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State Cleanup Program

The State Cleanup Program manages sites that are contaminated with hazardous substances or petroleum but are not included on the National Priorities List of the federal Superfund program, after which it is modeled. It follows aspects of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, 40 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 300, as well as the Remediation Closure Guide (Waste-0046-R2, available on the IDEM Effective Nonrule Policies page). These sites are mainly received into the State Cleanup Program by referral by the IDEM Emergency Response Section, after receipt of a spill or release report required under the IDEM Spill Rule, 327 Indiana Administrative Code (IAC) 2-6.1. In addition, the State Cleanup Program receives site referrals from other IDEM programs, branches, or offices; the IDEM complaint coordinator; or other public or local governmental agencies.

Upon receiving the referral, the State Cleanup Program uses the priority ranking system from 329 IAC 7.1 [PDF] to prioritize the site based upon most recent site conditions and information. This determination is used to properly allocate staff resources. Project managers are assigned to high priority sites and medium priority sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Low priority and medium priority sites with only petroleum contamination are expected to complete the Independent Closure Process. Low priority sites contaminated with hazardous substances will either complete the Independent Closure Process or be assigned to a State Cleanup Program project manager at the discretion of the State Cleanup Program based upon site conditions and program workload. The State Cleanup Program also manages time-critical removal of pollutants that are considered an imminent or substantial threat through the Immediate Removals Program.

Regardless of the extent of oversight provided by the State Cleanup Program, responsible parties are required to perform the necessary site characterization and remedial activities. The State Cleanup Program will continue to pursue any actions necessary to ensure the completion of these activities at sites that fail to progress. Responsible parties are also liable for the costs of response or remediation incurred by the state, and IDEM will seek cost recovery for expenses such as legal document reviews and technical letter development.

The State Cleanup Program manages remediation projects at sites such as dry-cleaning facilities, manufacturing facilities, petroleum refineries, petroleum storage terminals, abandoned landfills, unregulated underground storage tank sites, and other industrial sites. The State Cleanup Program Remediation Process [PDF] flow chart provides a basic overview of the program’s site management process.

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