Site Mitigation & Restoration Program

We protect and maintain California’s land and places
by setting strict standards for land restoration and cleanup

Scoping Meeting Quick Reference Guide

The purpose of an initial scoping meeting is for the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), the party with whom DTSC is entering into an agreement (Proponent), and the Proponent’s environmental consultant to discuss project objectives.

The following elements may be addressed during the scoping meeting:

Project Objectives: Redevelopment plans, real estate transactions, environmental conditions, etc.
Schedule and Funding Needs: Proponent’s deadlines that may be affected by assessment, investigation, or cleanup of the property.
Property History: Ownership, historic operations and land use; chemical use; regulatory status; permits; prior assessments; investigations; cleanup or mitigation; etc.
Property Details: Size, location, geology, lithology, hydrogeology; known/potential hazardous substance releases; areas of concern; contaminants of concern; historic sampling locations and results; data gaps; risk assessments; off-site concerns; etc.
Data Quality Objectives and Remedial Action Objectives: Discussion of data quality objectives to ensure that appropriate data of sufficient quality is collected to facilitate decision-making; discussion of potential cleanup goals and objectives.
Risk Assessment: Evaluation of the use of published screening levels or site-specific risk assessments, risk management, and risk communication strategies.

Conceptual Site Model (CSM): Discussion of the relationship between contaminant sources and receptors through migration and exposure paths. Helps identify data gaps and focus data collection efforts. Updated as new information is collected throughout the project.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Requirements: Identification of existing CEQA documents and project requirements and how to integrate CEQA needs within the overall project.
Public Participation Requirements: Discussion of previous outreach activities, public/tribal interest, and current perceptions in the community, as well as DTSC’s community involvement and public outreach process, methods, and schedule.
Project Schedule: Agreed-upon submittal and review dates and timelines for Work Plans and other key documents; development of optimal sequencing of activities to efficiently reach project goals.
Available Resources: Policies and procedures; sample documents, checklists, and other resources available.
Exit Strategy and Closure: Proposed future land use; property acquisition and construction dates; funding limitations or requirements; approval for site occupancy, etc. to ensure alignment of stakeholder and DTSC goals.
Action Items: Proponent or environmental consultant should provide action items to DTSC for review and concurrence, or the DTSC Project Manager may elect to prepare a meeting summary to document key decisions.

For more information, contact Maryam.Tasnif-Abbasi@dtsc.ca.gov.

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This document is intended to be guidance only and it does not supersede or implement laws or regulations. The information in this advisory is intended solely as guidance and as educational reference material and should not be considered enforceable or regulatory in nature.