United States Environmental
Protection Agency
Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
(5305W)
EPA530-F-99-018
July 1999
&EPA RCRA CLEANUP REFORMS
Faster, Focused, More Flexible Cleanups
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is implementing a set of administrative reforms, known as
the RCRA Cleanup Reforms, to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action program.
The reforms are designed to achieve faster, more efficient cleanups atRCRA sites that treat, store, or dispose of
hazardous waste and have potential environmental contamination. Although these reforms will emphasize
flexibility and trying new approaches to clean up these facilities, EPA and the states will continue to ensure
protection of human health and the environment.
Why Is EPA Doing the
RCRA Cleanup Reforms?
When the RCRA law and regulations governing proper
hazardous waste management went into effect around
1980, thousands of facilities became newly subject to
these federal regulations.This RCRA regulatory structure
has helped ensure that hazardous waste generated from
ongoing industrial operations is properly managed and
does not contribute to a future generation of toxic
waste sites. However, many of these facilities had exist-
ing soil and groundwater contamination resulting from
historical waste management practices.The RCRA
Corrective Action program addresses cleanup of existing
contamination at these operating industrial facilities.
Congress, the general public, EPA, and state agencies all
believe the pace and progress of RCRA cleanups must
be increased. In reviewing the program, EPA and other
stakeholders identified several factors that -were imped-
ing timely and cost-effective RCRA cleanups. In some
instances, RCRA cleanups have suffered from an empha-
sis on process steps and a lack of clarity in cleanup
objectives.An additional complication is that the appli-
cation of certain RCRA requirements, such as the land
disposal restrictions (LDR), minimum technological
requirements, and permitting, can create impediments to
cleanup.
What Are the RCRA Cleanup
Reforms?
The RCRA Cleanup Reforms are EPA's comprehensive
effort to address the key impediments to cleanups, maxi-
mize program flexibility, and spur progress toward a set
of ambitious national cleanup goals.The national
cleanup goals focus on 1,712 RCRA facilities identified
by EPA and the states warranting attention over the next
several years because of the potential for unacceptable
exposure to pollutants and/or for groundwater contami-
nation. The goals, set by EPA under the Government
Performance and Results Act (GPRA), are that by 2005,
the states and EPA will verify and document that 95 per-
cent of these 1,712 RCRA facilities will have "current
human exposures under control," and 70 percent of
these facilities will have "migration of contaminated
groundwater under control."To ensure that these ambi-
tious goals are achieved, the RCRA Cleanup Reforms out-
line aggressive national cleanup goals for each of the
next several years. Implementation of the proposed
reforms will help us achieve the national RCRA cleanup
goals. Specifically, the RCRA Cleanup Reforms will:
National Cleanup Goals
(Number of Facilities "with Cleanup
Measures Verified per Year)
Year
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Current Human
Exposures
Controlled
172
172
172
172
257
257
255
Groundwater
Contamination
Controlled
84
172
172
172
172
172
172
Total 1629* 1200*
by 2005 (95%) (70%)
Includes facilities verified prior to 1999
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* Provide new results-oriented cleanup guidance with
clear objectives.
* Foster maximum use of program flexibility and prac-
tical approaches through training, outreach, and new
uses of enforcement tools.
• Enhance community involvement including greater
public access to information on cleanup progress.
These reforms are described in more detail at the end of
this feet sheet.The reform efforts are intended to build
on actions taken by EPA and the states in recent years to
accelerate cleanups, such as:
• The May 1,1996, Advance Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (ANPR, 61 FR 19432) which contains the
Agency's latest guidance for the corrective action
program and identifies a number of flexible cleanup
approaches.
• Recent promulgation of the the Hazardous
Remediation Waste Management Requirements
("HWIR-Media," 63 FR 65874, November 30,1998)
which, among other tilings, create streamlined RCRA
permits for cleanup wastes, release "cleanup only"
facilities from requirement to conduct facility-wide
corrective action, and allow for temporary "staging
piles" that have flexible design and operating
requirements.
• Recent promulgation of the Post-Closure Regulation
(63 FR 56710, October 22,1998) which provides
flexibility to EPA and authorized states by removing
the requirement that interim status facilities obtain a
permit for the post-closure care of a waste manage-
ment unit when other enforcement documents are
used, and harmonizing the sometimes duplicative clo-
sure and corrective action requirements.
• The Land Disposal Restrictions Standards for
Contaminated Soils (63 FR 28617, May 26,1998)
which better tailor RCRA's LDRs to contaminated
soils managed during cleanups.
How Will the Success of the
Reforms Be Measured?
