Sec. 518.325. - Procedures for assessment, decontamination, sampling and testing.

(a) A contractor who has been retained to assess a property shall submit all information, proposals and the appropriate fee to the Division on the form supplied by the Division. (1) The contractor shall assess the site and characterize the extent of contamination by, but not limited to, the following: (i) Securing any documentation available from the Division, law enforcement agencies, other appropriate State agencies or other sources regarding the nature and extent of the illegal drug activity and evidence of such activity; (ii) Evaluating the property site to determine the nature and extent of observable damage and contamination; (iii) Providing a written site assessment with an accompanying sampling and analysis plan. The contractor shall submit the assessment and sampling plan, along with the appropriate fee listed in Section 518.336 (d), to the Division for approval prior to commencement of the decontamination work; (iv) Supervising qualified, third-party sampling personnel, as set forth in Section 518.332 , in the collection of site samples; (v) Arranging for the qualified scientific testing of air, surfaces, and articles and materials on or taken from the site; (vi) Providing a brief written description of the contaminated site and buildings, and a scale drawing of the property including the location and type of all site structures; floor plans drawn to reasonable scale of all affected buildings; location of any surface waters, wells, and/or septic tanks; location of any damage, observable contamination, chemical storage, dump sites, burn piles, or drug lab operations; (vii) Supplying photographs of the site and the interior and exterior of any buildings, vehicles, boats or other potentially contaminated structures or areas. These photographs must show any damage, observable contamination or identified dump sites that may be present; (viii) Providing a list of the sample locations, methods, and laboratory tests to be performed prior to decontamination of the property, and a list of the articles and materials that may need removal from the site during the decontamination process; and (ix) Supplying the name of the company retained to collect the samples, name(s) of the analytical laboratory(ies) performing the analyses on the samples, and the name and qualifications of the sample collector. (2) The contractor shall submit the assessment along with all tests, findings and conclusions, the name of the owner, mailing and street address, legal description of the property, clear directions for locating the property, and a completed application for a Certificate of Fitness along with the applicable fee to the Division if no contamination is found. If the findings are acceptable to the Division, the Division shall issue a Certificate of Fitness. (b) If contamination is found, the contractor shall proceed as follows to decontaminate the property, or to supervise the owner or agent of the owner in the decontamination: (1) Prepare and submit to the Division a written work plan for decontamination along with the applicable fee. The work plan, at a minimum, shall include: (i) Complete identifying information such as street address, mailing address, owner of record, legal description, and clear directions for locating the property; (ii) A drawing of the contaminated property including floor plans of all affected buildings drawn to reasonable scale showing the location of damage and contamination, chemical storage, and the location of all sampling points used in the initial evaluation; (iii) A summary of the information obtained from any law enforcement agencies, the Division and/or other sources and a discussion of its relevance to the contamination; (iv) A summary of all tests performed, test results and a discussion of the significance of the test, along with a copy of the laboratory test results; (v) Specific procedures for decontamination detailing any and all materials or articles to be removed, all procedures to be employed to remove contaminants, any proposed processes to cover or encapsulate contaminants, appropriate labeling of contaminated materials removed from the property to alert members of the general public that such materials are unsafe, and any other proposed procedures for decontamination and disposal of contaminated materials; (vi) A complete listing of proposed post-decontamination laboratory tests of the property and the name(s) of the laboratory(ies) doing the testing; (vii) A listing of all personnel who will participate in the on-site decontamination and qualifications of each; (viii) Certification that all workers, except as set forth in Section 518.324 (b), are qualified and trained under applicable OSHA rules, per 29 CFR 1910.120(e) and associated State rules and will use appropriate protective clothing and equipment whenever on the property; (ix) All results of the site assessment; and (x) Documentation that the site to be decontaminated meets the criteria established in Section 518.324 (b) or (c) when proposing an owner decontamination. (2) After securing written approval from the Division for the work plan or amended work plan, the contractor shall complete the decontamination work, or supervise the completion of the work, in accordance with the approved work plan; (3) The contractor shall arrange for, and supervise as necessary as set forth in Section 518.331 (a), all follow-up sampling as specified in the approved work plan; (4) The contractor shall submit to the Division written and photographic documentation showing that the decontamination has been completed in accordance with the approved work plan, along with all follow-up test results required by the approved work plan, and a completed affidavit on a form supplied by the Division attesting to compliance with the approved work plan; and (5) If in the course of decontamination, factors are discovered requiring modifications to the work plan, such modifications may be made only upon prior written approval from the Division. The contractor shall provide the Division with written confirmation that the modified work as approved was performed. (c) The contractor shall insure that all samples collected from the site, including the taking of air, surface and bulk samples prior to and after decontamination of the property are performed by independent, qualified personnel using industry-recognized standards and protocols. The contractor shall insure that the sampling personnel utilize the most current Standard Operating Procedures developed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for such activity. (1) The contractor shall insure that all laboratory tests on the samples collected from the site are performed by a laboratory following standard laboratory practices. The laboratory shall: (i) Be currently certified or approved under appropriate State, federal, or professional programs; (ii) Use standard methods and procedures when available; (iii) Have implemented a quality assurance program, including use of quality control measures, that has been accepted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; and (iv) Have a US Drug Enforcement Administration registration on file with the Division if analyzing for controlled substances. (2) The contractor shall insure that the following components of the site sampling and laboratory testing are integrated into the work plan: (i) The materials, equipment and techniques used, or to be used, for sampling at each location; (ii) All control samples taken, or to be taken, including the location, materials, techniques and results; (iii) The exact location within the property where each test sample was or will be collected. Samples collected after decontamination shall be collected immediately adjacent to the location initially tested, and shall be sampled by identical methods in order to accurately reflect the effectiveness of the decontamination work; and (iv) Surface sample test results are reported as total weight of contaminant per appropriate unit of area to equal ug/100 sq.cm and air sample test results shall be reported in ppm. If other media or contaminants are to be sampled, such results shall be reported in the manner most common to the industry standard for such sample. (3) All site assessment reports and test results shall be retained by the contractor for a period of not less than one calendar year from the date of certification of the site. (Ord. 2006-590-E, § 4)