New guidance expedites California clean-ups

  • Published
  • By Jennifer Schneider
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --  Environmental cleanups in California will reach completion faster now, thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Air Force and California state agencies to issue guidance related to Air Force and state perspectives on California regulatory requirements.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act requires that all federal facility remedial actions comply with "applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements," or ARARs, which can include state laws.

The new resource document, "California State Agencies' Potential ARARs Table for Air Force Restoration Actions," was developed to reduce the need for lengthy negotiations resulting from differing Air Force and state policy views, and is the culmination of a five-year collaboration between the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, the Air Force Legal Operations Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The team worked closely with California's Department of Toxic Substances Control, water boards, CalRecycle, Department of Fish and Wildlife, air quality, and Department of Public Health to develop a comprehensive list of all anticipated potential ARARs in the state.

The resource document not only provides the state and Air Force perspectives for these requirements upfront, but also clarifies the use of state requirements at CERCLA sites.

Even more importantly, the tables provide practical solutions for agencies to meet the state and federal requirements while complying with Air Force legal and policy concerns, said David Bell, a member of AFCEC's West Regional Environmental Office.

"The tables document the evaluation of all anticipated California requirements from these six agencies and provide specific information for each as to the likely Air Force and state perspective," Bell said. "In cases where there are likely to be differing views between the Air Force and state, the tables provide strategies to avoid or shorten the negotiation and dispute process."

The documents are expected to result in time and cost savings for all parties involved.

"We now have a baseline ARAR agreement to work from and do not have to start from ground zero to develop potential ARARs for multiple installation feasibility studies," said Dave Leeson, a remedial project manager at AFCEC.

"Less disagreement to reach Air Force and regulatory approval for requirements will equate to less time and effort spent," he added. 

The information will not only benefit the Air Force, but the state agencies as well, said Ed Oyarzo, the lead AFLOA attorney involved in the project.

"The California regulators were as motivated as we were to clarify these sometimes challenging issues and narrow differences where possible," Oyarzo said.

Streamlining the process ultimately benefits the environment, as it results in shorter cleanup times.

"They (documents) will reduce the time needed by water board staff to identify potential ARARs, will reduce uncertainty in how ARARs are applied, reduce misunderstandings of staff of all the agencies, and, while they may not eliminate disputes, they will certainly narrow the scope and time it takes to resolve future disputes," said Frances McChesney, an attorney for the State Water Resources Control Board. "These benefits will, of course, also benefit the environment and those who live and work at the open and closed bases."

The document is being shared with Air Force restoration program managers for the region, and will also be available for use by other Department of Defense services, said Dan Medina, chief of the AFCEC Environmental Restoration Program Management Office for the western region.