Section 25358.7 Of Article 5. Uses Of The State Account From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 20. >> Chapter 6.8. >> Article 5.
25358.7
. (a) The department or the regional board, as appropriate,
shall take the actions specified in this section to provide an
opportunity for meaningful public participation in response actions
undertaken for sites listed pursuant to Section 25356.
(b) The department, or the regional board, as appropriate, shall
inform the public, and in particular, persons living in close
proximity to a hazardous substance release site listed pursuant to
Section 25356, of the existence of the site and the department's or
regional board's intention to conduct a response action at the site,
and shall conduct a baseline community survey to determine the level
of public interest and desire for involvement in the department's or
regional board's activities, and to solicit concerns and information
regarding the site from the affected community. Based on the results
of the baseline survey, the department or regional board shall
develop a public participation plan that shall establish appropriate
communication and outreach measures commensurate with the level of
interest expressed by survey respondents. The public participation
plan shall be updated as necessary to reflect any significant changes
in the degree of public interest as the site investigation and
cleanup process moves toward completion.
(c) The department or regional board shall provide any person
affected by a response action undertaken for sites listed pursuant to
Section 25356 with the opportunity to participate in the department'
s or regional board's decisionmaking process regarding that action by
taking all of the following actions:
(1) Provide access to information which the department or regional
board is required to release pursuant to the California Public
Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7
of Title 1 of the Government Code), relating to the action, except
for the following:
(A) Trade secrets, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section
25358.2.
(B) Business financial data and information, as specified in
subdivision (c) of Section 25358.6.
(C) Information which the department or regional board is
prohibited from releasing pursuant to any state or federal law.
(2) Provide factsheets, based on the expressed level of public
interest, regarding plans to conduct the major elements of the site
investigation and response actions. The factsheets shall present the
relevant information in nontechnical language and shall be detailed
enough to provide interested persons with a good understanding of the
planned activities. The factsheets shall be made available in
languages other than English if appropriate.
(3) Provide notification, upon request, of any public meetings
held by the department or regional board concerning the action.
(4) Provide the opportunity to attend and to participate at those
public meetings.
(5) Based on the results of the baseline community survey, provide
opportunities for public involvement at key stages of the response
action process, including the health risk assessment, the preliminary
assessment, the site inspection, the remedial investigation, and the
feasibility study stages of the process. If the department or
regional board determines that public meetings or other opportunities
for public comment are not appropriate at any of the stages listed
in this section, the department or regional board shall provide
notice of that decision to the affected community.
(d) The department or regional board shall develop and make
available to the public a schedule of activities for each site for
which remedial action is expected to be taken by the department or
regional board pursuant to this chapter and shall make available to
the public any plan provided to the department or regional board by
any responsible party, unless the department is prohibited from
releasing the information pursuant to any state or federal law.
(e) In making decisions regarding the methods to be used for
removal or remedial actions taken pursuant to this chapter, the
department or regional board shall incorporate or respond in writing
to the advice of persons affected by the actions.
(f) This section does not apply to emergency actions taken
pursuant to Section 25354.