardous substances or petroleum on the property including areas
determined under this rule to be de minimis areas and previously addressed
areas in accordance with paragraph (E) of this rule.
(d) A map which identifies all sites within
one half-mile surrounding the property which were identified in paragraph
(C)(5) of this rule.
(e)
All maps required by this rule shall include the
following:
(i)
A citation that indicates accuracy, including the author and date of current
source.
(ii)
Scale. The scale shall maintain readability even if the
map is reproduced without color.
(6) An explanation of all procedures used
during the phase I property assessment.
(7) A summary of all relevant information
used to meet the objectives in
paragraph (C) of this rule.
(8) A statement
of any limitations,
qualifications, or data
gaps which impact the phase I property assessment. This statement
shall include an identification and explanation of any records
which were not reviewed
because either
the records were determined not to be reasonably available
or the records could not be obtained despite good-faith
efforts.
(9) A recommendation
that states either of the following:
(a)
A no further
action letter can be issued.
(b)
A phase II
property assessment is required in order to obtain a no further action letter
for the property.
(10)
To the extent available,
a bibliography of references which identifies a description, date, source, and location of
any document reviewed as part of the phase I property assessment and include
the name, address, and telephone number of any
persons interviewed in the phase I property assessment.
(11) Sufficient color photograph
documentation of the property's current condition.
The volunteer
shall identify the dates that the photographs of
the property were taken.
(12) Appendices for all appropriate
supporting documentation.
(H)
Phase I
assessment update. If more than one hundred eighty days has elapsed since the
completion of the requirements in paragraphs (C) and (E) of this rule, the
phase I property assessment shall be updated as follows:
(1)
In accordance
with paragraph (E)(1)(c) of rule
3745-300-07
of the Administrative Code, before the phase II property assessment
begins.
(2)
In accordance with paragraph (D)(1) of rule
3745-300-13
of the Administrative Code, prior to issuance of a no further action
letter.
