------- In the 1970's, the United States made dramatic im- provements in the quality of its air and water. In the 1980's, the Nation is pursu- ing additional environmen- tal improvements of major significance: It has begun to control the hazardous waste by- products of its vast indus- trial complex. It is cleaning its land of hazardous wastes carelessly disposed of in the past. The Resource Conserva- tion and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) established a regulatory system under which the States track hazardous wastes from the time of generation to dis- posal. RCRA requires safe and secure procedures to be used in treating, storing, and disposing of hazardous wastes. RCRA was designed to prevent the creation of new Love Canals, but it did not give general authority to the Federal or State gov- ernments to respond directly to problems caused by the uncon trolled hazardous waste disposal sites already in existence. The Federal government had been able to respond to some of those problems under the Clean Water Act (CWA), which au- thor/zed EPA and the U. S. Coast Guard to take action when spills and accidents involving oil or some 300 hazardous substances threatened navigable wat- ers. But CWA did not permit the government to act when hazardous substances were released elsewhere into the environment. The Comprehensive En- vironmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) — commonly known as the "Superfund" law — was passed to provide the needed general authority and to establish a Trust Fund for Federal and Sta te gov- ernments to respond directly to any problems at uncon- trolled hazardous waste disposal sites -not only in emergency situations, but. also at sites where longer- term permanent remedies are required. CERCLA filled the gap in the national system to pro- tect public health and the environment from hazard- ous substances by authoriz- ing Federal action to re- spond to the release (or threatened release) from any source, including abandoned hazardous waste sites, into any part of the environment. Costs of this response are to be financed by the Trust Fund, which is supported largely by taxes on pro- ducers and importers of pe- troleum and 42 basic chemi- cals. Over the 5-year ex- pected lifespan of this "Superfund," $1.6 billion is to be collected, 86percent from industry and the re- mainder from Federal appropria tions. Under the Superfund pro- gram, U. S. land can thus be freed of the most threaten- ing of its abandoned wastes, the leaking drums, the con- tamina ted soil. A t the same time, the quality of the Na- tion 's air and wa ter re- sources will be significantly improved. ------- Superfund's Remedial Response Program The blueprint for the Super- fund program under the Comprehensive Environmen- tal Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) is the National Con- tingency Plan (NCR), first pub- lished in 1968 as part of the Federal water pollution control program. CERCLA ordered re- vision of the NCP to provide new Federal authority to re- spond to the problems of abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste disposal sites and to a greater range of hazardous substances than previously controlled. In con- sultation with 13 Federal agen- cies, EPA published the NCP in final form on July 16,1982. Oil spills will continue to be handled as they have been in the past. For spills threatening coastal waters, the Coast Guard takes the lead respon- sibility; for inland spills, ERA takes the lead. The CERCLA-based NCP lays out three types of respon- ses for incidents involving hazardous substances. • Immediate removal, which requires prompt response to prevent immediate and significant harm to human life, health, or the environ- ment. Generally, immediate removals must be com- pleted in 6 months or after expenditure of $1 million. • Planned removal, which is needed when an expedited, but not necessarily im- mediate, response is re- quired. The 6-month or $1 million-limitation also applies. These two types of re- sponses are modifications of the earlier program under the Clean Water Act. The third is a new type of response in- tended to deal with the longer-term problem of aban- doned or uncontrolled sites: • Remedial response, which requires more time and money and is intended to achieve a solution consist- ent with permanent rem- edy. EPA, in partnership with the States, takes the Federal lead in all remedial response actions, coordinat- ing its activities with the 13 Federal agencies involved in the NCR The agencies most often called upon are the Federal Emergency Management Agency, De- partment of Health and Human Services, and De- partment of Justice. Cleanups financed by pri- vate industry—such as this one at the Chem-Dyne site in Hamilton, Ohio — are im- portant for augmenting the Trust Fund. EPA negotiated an agreement in which 112 parties responsible for hazardous wastes at the site will pay $2.4 million toward the cost of surface