Two bids are required for excavation during active remediation unless the excavation is related to system installation. For example, two bids would not be required for excavation of trenches required for the installation of system piping if system installation is included in the consultant proposal. Two bids would be required for excavation of contaminated soil done as a corrective action in and of itself.

The forms reflect the rules, which provide that costs for the following contractor services may be included in proposals for active remediation steps of services: air sample analysis, groundwater sample analysis, soil sample analysis, drilling, and system installation.

According to the MPCA, free product recovery is considered active remediation.

If the MPCA has approved active remediation at the site, all monitoring well sampling costs should be included in the active remediation proposals to be submitted to the Petrofund for review. There is one exception to this requirement. If contaminated soil excavation was performed as the approved corrective action at the site, and the only tasks left to perform at the site are sampling and reporting of existing monitoring wells, then the costs for the sampling and reporting services may be submitted on the consultant services change order form for the limited site investigation or full remedial investigation step of services.

No. Each proposal for system operation and maintenance may include the proposed costs for up to one year of system operation and maintenance.

Consultants are encouraged to be as detailed as possible when proposing system operation and maintenance costs, in order to give the applicant and the Petrofund staff the information necessary to determine the reasonableness of the proposed costs and to establish the basis for the proposed costs in case a change order becomes necessary.

No. The associated costs would be explained on the change order form for the active remediation steps.

Up to either 10 or 14 days, depending on the step of services being proposed.

Either the applicant or the consultant can submit it.

No. Whenever you fill out an application for reimbursement, you should use the application form that is effective at that time. The current application form includes separate attachments that are used to request reimbursement for costs subject to the different sets of rules.

An applicant is not required to get a proposal for certain services when they are performed as part of excavation and soil disposal oversight that occurs before the first limited site investigation or full remedial investigation of the leak site occurs. Accordingly, the "Excavation and Soil Disposal Oversight before the first LSI or full RI" form is not used as a proposal form. Instead, it is used by consultants to document the costs that were invoiced for excavation and soil disposal oversight services before the first investigation (LSI or full RI) at the site began.

Because costs for drilling, groundwater sample analysis, and soil sample analysis may be included in a consultant proposal for the limited site investigation or full remedial investigation step of services, the separate proposal forms for drilling and analysis costs will likely be used only in those relatively infrequent cases in which the applicant chooses to contract directly with a driller or analytical laboratory.

The new rules changed reimbursement procedures to the extent that task codes were no longer necessary for administration of the program. In addition, general standards of disclosure require that consultant invoices specify each task that is performed using the full Petrofund task name. Some consultants, however, have told us that they would like their employees to be able to use standardized task codes as shorthand on their time records. To assist in this process, we have compiled a list of standardized task codes that is posted on our Web site and on the compact disk that is available from the Minnesota Bookstore.

The new forms may be printed or photocopied single-sided.

Yes.

Yes. Write-enabled versions of all the forms are included on the compact disk available from the Minnesota Bookstore.

The forms available for download from the Web site are in a read-only format. Write-enabled versions of the forms are available, however, on a compact disk for sale at the Minnesota Bookstore. The CD costs $19.95. You may contact the Bookstore at 651-297-3000.

Yes.

The maximum cost for "mobilization/demobilization (drilling)" depends on the drilling technology used for the particular drilling event and the distance between the driller's office and the leaksite (or the distance between the leaksite and another location from which drilling equipment is mobilized when the alternate location is closer to the leaksite than the driller's office is). Maximum costs for mobilization/demobilization of direct push drilling equipment are specified in Minn. Rule 2890.3100, and maximum costs for mobilization/demobilization of hollow-stem auger, mud or air rotary, air coring, or rotosonic drilling equipment are specified in Minn. Rule 2890.3700. In each case, the maximum cost is calculated using the distance one way. For example, if direct push drilling equipment is used and it travels 120 miles one way to the leaksite, the maximum cost, which in this specific example is "$250 plus $5 per mile over 50," is calculated as follows:

$250 plus $350 [120 miles one way - 50 miles = 70 miles; 70 miles x $5 = $350] = $600

Costs for emergency response services are reimbursed based on the amounts specified in the Minnesota Department of Administration's "Hazardous Spill and Substance Release - Full Service Emergency Response" contract.

The answer depends on how far the investigation and cleanup of the site have progressed. If the limited site investigation or full remedial investigation step has not been completed, the applicant must get competitive proposals for the work necessary to complete that step. On the other hand, if the limited site investigation or full remedial investigation step has been completed, the applicant is not required to get competitive proposals, but still must get a written proposal for the appropriate step of active remediation services from the new consultant. (Please note that the applicant must not approve an active remediation proposal until it has been reviewed by Petrofund staff.)