While the ultimate goal of RCRA Corrective Action is to
achieve completed cleanups, we will measure the near-
term success of the program and reforms against the
GPRA goals and annual cleanup targets for verifying that
current human exposures are under control and migra-
tion of contaminated groundwater is under control (see
table on preceding page). Measuring and recording our
progress toward these goals will be a top priority for EPA
and the states over the next several years.
How Will EPA Involve
Stakeholders
In the Reforms?
We will provide periodic updates on the RCRA Cleanup
Reforms and solicit input from stakeholders through sev-
eral means including focus meetings, Federal Register
notices, the new RCRA Corrective Action newsletter,
Internet postings, and press releases. EPA seeks continu-
ous feedback from all stakeholders on the need for addi-
tional reforms beyond those already underway. While the
Agency values and appreciates the feedback and interest
of all stakeholders, limited resources will not allow us to
respond individually to those who provide input on the
RCRA Cleanup Reforms.All input will be seriously con-
sidered by EPA, however. Based on stakeholder input and
our ongoing assessment of the program, we will contin-
ue to refine the RCRA Cleanup Reforms, add reforms as
needed, and communicate program changes including
those resulting from stakeholder input.
For More Information
If you have questions regarding these reforms, please
call the RCRA Hotline at 800-424-9346.You may
also e-mail your questions via our Web site at
.
The RCRA Corrective Action program is run jointly by
EPA and the states, with 33 states and territories
authorized to implement the program.
Corrective action is conducted under RCRA
permits, orders and other approaches.
If you would like to provide written feedback on the
Reforms, please mail them to the RCRA Information
Center (5305W), USEPA, 401 M St., SW,Washington, DC
20460 or, e-mail to . Please
include the following number on all correspondence,
written or e-mailed, to the RCRA Information Center: F-
1999-CURA-FFFFF.
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RCRA Cleanup Reforms
EPA is Implementing the following reforms
to help streamline RCRA cleanups and meet the national cleanup goals
I. Provide new results-oriented cleanup guidance
with clear objectives
EPA will issue a Federal Register notice concern-
ing the operating guidance for the corrective
action program. EPA also will issue several guid-
ance documents to emphasize use of flexibility in
the corrective action process, consistent mea-
sures for determining when a site has met correc-
tive action goals, and to provide a more
consistent basis for groundwater use decisions.
a. Notice Concerning 1990 Subpart S Proposal
In an upcoming Federal Register notice, EPA
plans to announce its intention not to take final
action on most of the provisions of the July 27,
1990, proposed Subpart S rule. Provisions of
Subpart S which have been finalized (e.g.,
Corrective Action Management Units) will remain
in effect.This notice is intended to eliminate
uncertainty for states and owner/operators creat-
ed by the potential promulgation of detailed fed-
eral regulations, thereby clearing the -way for
implementation of more flexible corrective
action approaches. In the notice, EPA plans to
clarify that the Agency does not intend to finalize
a process-oriented corrective action approach,
and to confirm that the 1996 Advanced Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking remains the primary cor-
rective action program guidance.
b. Corrective Action Guidance
1. Environmental Indicators Guidance and
Implementation
The two corrective action Environmental
Indicators—Current Human Exposures under
Control and Migration of Contaminated
Groundwater under Control—are measures of
program progress and are being used to meet the
goals set under the Government Performance and
Results Act.This guidance, issued in February
1999, describes how to determine if these mea-
sures have been met.
These Environmental Indicators are designed to
aid site decision makers by clearly showing
where risk reduction is necessary, thereby help-
ing regulators and facility owner/operators reach
agreement earlier on stabilization measures or
cleanup remedies that must be implemented.
Focusing on the Environmental Indicators should
also help reduce delays in the review of cleanup
work plans and allow owner/operators and regu-
lators to concentrate on those problems that
potentially pose significant risks.
2. Results-Based Approaches for RCRA Corrective
Action
This guidance "will stress that results-based approach-
es -which emphasize outcomes and eliminate unnec-
essary process steps, should be a significant part of
state/regional corrective action programs in order to
meet the GPRA goals and to move facilities toward
the longer-term goal of final facility cleanup. Results-
based approaches include setting cleanup goals, pro-
viding procedural flexibility in how goals are met,
inviting innovative technical approaches, focusing
data collection, and letting owner/operators under-
take cleanup action with reduced Agency oversight,
where appropriate. Under such approaches,
owner/operators focus on environmental results and
the most technologically efficient means of achiev-
ing them while still being held fully accountable.