cleanup. ------- Initial Planning Discovery/Screening Evaluation (Preliminary Assessment Remedial Investigation and Site Inspection) Feasibility Study Selection of Remedy Remedial Design/ Construction The Cleanup Process Choosing the appropriate remedy is a lengthy process. First the problem must be de- fined. Then the remedial ac- tion must be planned in detail. EPA's Office of Emergency and Remedial Response, working closely with its Regional Of- fices, tailors each remedial re- sponse to the specific needs of the site. Defining the Problem Defining the problem in- volves three steps. First the site must be discovered and screened according to specific criteria. Then it is evaluated and ranked according to guidelines in the NCR EPA learns of hazardous waste sites through a variety of ways. Some have been identified through other EPA programs—for example, those under the Safe Drinking Water Act and RCRA. EPA Re- gional Offices and many States have compiled inven- tories of sites in their jurisdic- tions. Also, CERCLA required ------- that owners or operators of facilities handling hazardous substances notify EPA by June 1981 of their activities. This process identified about 9,000 sites, many of them already known to EPA. Concerned citi- zens also called the toll-free number of the National Re- sponse Center to report sites. EPA screened these various sources of information and consolidated them into an inventory of currently over 16,000 potential sites where hazardous substances are stored, treated, or disposed of in an unregulated manner. Site evaluation involves a sequence of investigations to determine the extent of con- tamination at a site and to provide a data base sufficient to identify the most appropri- ate response. This could be: no further action, additional investigation, emergency re- sponse, development of an enforcement action, or reme- dial response. The following steps are taken to investigate — at least cost—the hazards at a site: • Preliminary assessment: collection and review of all information available for a given site to evaluate the source and nature of the hazardous substances pres- ent and to determine if a responsible party can be identified. Site inspection: Various degrees of on-site investiga- tions conducted to deter- mine the extent of the prob- lem and to gather the data needed to set priorities. The emphasis is on contamina- tion pathways that affect human health. A typical site inspection involves sam- pling, surveying, monitor- ing, reconnaissance, and other field activities to de- fine the problem. It may in- volve a hydrogeological and geological assessment. These investigations be- come the basis for a report that identifies types of wastes present, estimates their amounts, and de- scribes how they are stored or disposed of; proposes a safety plan to protect in- spectors and nearby resi- dents; and evaluates the impact on the area around the site. Hazardous waste sites are evaluated primarily by Field Investigation Teams stationed at the EPA Regional Offices. These teams are staffed by over 230 trained professionals with a breadth of technical skills. ------- CERCLA calls for compiling a National Priorities List of at least 400 hazardous waste sites as candidates for remed- ial action. The data gathered in the evaluation process provide the basis for ranking the sites, taking into account these criteria: • Possible risk to the population • Hazard potential of sub- stances at the site • Potential for contaminating drinking water supplies and other pathways that affect human health • Potential for destruction of sensitive ecosystems EPA also evaluates the need for removal actions at sites posing immediate threats to health or the environment. The potential for direct con- tact, fires, and explosions is given special consideration. In October 1981, EPA compiled an Interim Priorities List of 115 hazardous waste sites. They were nominated by the EPA Regional Offices and the States, primarily on the basis of potential threat to public health, but the threat to the environment was also taken into account. In addition, each State was encouraged to des- ignate its top priority site. A State or Region rated each site it nominated according to a Hazard Ranking System, which measures pollution via three pathways —air, ground water, and surface water —for potential impacts. In July 1982, with some kind of action under way on almost all of the 115 sites, EPA added 45 new sites to the Interim List. All 160 sites on the Interim List were considered for inclusion on the National Priority List (NPL). In December 1982, EPA proposed a list of 418 sites in the Federal Register. The sites were identified by the same process used to develop the Interim List. On March 4,1983, Times Beach, Missouri, was added. In September 1983, EPA published the first final NPL, which consisted of 406 sites. At the same time, 133 new sites were proposed for addi- tion, meeting the CERCLA re- quirement that the list be