Cleanup and hazardous waste laws authorize DEQ to charge all reasonable costs attributable to or associated with cleanup or hazardous waste activities at a particular site. DEQ accounts for these costs as direct and indirect costs.
Direct costs are expenditures made specifically for the site, such as cost to travel to the site, and DEQ staff time directly associated with the site including time spent to:
- Consult with the owner and/or environmental consultants
- Review data and reports describing the type and extent of contamination
- Review proposed cleanup actions
- Provide information about the site and opportunities for the public to comment on the cleanup
- Provide comments and/or direction on the preferred cleanup method or remedy.
Indirect costs are those that support the operation of the program in general, but are not directly related to specific projects.
Examples of indirect costs- Office space, equipment and supplies
- Non-site-specific activities of project staff, such as training and program administrative activities
- Clerical, computer network, time accounting, invoicing and grants management
- Management and supervision
- Development of technical guidance and policies
- A share of DEQ centralized services, such as accounting, budgeting, human resources, and information systems.
DEQ charges for two types of indirect charges. One is costs incurred by the DEQ Land Quality Division and the other is Land Quality’s share of DEQ-wide costs. Both the Land Quality and DEQ agency indirect rates are designed to charge each project its share of all indirect costs.