3. Corrective Action Completion Guidance
This guidance will discuss how to document com-
pletion of corrective action at facilities. It will
address: termination of permits and interim status
where corrective action is complete; how to deter-
mine that corrective action is complete at part of a
facility; and the importance of public involvement in
corrective action. This guidance will provide for a
more predictable completion process and provide
facility owner/operators with reasonable assurance
that regulatory activities can be completed at their
facility.
4. The Role of Groundwater Use in RCRA ;
Corrective Action
This guidance is intended to provide more certainty
about cleanup objectives and expectations with
respect to groundwater remediation. It will include
recommendations on how to account for current
and reasonably expected uses of groundwater when
implementing interim and final RCRA corrective
action remedies.
II. Foster Maximum Use of Program Flexibility and
Practical Approaches through Training, Outreach,
And New Uses of Enforcement Tools
Through outreach and training, EPA will encourage
maximum appropriate use of the existing flexibility
in the corrective action program and prompt
implementation of recent rules offering regulatory
flexibility.
a. Prompt Implementation of the HWIR-Media
and Post-Closure Rules
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EPA will strongly encourage states to expedi-
tiously incorporate the Hazardous Remediation
Waste Management Requirements (HWIR-Media)
and Post-Closure regulations into their programs.
As more states adopt and implement the flexibil-
ity in the HWIR Media rule, Post Closure rule,
and the alternative soil treatment standards pro-
mulgated under LDR Phase TV, impediments to
cleanup will be reduced.This is because these
rules limit the applicability in certain cleanup
situations of some RCRA requirements such as
land disposal restrictions, minimum technologi-
cal requirements, and permitting, or provide
alternative requirements more tailored to
cleanup situations.
b. Maximize Practical Approaches and Use All
Appropriate Authorities to Expedite Cleanup
The national EPA program office will reach out
to the EPA regions, states, and external stake-
holders to emphasize the importance of environ-
mental results in the corrective action program.
EPA will place a priority on authorizing addition-
al states to implement corrective action or
enhancing work sharing arrangements with
states that are not authorized for the program.
With the RCRA Cleanup Reforms we hope to
develop a new atmosphere of partnership and
cooperation among regulatory authorities, indus-
try, and stakeholders
We will encourage regulators to use a broad
spectrum of approaches to expedite corrective
action and achieve GPRA goals. These approach-
es include new uses of enforcement tools to cre-
ate incentives for cleanup at facilities with
cooperative owners as well as to compel
cleanups at facilities where collaborative
approaches have not yielded results.
c. Provide Comprehensive Training on Successful
Cleanup Approaches
EPA has launched a comprehensive training
effort on Results-Based Corrective Action, which
features a three-clay workshop offered to EPA
Regions and states in 1999 and 2000.An Internet
version of this training is also being developed
for release.The training will emphasize to cor-
rective action regulators the flexibility in exist-
ing policies and regulations. EPA and State
regulators will learn from their peers about
innovative, successful approaches that are speed-
ing cleanups now at corrective action sites.The
training emphasizes using a Conceptual Site
Model and Environmental Indicators to help focus
corrective action activity at sites.This comprehen-
sive training effort will help EPA and State regula-
tors make maximum use of the flexibility inherent
in the corrective action program and to adopt more
streamlined approaches for accelerating cleanups.
IDE. Enhance Community Involvement Including,
Greater Public Access to Information on
Cleanup Progress
a. Emphasize Public Involvement in RCRA
Cleanups
Some of the clear benefits of meaningful public
involvement include: letting the public know from
the onset that their opinions are valued and can
influence decision making; learning from the public
about past environmental problems associated with
the facility; gaining an understanding of current as
well as future land use plans; and avoiding delays
which can arise late in the remedy selection
process when the public has not been adequately
engaged.
EPA will continue to emphasize the importance of
meaningful public involvement throughout RCRA
cleanups. EPA's commitment to meaningful public
involvement was described in the 1996 Advance
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and is part of the
central theme of effective communication that is
interwoven throughout the corrective action train-
ing effort. In addition, public involvement is the
focus of the RCRA Public Participation Training
which is now under development and will be
offered to regions and states. EPA will also convene
workshops with stakeholders later this year.
Through these workshops we hope to better
understand the public's concerns as well as gather
suggestions for further improvements to the correc-
tive action program.
b. Provide Detailed Information on Cleanup Progress
EPA will post information on cleanup progress for
individual facilities on the Internet. With this infor-
mation, we hope to generate greater public interest
and awareness in corrective action at individual
facilities, thereby enhancing the ability of the com-
munity to become more involved in decisions
about the cleanup.This information will allow
stakeholders to monitor progress at facilities in
their area as well as overall progress in the correc-
tive action program. Information is available at:
.
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