up- dated at least annually. Determining a Course of Action A priority site can be cleaned up in several ways: • The responsible party can clean it up voluntarily. • The State or local govern- ment can choose to assume all, or almost all, of the re- sponsibility to clean it up without tapping the Trust Fund. • The responsible party may be forced to clean it up by legal action. • The Trust Fund may be used to finance the cleanup if the site cannot be cleaned by any of the first three al- ternatives. If there are prob- lems in getting the respon- sible party to act, EPA will proceed under Superfund and seek later to recover costs by legal action. ------- Council Bluffs, Iowa The Aidex Corp. site in Council Bluffs is the top- priority site in Iowa. Man- agement practices at a now-abandoned plant for formulating and packaging pesticides had left a large quantity of liquid and solid pesticide material scattered about. A fire in 1976 wors- ened conditions by exten- sively contaminating the soil with water used in fighting the fire. To ensure the safety of workers on site, EPA's Field Investigation Team, wearing protective gear, checks the air for volatile organic compounds. * m •HI .•«S!p|> -^^^fe • IHSPBH^BP*^*!^^^^^^^ ------- Planning the Remedy Detailed planning is neces- sary if EPA is to make rapid, consistent, and rational deci- sions in implementing reme- dial actions under Superfund. The objective is to determine the "appropriate extent of remedy"—the least expensive remedy that is technologically feasible and reliable, effec- tively reduces the danger, and adequately protects public health, welfare, and the envi- ronment. The planning proc- ess consists of these elements: Initial planning Remedial investigation Feasibility study Selection of a remedy Remedial design/ construction Determining the scope of prospective remedial activities is the primary focus of the ini- tial planning phase. The NCP identifies three actions, based on the complexity, immediacy, and extent of the hazards. Some or all may be taken at any one site. The three actions are: • Initial remedial measures: taken when appropriate ac- tions are limited in nature and require a minimum of planning. Examples include construction offences, stabilization of dikes or waste impoundments, temporary provision of al- ternative water supplies, and removal of above- ground drums or bulk tanks leaking hazardous substances. Source-con trol actions: taken when substantial con- centrations of hazardous substances remain on-site, barriers to retard their mi- gration are inadequate, and there is a serious threat to public health, welfare, or the environment. Examples in- clude installation of grout curtains, trenches, and drains, closure of surface impoundments, capping of contaminated areas, and excavation followed by off- site disposal of contami- nated soil or buried waste. ------- Verona, Mo. After receiving an anony- mous complaint, EPA inves- tigated a wooded area on a farm near Verona, Mo. Sus- pecting the presence of di- oxin, EPA (in 1979, before the Superfund law was passed) undertook a comprehensive site inspection and discov- ered a depression now known as the Denny Farm Site No. 1. As part of the inspection, EPA drilled soil borings around the 10-foot by 50-foot trench (below), then dug into it, exposing 13 drums. Analysis confirmed the presence of dioxin. EPA then negotiated a cleanup agreement with a company that had purchased the fa- cility responsible for generating and disposing of the wastes. In mid-1981, the company uncovered the drums and transferred the wastes to a nearby pit (right). The trench was filled, compacted with virgin soil, and capped. In cooperation with EPA, the company is evaluating the best means of disposing or treating the materials removed from the trench. ,:» v I" ,v" 4-**-'-. :"•" .?* ------- • Off-site actions: taken when source-control meas- ures are inappropriate or would not effectively reduce migration of hazardous substances from the site. Examples include perma- nent provision of alternative water supplies, control of a contaminated aquifer, dredging of contaminated river sediments, and reloca- tion of the affected population. Because of their limited scope, initial remedial meas- ures can be taken during the planning for additional source-control or off-site ac- tions. The initial remedial measures, however, must be either cost effective — that is, the least expensive alternative that is technologically feasible, is reliable, and adequately pro- tects the environment — or a necessary part of more exten- sive remedial actions to be taken later. In making an initial planning decision, EPA works closely with the State. In particular, the State often provides site data and other important informa- tion. Also, the State is given the opportunity to review and comment on EPA's planning efforts. The planning decisions are addressed through a Remedial Action Master Plan (RAMP). In addition to the scope of reme- dial