§ 6604a. Contaminated soils

(a) The Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, in consultation with the Commissioner of the Department of Health and the Secretary of the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, shall develop a plan for the receipt, treatment, and disposal, at one or more sites owned by the State, of soils contaminated within the State by petroleum products or other contaminants which require a comparable treatment technology, as may be determined by the Secretary. The plan shall be submitted to the General Assembly on or before January 15, 1989. In developing the plan, the Secretary shall:

(1) estimate the volumes of such contaminated soils expected to require disposal;

(2) define the characteristics of the wastes to be received;

(3) recommend the treatment process or processes to be used;

(4) establish the health and environmental standards to be applied to the operation;

(5) describe the monitoring and recording requirements for the operation;

(6) recommend ways to assure public access to the results of monitoring and to all records of the operation;

(7) define the characteristics of sites suitable for this purpose and identify one or more sites in public or private ownership which appear to meet the criteria;

(8) project the environmental and economic advantage to the State as well as to affected private parties in providing this treatment and disposal capability;

(9) analyze the feasibility and advisability of using lands currently owned by the State, compared to acquiring new lands;

(10) estimate the costs of developing and operating a site for this purpose;

(11) compare the advantages and disadvantages of state or private operation;

(12) consider the advisability of amending chapter 151 of this title to require that any site developed for the purposes of this section be subject to review under that chapter;

(13) propose fees to be charged for this service to offset all or a part of the costs to the State, including the costs of appropriate financial assurances;

(14) provide other relevant information to carry out the purpose of this section; and

(15) evaluate the feasibility of using certain contaminated soils in the manufacture of asphalt or other road construction material.

(b) The Secretary is authorized, for three years commencing on May 14, 1986, to permit a limited number of small on-site treatment and disposal operations for petroleum fuels, commensurate with the intent of this section, when in the Secretary's opinion the public health and safety will not be adversely affected. All pertinent information gathered regarding permits granted and the surveillance, monitoring and operation of these test sites shall be public information. On-site treatment and disposal operations together with necessary associated transportation of contaminated soils are not required to comply with sections 6606 and 6607 of this chapter. (Added 1985, No. 189 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 14, 1986; amended 1987, No. 76, § 18; 1987, No. 85, § 3, eff. June 9, 1987; 1989, No. 256 (Adj. Sess.), § 10(a), eff. Jan. 1, 1991; 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003.)