(a)  The department or the regional board, as appropriate, shall take the actions specified in this section to provide an opportunity for meaningful public participation in response actions undertaken for sites listed pursuant to Section 25356.

(b)  The department, or the regional board, as appropriate, shall inform the public, and in particular, persons living in close proximity to a hazardous substance release site listed pursuant to Section 25356, of the existence of the site and the department’s or regional board’s intention to conduct a response action at the site, and shall conduct a baseline community survey to determine the level of public interest and desire for involvement in the department’s or regional board’s activities, and to solicit concerns and information regarding the site from the affected community. Based on the results of the baseline survey, the department or regional board shall develop a public participation plan that shall establish appropriate communication and outreach measures commensurate with the level of interest expressed by survey respondents. The public participation plan shall be updated as necessary to reflect any significant changes in the degree of public interest as the site investigation and cleanup process moves toward completion.

(c)  The department or regional board shall provide any person affected by a response action undertaken for sites listed pursuant to Section 25356 with the opportunity to participate in the department’s or regional board’s decisionmaking process regarding that action by taking all of the following actions:

(1)  Provide access to information which the department or regional board is required to release pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code), relating to the action, except for the following:

(A)  Trade secrets, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 25358.2.

(B)  Business financial data and information, as specified in subdivision (c) of Section 25358.6.

(C)  Information which the department or regional board is prohibited from releasing pursuant to any state or federal law.

(2)  Provide factsheets, based on the expressed level of public interest, regarding plans to conduct the major elements of the site investigation and response actions. The factsheets shall present the relevant information in nontechnical language and shall be detailed enough to provide interested persons with a good understanding of the planned activities. The factsheets shall be made available in languages other than English if appropriate.

(3)  Provide notification, upon request, of any public meetings held by the department or regional board concerning the action.

(4)  Provide the opportunity to attend and to participate at those public meetings.

(5)  Based on the results of the baseline community survey, provide opportunities for public involvement at key stages of the response action process, including the health risk assessment, the preliminary assessment, the site inspection, the remedial investigation, and the feasibility study stages of the process. If the department or regional board determines that public meetings or other opportunities for public comment are not appropriate at any of the stages listed in this section, the department or regional board shall provide notice of that decision to the affected community.

(d)  The department or regional board shall develop and make available to the public a schedule of activities for each site for which remedial action is expected to be taken by the department or regional board pursuant to this chapter and shall make available to the public any plan provided to the department or regional board by any responsible party, unless the department is prohibited from releasing the information pursuant to any state or federal law.

(e)  In making decisions regarding the methods to be used for removal or remedial actions taken pursuant to this chapter, the department or regional board shall incorporate or respond in writing to the advice of persons affected by the actions.

(f)  This section does not apply to emergency actions taken pursuant to Section 25354.

(Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 912, Sec. 19. Effective September 29, 2000.)