activities, the RAMP also considers project costs and schedules for anticipated re- medial activities, as well as the extent and availability of exist- ing data. EPA will also prepare a Site Management Plan, which considers all cleanup alterna- tives, including enforcement actions and clean up by re- sponsible parties. Another important element of initial planning activities is the State's decision on the role it wants to take in the remedial action (including the IRM). CERCLA permits two ar- rangements: • A cooperative agreement, in which the State takes the lead role. A cooperative agreement is much like a grant in that Federal money is transferred to the State. The State then develops a work plan, schedule, and budget, contracts for any services it needs, and is re- sponsible for ensuring that all the conditions of the cooperative agreement are fulfilled. In contrast to a grant, EPA continues to be substantially involved, monitoring the State's prog- ress throughout the project. EPA encourages coopera- tive agreements because they allow maximum State participation, which is es- sential to the success of remedial actions under Superfund. • Superfund State contract, in which EPA takes the lead. Early in remedial actions, the work is done by one of EPA's two major Superfund contractors. Later phases are managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. Under an interagency agreement, the Corps provides techni- cal assistance in the design and construction of reme- dial actions. Using Super- fund monies, the Corps contracts with private com- panies for the actual per- formance of design and construction. ------- Old Forge, Pa. EPA learned of the Lehigh Electric and Engineering Co. site in Old Forge, Pa., through an anonymous source in March 1981. The site covers 4.4 acres on the banks of the Lackawanna River and is immediately ad- jacent to a residential area with about 50 homes. Work- ing with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmen- tal Resources, EPA inspected the site and determined that the soil was grossly con- taminated with polychlori- nated biphenyls (PCB), an oil-like toxic organic chemi- cal once widely used as insu- lation in capacitors, transformers, and other electrical equipment. EPA decided to clean up the Lehigh site in two phases. The first was to remove all equipment and material from the surface. An EPA contractor compiled a de- tailed inventory of all equipment at the site (be- low) and sampled each one (right). Exposed workers wore protective gear. Phase I started in July 1982. While it was under way, engineering studies started for Phase II, which will consider the con- taminated soil on the site. ------- Oswego, N. Y. Pollution Abatement Serv- ices (PAS) in Oswego is the top-priority site in New York. The 15-acre tract is occupied by a waste disposal com- pany that operated a high- temperature incinerator for liquid wastes (below) before going bankrupt in 1977. Dur- ing the peak period of opera- tion, the facility reportedly received over 1 million gal- lons of wastes per month. The area immediately around the site is sparsely populated, but two small creeks traversing the property discharge into Lake Ontario, less than one-third of a mile away. Working under a Coopera- tive Agreement with the New York State Department of Environmental Conserva- tion, EPA, assisted by a con- tractor, decided on initial ------- remedial measures to re- move and dispose of all sur- face materials, including drums, wastes in drums, bulk wastes, equipment, and buildings. This approach was taken because it could be contracted for in a short period of time and did not require extensive design work. Also, cleaning up the surface was necessary to prepare the site for later field work to determine the ex- tent of subsurface contamination The work plan developed for the initial remedial cleanup called for the following: • Identification and review of all information concern- ing the site and wastes present • Establishment of health and safety procedures for future activities on site Development of a protocol for the safe and econom- ical handling, bulking of compatible wastes, trans- porting, and disposal of the wastes likely to be encountered. Sampling to determine the types of wastes pres- ent EPA estimated that the site held 8,600 drums containing about 99,300 gallons of waste and 1,200 cubic yards of contami- nated soils. Analysis of disposal op- tions The only viable op- tion turned out to be transportation off-site Empty drums were crushed on site and buried at a local sanitary landfill Drums containing solid hazardous wastes were loaded into a truck (left) and shipped to a permit- ted land disposal facility down with water to de- contaminate it (below left). The liquids were pumped into tanks and treated at the same per- mitted facility (below right). -1 Layout of the site into clean and dirty zones based on level of con- tamination. The dirty zone is the controlled area where the