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New Tri-County Health Department Meth Lab Regulation
By Brian Hlavacek, Tri-County Health Department

In a public hearing on February 14, 2006, the Tri-County Health Department (TCHD) Board of Health (BOH) approved a Resolution for the adoption of “Regulation IDL-06 Concerning the Clean-up of Illegal Drug Laboratories” ( the “Regulation” or “Regulation IDL-06”). The purpose of the Regulation is to outline the regulatory function of TCHD as a member of the Default Governing Body and to better define the roles of TCHD and the Building Departments and Law Enforcement Agencies within Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas Counties, who make up the Default Governing Body.

According to the Regulation, TCHD has the following powers and duties:

• Make appropriate investigations and inspections of properties with suspected or confirmed contamination.
   

• Maintain records regarding properties with suspected or confirmed contamination as well as the subsequent cleanup.
   

• Issue notices to property owners and other agencies as appropriate.
   

• Provide regulatory oversight of decontamination activities required by the Illegal Drug Laboratory Act, §25-18.5-101, C.R.S. et. seq. (the “Act”), the State Regulations (6 CCR 1014-3), and TCHD Regulation IDL-06.
   

• Issue certificates of compliance to property owners upon successful cleanup of contaminated properties.
   

• Charge fees as approved by the TCHD BOH for the regulatory oversight services provided by TCHD.  The current standard fee set by the BOH is $612.00 per case not including direct costs for sampling and analysis.

The following is a brief summary of the major elements found within the Regulation.

Upon notification from law enforcement of a meth lab seizure, TCHD performs the following activities:

1. TCHD will send a Notice of Contamination to the Property Owner stating that a property is suspected of being contaminated based on an “Initial Observation”, and if contaminated, must be demolished or decontaminated in accordance with the Act, the State Regulation, and Regulation IDL-06.  A list of contractors that may be able to assist in cleaning the property is attached to the letter.  “Initial Observation” is defined as a determination by a law enforcement agency, building department or a consultant that a property may be contaminated.
    

2. TCHD requires submittal of a Preliminary Assessment (PA) from the consultant prepared in accordance with the State Regulations.  If the PA reasonably indicates that contaminant levels do exceed the clean‑up levels specified in the State Regulations, TCHD shall notify the property owner that a Work Plan must be prepared and submitted to TCHD by the property owner's consultant or contractor that outlines the decontamination procedures that will be taken.
    

3. TCHD will provide consultation with the property owner and consultant/contractor to ensure the cleanup follows the Colorado State Cleanup Regulations for meth labs.
    

4. Upon cleanup, TCHD will review the final cleanup report from the consultant including all post-remediation sampling results.
    

5. TCHD will conduct limited verification sampling.  Verification sampling usually consists of 1-4 samples taken from functional spaces within the property that were originally reported in the PA as having high levels of meth or were known cooking areas based on law enforcement reports. 
    

6. If all post remediation sampling, including TCHD’s verification sampling, are below the State standard of 0.5 µg/100 cm², then TCHD will make a determination that the property is “Fit For Use”.
    

7. TCHD will then issue a Certificate of Compliance to the property owner. A copy will be sent to law enforcement, the local building department, and the consultant/contractor. 
    

8. TCHD maintains an internal database of all reported meth labs for tracking purposes. 

A copy of the Regulations as well as additional information and resources can be found at www.tchd.org or by calling Brian Hlavacek at 303-341-9370.