SOP - 6. Site Assignment

Sites are usually assigned to site managers after receipt and acceptance of a valid Site Access Agreement (SAA) from the real property owner or verified responsible party of the site. In some cases, an assignment is made in anticipation of receipt of an executed site access agreement because of the site manager’s previous or current involvement with a site or other extenuating circumstances.

Site assignment is tracked in Storage Tank and Contamination Monitoring Database (STCM). The authority for data entry is restricted to only a few staff, including the site assignment coordinators for the individual teams. It is important that site assignment information be kept current because it is used for management decisions, queries and reports.

Team managers should always remember (and site managers should remind them) to add, remove or change the site manager name in STCM as soon as possible whenever a site is assigned to a team or transferred to another, is parked due to a change in the priority score or priority funding threshold, or one or more discharges is determined to be NREQ (cleanup not required), NFA (no further action) or SRCO (site rehabilitation completion order) status. 

PCPP Sites

The administrative services contractor, on behalf of the Petroleum Cleanup Participation Program (PCPP) coordinator, typically sends out and tracks the Limited Contamination Assessment Report (LCAR) request as soon as the site is eligible for funding assistance. The LCAR will be assigned to the team coordinator for review.

Once the LCAR is reviewed and approved  the cost estimate for cleanup to closure and the owner/responsible party (RP) contact information is submitted to the PCPP coordinator. The PCPP coordinator will coordinate sending the owner/RP a PCPP Agreement request to access state funding if warranted.  

The owner/RP will utilize the Instructions for Completion of PCPP Agreement to submit a PCPP Agreement with the required backup documentation. The PCPP Agreement will identify if the owner/RP is providing their 25% obligation through a 25% copayment, 25% cost-savings (in the form of contractor rate reduction or difference in cost associated with a Risk Management Option Level I closure versus a Risk Management Option II) or combination of copayment/cost-savings equal to 25%. 

The owner may either recommend an ATC or have the department identify the ATC through the Contractor Selection Formula or an eQuote The site manager should utilize the PCPP Agreement to determine if there is a conditional closure endpoint or a cost share or cost savings to be considered when designing the scope and drafting the purchase order.

Advanced Cleanup Sites

Advanced Cleanup (AC) is a funding mechanism for sites already eligible under a Petroleum Eligibility Program. There are three different areas of AC:

1. Regular AC (referred to as AC).
2. Bundle AC (referred to as PBAC).
3. Advanced Cleanup for Redevelopment (referred to as ACR).

There are up to two application windows a year to participate in AC or PBAC. During the application window the responsible party and agency term contractor (ATC) may apply to proceed with cleanup funding under AC or PBAC. Applications for AC and PBAC no longer require a Limited Contamination Assessment Report (LCAR). 

Once an AC cost share agreement is in place, the applicant’s recommended ATC submits to the department a scope of work to complete a limited site assessment capable of supporting the proposed remedial approach and cost to closure. The department issues one or more purchase orders of up to $35,000 each for the limited contamination assessment based on review and agreement or adjustment of the submitted scope incorporating the cost share into the PO.

Applications for the cleanup of individual sites may be submitted with a cost share, or savings in the form of reduced rates under the ATC or a combination of both to meet the minimum required 25%. Applications for cleanup of bundle sites (minimum of 5 sites) may be submitted with an aggregate cost savings or cost share of 25% allowing some sites to have less than 25% while others have greater than a 25% cost share.  

Advanced Cleanup for Redevelopment (ACR) does not require a cost share, applications may be submitted at any time, funding is limited to $1 million, and the application must contain an LCAR.

When managing a site with an AC Agreement, it is important to understand what the cost share commitment is and how to apply it in the POs, and to assure that the period of service for a PO issued under an AC Agreement does not extend beyond the AC Agreement expiration date. The cost share and AC Agreement expiration date information is contained within the AC Agreement. The AC coordinator should be consulted if there are any questions. If the site discharge is eligible under PCPP, then the cost share for AC is in addition to the co-pay (cost share/savings) required under the PCPP Agreement.

Distribution of Sites

The site assignment coordinators verify whether the deductible has been paid, the required cost share and AC agreements were executed prior to assigning sites to teams and enters the team manager’s name into STCM to facilitate tracking during the interim period prior to assignment to an individual site manager.

These team assignments are made with the intention of distributing an approved number of sites to each team based on their ongoing team projects and total site capacity. The team manager assigns sites to site managers.

Each team should develop their own method for allocating sites that consider the site manager’s capacity for new sites and other duties that may be assigned to the site manager. The site manager’s name must be entered into STCM and section tracking when the site is assigned.

Site Transfers

All site transfers must be handled by and between the team leader/site assignment coordinators and team managers. This requirement applies to transfers within teams as well as between teams and is necessary to ensure that site assignment coordinators are kept informed of their team’s assignments and that the tracking systems (both STCM and section tracking) are properly updated to reflect the change.

The team managers should send the request directly to the team leader using the appropriate form.

Return to: PRP Site Manager Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) webpage.

Return to:  SOP Site Manager Guide page.