waste is staged, sampled, bulked (if appropriate), and packed for transport. -1 Development of standard operating procedures. Work started on the initial cleanup in June 1982. ------- CERCLA also assigns other responsibilities to the States, requiring them: • To share costs of the design and construction phases of remedial actions. States must contribute 10 percent on sites that were privately owned at the time of dis- posal of hazardous sub- stances and at least 50 per- cent on sites that were pub- licly owned. • To finance operation and maintenance costs, except for an initial period, when EPA will share in the cost to certify that the remedy ac- tually functions as planned. To assure that approved fa- cilities are available to treat, store, or dispose of any hazardous substances transported from the site. With the State role defined, the remedial investigation can begin. It is designed to collect and analyze the data neces- sary to justify remedial action and to support development of alternatives in the feasibility study. The scope of the inves- tigation varies depending on which of the three types of remedial action (initial remed- ial, source-control, and off-site) is involved. During this phase, the initial scoping decision may be revised as additional information is gathered. Typically, remedial investiga- tions involve a sequence of activities such as: • Preliminary activities—for example, visiting the site, defining the boundary con- ditions, preparing a site map, and establishing an of- fice on site. • Studies of the wastes, hydro- geologic conditions, soils, sediments, ground water, surface water, and air quality. • Preliminary identification of appropriate remedial technology. Sampling is an important part of investigations and other remedial activities. ------- The feasibility study, which is often conducted with the remedial investigation as one project, involves several steps: • Development of alterna- tives, including establishing objectives, identifying possible technologies, and designing specific methods for cleanup at the site. Non-cleanup options such as relocating people or sup- plying alternative sources of water, as well as a no-action alternative, are also considered. • Initial screening of alterna- tives on the basis of costs, effects on health and the environment, and technical feasibility • Analysis of the remaining alternatives in detail. Recommendation of the al- ternative offering the most favorable results at the least cost. Development of a prelimi- nary conceptual design of the recommended alternative. Review of the alternatives by citizens of the affected community. The EPA Regional Offices and States transmit their rec- ommendations to the Assist- ant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Re- sponse. In selecting the reme- dial alternative, EPA must de- termine the appropriate extent of remedy. Also, EPA must consider the CERCLA re- quirement to balance the need to protect public health, wel- fare, and the environment at a specific site against the availability of Fund monies to respond to other sites, taking into account the need for im- mediate action. The last step is to prepare the remedial design, which clearly defines the selected remedy in a bid package, and implement the design. Formal advertisement for contracts is the preferred method for im- plementing remedial actions. Therefore, the remedial design usually results in a set of con- tract documents, including de- tailed plans and specifications, that allow potential contractors to bid. At sites where ERA has the lead, the Corps manages the design and construction activities. 13 ------- Butler County, Pa. The Bruin Lagoon site oc- cupies more than 4 acres along the banks of Bear Creek in Butler County, Pa. Its focal point is an open earth-diked lagoon of about 1 acre containing 35,000 cubic yards of asphaltic sludge and 130,000 gallons of liquid acid wastes floating on top. The site began oper- ations in the 1930's In 1968, a breach in the dike resulted in a spill of 3,000 gallons of waste liquid, which killed an estimated 4 million fish and closed water-supply intakes downstream. The dike has been reinforced, but its sta- bility remains a concern An EPA contractor per- formed a remedial investiga- tion and feasibility study for the site. Sampling of the sludge (below) indicated that it is soluble and acidic, with high levels of oily and inorganic constituents To get samples from the middle of the lagoon, a worker leans over the bank (right) As safety measures, he wears a protective suit, carries a supply of oxygen, and is at- tached to a stationary object on shore. The major conclusions of the remedial investigation were: Over its history, much of the site was used for dis- posal of petroleum refin- ing residues The site is releasing con- taminants, primarily inor- ganic, to both surface and ground water Drinking ------- water supplies do not ap- pear to be affected After evaluating the ana- lytical