The rules specify maximum costs for consultant services based on units of work performed rather than hours, but they also specify maximum hourly rates to ensure that reimbursements are based on reasonable actual charges. Applicants want some assurance that they can rely on the rates originally proposed by their consultant and do not want to be surprised by unreasonably increased rates after the original proposal has been accepted. On the other hand, reasonable increases in rates can occur because overhead costs in the environmental consulting industry may increase from year to year.

The rules address all of these concerns and make allowances for a 5 percent increase in consultant hourly rate charges per year after at least one year has passed since the original proposal was accepted. Please note, however, that the maximum hourly rates still apply, as do the maximum cost and the amount proposed by the consultant for each task.

No. By rule, the new forms, procedures, and maximum costs do not apply to costs incurred for work performed as part of a step of services (as defined by the 1995 rules) for which the applicant began incurring costs before October 6, 2003, nor do they apply to costs incurred before the anniversary of the leak reporting date in 2004 as part of a contract entered into before October 6, 1995.

Consultant markup charges are no longer eligible for reimbursement. This includes costs for consultant markup of subcontractor invoices but does not include the "markup" (profit, overhead, and so on) that is included in a company's standard hourly rates.

Yes. To assist in this process, we have compiled a list of standardized task codes that is available on our Web site and on the compact disk that is available from the Minnesota Bookstore.

A consultant's company letterhead invoices must meet general standards of disclosure. In short, this means that those invoices must include the name and address of the person being billed, the name and address of the person requesting payment, the total monetary amount due, the leaksite name and location, the project identification number, the invoice date, the service period, and an itemization of the actual cleanup tasks completed during the service period. The itemization must specify each task performed (using the task names defined in the Petrofund rules) and the hourly rate(s) of the employee(s) that performed it. This will allow the actual costs incurred to be identified and their reasonableness to be determined.

The general assumptions implied by this question are correct: first, costs for "AST soil sampling" are not eligible for reimbursement when a release is discovered through the performance of that task; second, "AST soil sampling" is typically performed during the LSI or full RI. In some cases, however, the MPCA may request that "AST soil sampling" be performed after a release has been discovered but before the LSI or full RI begins. In those cases, the costs for "AST soil sampling" should be invoiced on the "Excavation and Soil Disposal Oversight before the first LSI or full RI" form.

The notation "5 groundwater samples" on the "Limited Site Investigation (LSI) Standard Scope" proposal form is meant to represent the five groundwater samples that will be analyzed for VOCs and other required parameters, but costs for the required quality assurance samples as well as any necessary water supply well samples should also be entered on the proposal form.

Although it is not required, applicants are encouraged to submit proposals for the limited site investigation or full remedial investigation step of services for prior staff review to ensure that the proposals are based on the same scope of work.

The active remediation proposals must be submitted for Petrofund staff review.

In all likelihood, yes; but the ultimate determination of which form should be used will be based on the scope of work known to be appropriate for the completion of the investigation.

When active remediation is not taking place at the site, costs for periodic groundwater monitoring should be put on the consultant services change order form for the limited site investigation or full remedial investigation step of services. When active remediation is taking place at the site, the estimated costs for periodic groundwater monitoring should be included in the proposal for the appropriate step of active remediation services.

Only if drilling costs (for any technology) were not included in the consultant proposal.

If the applicant does not switch consultants, then the applicant does not need to sign off on additional investigation work before it is started, and the costs for the additional investigation services should be put on the consultant services change order form for the limited site investigation or full remedial investigation step of services.

Only if drilling costs (for any technology) were not included in the consultant proposal. If they were, then the monitoring well installation costs should simply be put on the consultant services change order form for the limited site investigation or full remedial investigation step of services.

No. If the applicant does not switch consultants, costs for additional investigation services should be put on the consultant services change order form for the limited site investigation or full remedial investigation step of services.

If the costs for those services are included in a consultant proposal, no. Otherwise, yes.

In that case, the consultant should contact the applicant and explain that the "Request for Proposal for a Limited Site Investigation or Full Remedial Investigation - Nonstandard Scope of Work" form should be used to get competitive consultant proposals.

The applicant should use the "Request for Proposal for a Limited Site Investigation or Full Remedial Investigation - Nonstandard Scope of Work" form, making sure to include in it the excavation and soil disposal oversight services that haven't been completed yet.