Sec. 361.193.  GOAL OF REMEDIAL ACTION.  (a)  The goal of any remedial action is the elimination of the imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health and safety or the environment posed by a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance at a facility.  The appropriate extent of the remedial action at any particular facility shall be determined by the commission's selection of the remedial alternative that the commission determines is the lowest cost alternative that is technologically feasible and reliable and that effectively mitigates and minimizes damage to and provides adequate protection of the public health and safety or the environment.
(b)  In considering the appropriate remedial action program at a particular facility, the commission may approve a program that does not attain a level or standard of control at least equivalent to a legally applicable or relevant and appropriate standard, requirement, criterion, or limitation, as required by state or local law, if the commission finds that:
(1)  the remedial action selected is only part of a total remedial action that will attain that level or standard of control when completed;
(2)  compliance with the requirement at that facility will result in greater risk to public health and safety or the environment than alternative options;
(3)  compliance with the requirement is technically impracticable from an engineering perspective;
(4)  the remedial action selected will attain a standard of performance that is equivalent to that required under the otherwise applicable standard, requirement, criterion, or limitation through use of another method or approach;
(5)  with respect to a local standard, requirement, criterion, or limitation, the locality has not consistently applied or demonstrated the intention to consistently apply the standard, requirement, criterion, or limitation in similar circumstances of other remedial actions within the locality;  or
(6)  with respect to an action using solely state funds, selection of a remedial action that attains those levels or standards of control will not provide a balance between the need for protection of public health and safety or the environment at the facility and the availability of state funds to respond to other sites that present a threat to public health and safety or the environment, taking into consideration the relative immediacy of the threats.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended by Acts 1990, 71st Leg., 6th C.S., ch. 10, art. 2, Sec. 29, eff. Sept. 6, 1990.