data from samples collected at Bruin Lagoon, EPA decided to focus on source-control measures. The objectives were to pre- vent catastrophic failure by stabilizing the dike and to eliminate the threat to pub- lic health and the environ- ment by preventing wastes from migrating into surface and ground water Eleven remedial action strategies were identified and evalu- ated on the basis of meeting the major objectives. An ini- tial screening eliminated seven, leaving three on-site options (containment, en- capsulation, or fixation of waste) and excavation fol- lowed by off-site disposal. A "no-action" alternative was also considered. After reviewing the reme- dial investigation and feasi- bility study, EPA and the State selected waste con- tainment as the lowest-cost alternative that met the de- sired objectives. This alter native called for action to: • Clean up site in general • Remove and dispose of acidic liquid • Excavate and dispose of contaminated soil Stabilize sludge in situ Construct multilayer cap Cover, regrade, and re- vegetate Secure site Monitor and maintain site After the feasibility study was completed, the contrac- tor undertook three addi- tional tasks: • Development of an En- vironmental Impact Assessment. • Evaluation of the stability of the dike. The conclusion was that minor slope im- provements and surface erosion controls would stabilize the dike during and after lagoon closure. • Bench-scale tests to eval- uate the effectiveness of various techniques for stabilizing sludge so that the lagoon will be able to support the multilayer cap. EPA awarded a contract to implement the remedy in August 1983. Construction is expected to be complete by spring 1984. ------- Keeping the Public Involved The success of any Super- fund remedial action depends in large measure on support of the local, affected public. Consequently, a community relations program is an inte- gral part of every remedial action. When a site is designated for funding, one of the first things EPA does is to meet with local officials, civic lead- ers, and community residents in order to gauge their con- cerns and information needs. These discussions form the basis of the community rela- tions plan. The plan estab- lishes how the public will be kept informed about activities at the site and how public input will be obtained. A key focus of input from citizens is the 3-week public comment period on the draft feasibility study. The feasibility study specifies the options which EPA is considering for the long-term remedial cleanup. A community relations plan is flexible and tailored to the characteristics of the site and the needs and concerns of the surrounding community. Remedial Program in Perspective Superfund's remedial action program is designed to deal with the worst uncontrolled hazardous waste sites where responsible parties do not clean up. The remedial pro- gram addresses poor waste management practices of the past, while RCRA manages the hazardous wastes generated now and in the future. EPA and the States have initiated a very strong RCRA program requiring financial and technical commitments, with mandatory reporting re- quirements designed to en- sure safe handling, storage, transportation, and disposal of hazardous wastes. This pro- gram — built on knowledge gained from the past —will help the Nation avoid a repeti- tion of mistakes and encour- age the development and refinement of new, more effec- tive waste technologies. In short, Superfund will clean up past mistakes, RCRA will pre- vent new ones. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region V, Library 230 South Dearborn Street Chicago, Illinois 60604 ^. 16 ------- REGION 1 Director Waste Management Division John F. Kennedy Building Boston, MA 02203 CML: (617) 223-5186 FTS: 223-5186 REGION 2 Director Air & Waste Management Division 26 Federal Plaza New York, NY 10278 CML: (212) 264-3082 FTS: 264-3082 REGION 3 Director Air & Waste Management Division 6th & Walnut Streets Philadelphia, PA 19106 CML: (215) 597-8131 FTS: 597-8131 REGION 4 Director Air & Waste Management Division 345 Courtland Street, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30365 CML: (404) 881-3931 FTS: 257-3931 REGIONS Director Waste Management Division 111 West Jackson Boulevard Chicago, IL 60604 CML: (312) 886-7579 FTS: 886-7579 REGION 6 Director Air & Waste Management Division 1201 Elm Street Dallas, TX 75270 CML: (214)767-2730 FTS: 729-2730 ' ^ REGION 7 Director Air & Waste Management Division 324 E.I 1th Street Kansas City, MO 64106 CML: (816) 374-6864 FTS: 758-6864 REGION 8 Director Air & Waste Management Division 1860 Lincoln Street Denver, CO 80295 CML: (303) 837-2407 FTS: 327-2407 REGION 9 Director Toxics & Waste Management Division 215 Fremont Street San Francisco, CA 94105 CML: (415) 974-7460 FTS: 454-7460 REGION 10 Director Air & Waste Management Division 1200 6th Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 CML: (206) 442-1352 FTS: 399-1352 ------- ------- |