WAC 173-322-090   Area-wide groundwater remedial action grants.  (1) Purpose. The purpose of the area-wide groundwater remedial action grant program is to provide funding to local governments that facilitate the cleanup and redevelopment of property within their jurisdictions where the groundwater has been contaminated by hazardous substances from multiple sources. The grants are intended to encourage and expedite the investigation and cleanup of area-wide groundwater contamination.

     (2) Applicant eligibility. To be eligible for an area-wide groundwater remedial action grant, the applicant must meet the following requirements:

     (a) The applicant must be a local government, as defined in WAC 173-322-020;

     (b) The hazardous waste site must involve area-wide groundwater contamination, as defined in WAC 173-322-020;

     (c) The applicant must be a potentially liable person or a potentially responsible party at the hazardous waste site, have an ownership interest in the hazardous waste site, or apply on behalf of property owners affected by the hazardous waste site to facilitate area-wide groundwater action;

     (d) The area-wide groundwater action must be required under an order or decree or be approved by the department. If the action is required under an order or decree issued under the federal cleanup law, then the order or decree must have been signed or acknowledged in writing by the department as a sufficient basis for remedial action grant funding; and

     (e) The applicant must agree to conduct or manage the area-wide groundwater action specified in the grant agreement.

     (3) Application process.

     (a) Submittal. If the area-wide groundwater remedial actions are required under an order or decree, then the grant application must be submitted to the department within sixty days of the effective date of the order or decree. If the area-wide groundwater remedial actions are not required under an order or decree, then the grant application may be submitted to the department at any time.

     (b) Content. The grant application must be completed on forms provided by the department and include the following:

     (i) Sufficient evidence to demonstrate compliance with the eligibility requirements in subsection (2) of this section;

     (ii) A description of the history of the site, the sources of the area-wide groundwater contamination, the current status of the site, and the remedial actions to be performed at the site to address the area-wide groundwater contamination;

     (iii) A description of the environmental benefits of the project;

     (iv) A copy of the order or decree, if applicable;

     (v) A copy of the scope of work that specifies the remedial actions to be performed at the site to address the area-wide groundwater contamination;

     (vi) A budget for the scope of work;

     (vii) A description of all current or potential sources of funding including, but not limited to, other grants or loans and proceeds from contribution or insurance claims;

     (viii) A copy of any reimbursement agreement with affected property owners;

     (ix) A commitment by the applicant to partially reimburse the department from any current or future funds obtained from affected property owners; and

     (x) A commitment by the applicant to provide the required matching funds and a description of the sources of those funds.

     (4) Application evaluation and prioritization.

     (a) The grant application will be evaluated by the department for completeness and adequacy. After the application has been completed, the department and the applicant will negotiate the scope of work and budget for the grant. The department will consider cost eligibility and other sources of funding when negotiating the scope of work and budget for the grant.

     (b) When pending grant applications or anticipated demand for area-wide groundwater remedial action grants exceed the amount of funds available, the department may prioritize applications or limit grant awards based on the following:

     (i) Relative hazard ranking as determined by the department in accordance with WAC 173-340-330 or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List ranking. Higher ranking sites will receive a higher funding priority;

     (ii) Evidence that the grant will expedite cleanup; and

     (iii) Relative readiness of the applicant to proceed promptly to accomplish the scope of work.

     (5) Cost eligibility. Costs must be eligible under this section and be approved by the department in order to be eligible for reimbursement.

     (a) Eligible costs. Eligible costs for area-wide groundwater remedial action grants include, but are not limited to, the reasonable costs for the following:

     (i) Remedial investigations;

     (ii) Feasibility studies;

     (iii) Remedial designs;

     (iv) Pilot studies;

     (v) Interim actions;

     (vi) Cleanup actions;

     (vii) Capital costs of long-term monitoring systems; and

     (viii) Operating and maintenance costs incurred during the first year of accomplishing the cleanup action after facilities and equipment have been installed or constructed.

     (b) Ineligible costs. Ineligible costs for area-wide groundwater remedial action grants include, but are not limited to, the following:

     (i) Retroactive costs, except as provided under subsection (6) of this section;

     (ii) Oversight costs;

     (iii) Operating and maintenance costs of long-term monitoring systems;

     (iv) Operating and maintenance costs incurred after the first year of accomplishing the cleanup action;

     (v) Natural resource damage assessment costs and natural resource damages;

     (vi) Legal costs including, but not limited to, the cost of pursuing contribution or insurance claims, the cost of administrative hearings, the cost of pursuing penalties or civil or criminal actions against persons, the cost of penalties incurred by the applicant, the cost of defending actions taken against the applicant, and attorney fees; and

     (vii) In-kind services.

     (6) Retroactive cost eligibility. Retroactive costs are not eligible for reimbursement unless:

     (a) The department unreasonably delays the processing of the grant application;

     (b) The department provided only partial funding under a prior grant agreement because funds were not available; or

     (c) The costs were incurred conducting independent remedial actions and those actions are incorporated as part of the order or decree.

     (7) Funding and reimbursement.

     (a) Adjustment of eligible costs. If an order or decree requires a potentially liable person (PLP) or a potentially responsible party (PRP) other than a local government to conduct remedial action, then the department shall deduct the financial contribution of that PLP or PRP from the amount eligible for grant funding. If the applicant receives proceeds from a contribution claim before the effective date of the grant agreement, then the department shall deduct those proceeds from the amount eligible for grant funding, after subtracting from those proceeds the legal costs incurred by the applicant pursuing the contribution claim.

     (b) Funding of eligible costs. The applicant shall be eligible to receive funding for up to one hundred percent of eligible costs.

     (c) Match requirement. The applicant shall fund those eligible costs not funded by the department under the grant. The applicant may not use in-kind services or proceeds from contribution claims to meet the match requirement.

     (d) Reimbursement of grant funds. If the applicant receives proceeds from a contribution claim after the effective date of the grant agreement, then the applicant shall reimburse the department for a proportional share of those proceeds, after subtracting from those proceeds the legal costs incurred by the applicant pursuing the contribution claim.

     (e) Repayment of grant funds. If the property impacted by the area-wide groundwater contamination is owned by private parties, then the grant amount shall be partially repaid to the department. The terms and amount of repayment shall be included in the grant agreement between the applicant and the department. The applicant shall obtain partial reimbursement from potentially liable persons and potentially responsible parties. Reasonable measures shall be taken by the applicant to maximize reimbursement.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 70.105D.070. 05-07-104 (Order 04-06), § 173-322-090, filed 3/18/05, effective 4/18/05. Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.105D RCW. 01-05-024 (Order 97-09A), § 173-322-090, filed 2/12/01, effective 3/15/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21A.080. 93-24-047, § 173-322-090, filed 11/23/93, effective 12/24/93. Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.105D RCW. 90-10-057 (Order 89-45), § 173-322-090, filed 5/1/90, effective 6/1/90.]