2008 MTCA Rule Update

Washington State Department of Ecology

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2008 MTCA Rule Update

The Department of Ecology (Ecology) is updating the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) Cleanup Regulation, Chapter 173-340 WAC. According to the Model Toxics Control Act statute, Chapter 70.105D RCW, Ecology must publish and periodically update minimum cleanup standards. The Cleanup Regulation must be reviewed and, as appropriate, updated at least once every five years. After finishing a limited rule making effort in 2007, Ecology began reviewing the Cleanup Regulation.

Over the past year, Ecology has spoken with a number of stakeholder groups as part of an early scoping process. We asked about issues that could be addressed as part of updating the MTCA Cleanup Regulation. We received input from a number of groups, including:

This is an ongoing process. We also reviewed correspondence received since the MTCA Cleanup Regulation updates of 2001. After reviewing this input, we began identifying issues to consider as part of the rule making process.
A number of themes emerged from this preliminary scoping process. We heard that:

MTCA works pretty well! No one suggested a wholesale overhaul of the Washington cleanup rule. We did hear suggestions for improvements.
Coordination emerged as a theme. We heard that we should coordinate with Puget Sound cleanup efforts. Cleaning up the Sound is a high-visibility effort, and the issue came up a number of times.
We heard from EPA, consultants and our site managers that Ecology needs to improve cross-program consistency on key issues.
A related theme was predictability and consistency regarding cleanup decisions. MTCA provides flexibility to make decisions on a site-specific basis, but Potentially Liable Parties (PLPs) also need predictability to move ahead with cleanup efforts.

At the end of April, Ecology identified the main purpose of the MTCA Cleanup Regulation Updates:

Set clear policies and methods for sediment cleanup actions (for example, integrate the MTCA Cleanup Regulation and Sediment Management Standards rule requirements for cleanup standards of bioaccumulative chemicals).
Revise and update cleanup requirements to reflect both new scientific information and recent revisions to state and federal regulations (for example, update fish consumption rates).
Revise cleanup requirements to address implementation concerns identified since the 2001 rule amendments (examples include property-specific opinions under Ecology’s Voluntary Cleanup Program and requirements for cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks).
Revise the rule to incorporate new statutory requirements (for example, the Uniform Environmental Covenants Act passed by the Washington Legislature in 2007).

Here’s an estimated timeline for the rule revision process:

CR-101 -- Expected filing date July 30, 2008
CR-102 -- Expected filing date April 2010
CR-103 -- Expected filing date September 2010

The CR-101, CR-102, and CR-103 are notices filed in the State Register by the Office of the Code Reviser. The CR-101 announces the rule making effort, the CR-102 provides proposed rule language for formal public review; and the CR-103 announces the adoption of the new or revised rule. This timeline is just an estimate.

Actual dates may change as more information becomes available.

Contact Information:

For more information please contact:

Martha Hankins