The Land Recycling Program Technical Guidance Manual for Vapor Intrusion into Buildings from Groundwater and Soil under Act 2, Document No. 261-0300-101 (VI Guidance) was published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on Saturday, November 19, 2016. The new VI Guidance has a 60-day implementation period resulting in an effective date of January 18, 2017.
The VI Guidance has been substantially revised to update scientific deficiencies of the previous guidance. Screening values and the way they are calculated have been updated, and there are multiple clarifications that have been made to language, definitions, and procedures. The purpose of these revisions is to eliminate confusion for remediators and regional office staff on how to address the VI pathway under the Statewide health standard and the site-specific standard.
Reports received by DEP prior to the effective date will be reviewed using the screening values, procedures, and concepts in the 2004 VI guidance. Reports received after the effective date will be reviewed using the new VI Guidance. Projects that have prior reports approved under the old guidance but have not yet submitted their Final Reports (FR) or Remedial Action Completion Reports (RACRs) by the effective date should incorporate the scientific concepts and procedures of the new VI Guidance into their future submissions. Approved reports will not need to be resubmitted, but some reevaluation of the VI pathway may be necessary for FRs and RACRs to be approved.
The VI Guidance can be found in DEP’s eLibrary.