Section 176.330  Procedures for Site Assessments

a)         All site assessments and related reports must be conducted or prepared under the supervision of a Licensed Professional Engineer or Licensed Professional Geologist. All site assessment work shall meet accepted engineering standards or accepted standards for the practice of professional geology and be conducted according to the best professional judgment and diligence of the supervising Licensed Professional Engineer or Licensed Professional Geologist, as the case may be.

b)         Owners or operators shall measure for the presence of a release where contamination is most likely to be present at the UST site by conducting sampling in the same manner and following the same procedures as required under the Illinois Pollution Control Board's Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks rules at 35 Ill. Adm. Code 734.210(h)(1) and (2).  Samples must be analyzed for the same applicable indicator contaminants as required under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 734.405.  All sampling must meet the same data quality and certification requirements as set forth in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 734.415 and 734.420.  If soil borings are involved the owner or operator must follow the same requirements as set forth in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 734.425 and 734.435. For all UST removals, samples shall be taken in native soil with the excavation for the removal still open and prior to backfill and with the STSS still on site.  For abandonment-in-place, samples may be taken prior to or on the day of abandonment-in-place and shall meet the requirements of this Section.  In selecting sample types, sample locations and sample measurement methods, owners or operators shall also consider the nature of the stored substance, the type of initial alarm or cause for suspicion, if any, the method of tank removal or abandonment-in-place, the types of backfill, the depth of groundwater and other factors appropriate for identifying the presence and source of a release.  Packaging for shipping or delivery should be done in a manner that will preserve the sample and prevent deterioration or dilution, as for example, putting samples in sealed containers in ice.

c)         Within 45 days after receipt of lab results from a full site assessment pursuant to subsection (b), owners or operators must designate and electronically submit to OSFM, on OSFM electronic forms (titled "Site Assessment Results" form and available at https://sfm.illinois.gov/about/divisions/petroleum-chemical-safety/applications-and-forms.html), a "contamination" or "no contamination" result indicating whether a release has occurred, along with associated lab results.  This determination shall be based upon an evaluation of lab results to determine whether any contamination has been found.  The determination must be certified by a Licensed Professional Engineer or Licensed Professional Geologist.  Even if "no contamination" is being reported, the analytical report with tables and a site map showing sampling/boring locations shall be submitted to OSFM.  In the event a suspected release was previously called into IEMA and is being confirmed by site assessment, the "contamination" or "no contamination" result on the Site Assessment Results form shall be provided to IEPA in addition to OSFM.

d)         In the event that sampling or other site observations disclose evidence of a release or site assessment lab results show site contamination, the owner or operator shall immediately notify IEMA and any other required entities of a suspected release, as required by Section 176.320, and begin corrective action pursuant to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 734.

e)         Records generated from site assessments and related activity shall be kept at the site (or available within 30 minutes or before OSFM completes its inspection, whichever is later) and may not be discarded or destroyed unless and until a No Further Remediation (NFR) letter is issued by IEPA or until the site permanently ceases the activity involved in using the USTs and any site assessments required under this Part are completed and show no evidence of contamination. Owners or operators claiming that required records were destroyed, discarded or lost prior to September 1, 2010 or by a prior owner of the subject UST property shall conduct a new site assessment when the assessment is required by OSFM rules for continued or future use of the USTs.

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 6949, effective May 2, 2023)