The Delaware Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA) gives DNREC the ability to ensure cleanup of facilities with a release or imminent threat of release of hazardous substances.

The Act (7 Del.C., Ch. 91) was approved by the Delaware General Assembly in July of 1990. It enables DNREC to address those sites not remediated under the federal Superfund program. DNREC has identified over 700 sites in Delaware as potential hazardous substances release sites. Amendments added over the years supported the addition of the Voluntary Cleanup and Brownfields programs.

Governing Principles

The Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA) governs all of the programs of the DNREC Remediation Section, including the Brownfields Program, Voluntary Cleanup Program, State led projects and Enforcement.

The Brownfields Program follows the HSCA statute and regulations, and the Brownfields Grants are financed by the HSCA fund for approved sites.

The Voluntary Cleanup Program follows the HSCA statute and regulations, however, the responsible party pays for the cleanup as well as oversight costs.

State-led projects follow the HSCA statute and regulations and the cleanup is financed by the HSCA fund until the responsible party can be identified. Enforcement occurs when the responsible party fails to comply with the HSCA statute and regulations.

Consultant and Lab Qualifications

Consultants and Contractors

All consultants performing work under HSCA must be certified by the Department. Consultants and contractors can apply at any time using the Application to Become a Certified Consultant under the Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA) Program.

Labs

Only laboratories which have been approved by the Department through an audit process may perform analytical work at sites being investigated under HSCA, the Voluntary Cleanup Program or the Brownfield Program. All the analytical work must be done in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedures for Chemical Analytical Programs under HSCA (SOPCAP).

HSCA Funding

The program is funded by levying a tax on gross receipts from the sale of petroleum or petroleum products, with the exception of crude oil. The state program requires potentially responsible parties to pay for the costs associated with investigating, and if necessary, cleaning up a site.

If a potentially responsible party cannot be identified or is unable to pay for the cleanup, monies from the HSCA Fund are utilized to perform the cleanup at the site.

Contaminant Information

Below is a list of contaminants that occur commonly at the sites being addressed by the DNREC remediation Section. Each link goes to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. More information on chemicals and toxics is available from the US EPA.

Related Topics:  cleanup, Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act, HSCA, remediation, waste and hazardous substances