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DEQ consolidates petroleum-release rules, adopts EPA risk calculators for site risk evaluations
Summary
DEQ proposed moving petroleum-release reporting and corrective-action sections into a single chapter (IDAPA 5-801-124), replacing agency risk software with EPA risk-calculator methods and updating underground storage tank technical standards; DEQ said the change simplifies rule management and that owners/operators may use EPA calculators or other
The Department of Environmental Quality presented a rule docket (IDAPA 5-801-124) consolidating petroleum-release reporting, investigation and corrective-action requirements into one rule chapter and switching DEQ’s risk-evaluation tools to EPA’s risk calculators.
"This rule delineates a process that owners and operators and their contractors can use to clean up petroleum releases," Waste Management and Remediation Division Administrator Michael McCurdy said. DEQ moved two sections (Sections 851 and 852) out of the water quality standards chapter (IDAPA 5-801-0102) into the petroleum cleanup chapter to consolidate petroleum-related requirements in one place.
McCurdy said DEQ will replace agency risk-evaluation software with EPA’s risk calculators because the federal calculators are routinely updated with current toxicity and chemical characteristic data and DEQ cannot maintain its own software cost-effectively (DEQ cited a prior update estimate of $1.9 million). DEQ said allowing EPA calculators will not change which risk levels or chemicals are evaluated; consultants and owners also may use other risk calculators identified in the rule. The rule also updates technical standards for underground storage tanks (40 CFR Part 280) required for state program approval.
DEQ held negotiated rulemaking, received written public comments that led to some changes, and identified two unresolved items in the committee summary (participation by the Petroleum Storage Tank Funds Committee in manual revision invitations and exclusion of a specific chemical from vapor-intrusion evaluations); McCurdy said DEQ concluded the latter would be inconsistent with EPA processes. The Board adopted the rule Nov. 14, 2024. The committee did not vote during this session.
