160.001 Legislative intent. The legislature recognizes that prior to May 11, 1984, most groundwater regulatory programs were not based on numerical standards. The legislature intends, by the creation of this chapter, to minimize the concentration of polluting substances in groundwater through the use of numerical standards in all groundwater regulatory programs. The numerical standards, upon adoption, will become criteria for the protection of public health and welfare, to be achieved in groundwater regulatory programs concerning the substances for which standards are adopted. To this end, the legislature intends that: (1) This chapter will establish an administrative process which will produce numerical standards, comprised of enforcement standards and preventive action limits, for substances in groundwater. As more specifically provided in this chapter, administrative procedures also provide for minimizing the concentration of substances in groundwater. (2) The enforcement standards and preventive action limits will be adopted under the authority of this chapter, independent of any regulatory programs concerning the substances for which enforcement standards and preventive action limits are adopted. (3) This chapter supplements the regulatory authority elsewhere in the statutes, whether the regulatory programs exist under current statutes on May 11, 1984, or are created after that date. Regulatory agencies will continue to exercise the powers and duties in those regulatory programs, consistent with the enforcement standards and preventive action limits for substances in groundwater under this chapter. This chapter provides guidelines and procedures for the exercise of regulatory authority which is established elsewhere in the statutes, and does not create independent regulatory authority. (4) In order to comply with this chapter, a regulatory agency is not required to adopt a particular type of regulation; regulatory agencies are free to establish any type of regulation which assures that regulated facilities and activities will not cause the concentration of a substance in groundwater affected by the facilities or activities to exceed the enforcement standards and preventive action limits under this chapter at a point of standards application. A regulatory agency may adopt regulations which establish specific design and management criteria for regulated facilities and activities, if the regulations will ensure that the regulated facilities and activities will not cause the concentration of a substance in groundwater affected by the facilities or activities to exceed the enforcement standards and preventive action limits under this chapter at a point of standards application. (5) The enforcement standards and preventive action limits
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Adoption of rules for regulatory responses for groundwater contamination.