Client Alert Newsletter

PA Act 2 Program Could See Several Changes in 2008

In addition to significant new requirements imposed on the use of institutional and engineering controls by Pennsylvania's recently enacted Uniform Environmental Covenants Act ("UECA") (see related article), remediators in the Commonwealth may see other changes to the Act 2 cleanup program this year. With input from the Cleanup Standards Scientific Advisory Board, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ("PADEP") in recent months has been considering several other modifications to the program. Key areas of focus include (1) evaluating performance of the current vapor intrusion guidance and considering changes based on developments at federal and state levels; (2) updating the medium-specific concentration ("MSC") regulatory tables under the statewide health standard for many compounds, driven in part by evaluating the inhalation pathway for a broader universe of organic compounds considered "volatile;" (3) moving toward a case-specific determination of tools to be used for removal of separate phase liquids, as opposed to the current "maximum extent practicable" standard; and (4) developing guidance on addressing diffuse discharges of contaminated groundwater into special protection surface waters. With the broad range of issues on the table, along with the possibility of drafting UECA implementing regulations, it remains to be seen when and in what form PADEP may seek to move these initiatives forward. Stakeholders of the Act 2 program should follow these developments closely in 2008.