Section 259.310  General

An owner or operator who elects to participate in the Agrichemical Facility Response Action Program shall conduct site assessments pursuant to this Subpart.  The purposes of the site assessment are to identify any agrichemical contamination of soil or groundwater and to develop sufficient information regarding the extent of any contamination to guide decisions about corrective actions.  The findings, opinions and conclusions of the site assessment shall be supported by adequate documentation.  All site assessment activities shall be conducted by or under the supervision of a licensed professional geologist, professional engineer or licensed industrial hygienist.  An applicant may request the Department's assistance in investigating suspected site contamination.

a)         The results of the initial assessment pursuant to Section 259.320 of this Part and plans to conduct sampling and analyses shall be submitted to the Department and the Board for review.  The results of the final site assessment pursuant to Section 259.330 of this Part shall also be submitted.  Both phases may be conducted and the combined results submitted for review.  Based on the results of the initial site assessment, the Department may recommend the addition or deletion of compounds from the list of target pesticides and recommend collection and analyses of groundwater samples.

b)         All field and laboratory activities shall satisfy the following to ensure that all data are scientifically valid and of known precision and accuracy:

1)         All field sampling activities relative to sample collection, documentation, preparation, labeling, storage, shipment and security, quality assurance and quality control, acceptance criteria, corrective action, and decontamination procedures shall be conducted in accordance with "Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods" (SW-846), Vol. One, Ch. One (Quality Control) and Vol. Two (Field Manual), incorporated by reference at Section 259.150 of this Part.  If approved by the Department, such activities also may be conducted in accordance with ASTM standards; methods identified in "A Compendium of Superfund Field Operations Methods" (EPA/540/0-87-001, OSWER Directive 9355.0-14, December 1987), "Subsurface Characterization and Monitoring Techniques:  A Desk Reference Guide, Volume I: Solids and Ground Water, Appendices A and B" (EPA/625/R-93/003a, May 1993), or "Subsurface Characterization and Monitoring Techniques:  A Desk Reference Guide, Volume II:  The Vadose Zone, Field Screening and Analytical Methods, Appendices C and D" (EPA/625/R-93/003b, May 1993); or other procedures.

2)         All field measurement activities relative to equipment and instrument operation, calibration and maintenance, corrective action, and data handling shall be conducted in accordance with SW-846, or with an equipment or instrument manufacturer's or vendor's published standard operating procedures.

3)         All laboratory quantitative analyses of soil samples to determine concentrations of agrichemicals shall be conducted fully in accordance with SW-846, relative to all facilities, equipment and instrumentation, operating procedures, sample management, test methods, equipment calibration and maintenance, quality assurance and quality control, corrective action, data reduction and validation, reporting, and records management. The practical quantitation limit (PQL) of the test methods selected shall be less than or equal to the default SCO contained in Appendix B of this Part, or, if site-specific cleanup objectives have been determined, the PQL shall be less than or equal to the site-specific SCOs for the site.

4)         All field or laboratory measurements of samples to determine physical or geochemical characteristics shall be conducted in accordance with ASTM standards or other procedures as approved by the Department.

5)         All laboratory quantitative analyses of soil samples to determine concentrations of any regulated substances or agrichemicals that require more sensitive detection limits or cannot be analyzed by standard methods identified in SW-846 shall be conducted in accordance with analytical protocols developed in consultation with and approved by the Department.

6)         All groundwater monitoring and analytical procedures shall be conducted in accordance with 35 Ill. Adm. Code 620.505 and 620.510.

7)         All quantitative analyses of soil and groundwater samples utilizing any of the approved test methods identified in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 186.180 shall be completed by an accredited laboratory in accordance with the requirements of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 186.  Quantitative analyses not utilizing an accredited laboratory in accordance with Part 186 shall be deemed invalid.

(Source:  Amended at 32 Ill. Reg. 1308, effective January 21, 2008)