R 299.3 Response activities; protection of public health, safety, welfare, and environment required; rules applicable to interim response actions designed to meet cleanup criteria; degree of cleanup; modification of cleanup category; aquifers; unacceptability of response activity plan.

Rule 3. (1) All response activities shall be protective of the public health, safety, and welfare and the environment. Applicable generic cleanup criteria established by the department pursuant to section 20120a(1) and site specific cleanup criteria approved by the department under section 20120a(2) and 20120b of the act and these rules reflect the department’s judgment, at the time the criteria are established or approved by the department, about the numerical criteria required to meet this protectiveness requirement, subject to the provisions of R 299.4(3), R 299.28, and R 299.34(2). (2) The rules in this part apply to interim response activities that are designed to meet cleanup criteria. References in this part to response activity also include those interim response activities. (3) The category of land use-based remedial action under section 20120a(1) of the act or the site-specific cleanup criteria identified under sections 20120a(2) and 20120b of the act may be modified by the person proposing to conduct the response activity that will result in modification during implementation or after completion of a remedial action, if appropriate to the facility and if that modification is accomplished in a manner that is consistent with the act and these rules. (4) If a revised land use-based remedial action includes characteristics that are required to be approved by the department, then the person implementing the change shall seek department approval as required by part 201 of the act and these rules. (5) The horizontal and vertical extent of hazardous substance concentrations in an aquifer above the higher of either the concentration allowed by section 20120a(1)(a) or (10) of the act, as applicable, shall not increase after the initiation of remedial actions to address an aquifer, except as approved by the director as provided in section 20118(5) and (6) of the act. (6) All remedial actions that address the remediation of an aquifer shall provide for removal of the hazardous substance or substances from the aquifer, either through active remediation or as a result of naturally occurring biological or chemical processes which can be documented to occur at the facility, except as provided in section 20118(5) and (6) of the act.