United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Hazardous Waste Engineering
Research Laboratory
Cincinnati OH 45268
Research and Development
EPA/600/S8-87/049 Dec. 1987
Project Summary
Remedial Action Costing
Procedures Manual
Brian Burgher, Mike Culpepper, and Werner Zieger
The full manual provides specific
procedures for the cost estimating and
economic analysis steps required for
preparing engineering cost estimates
for selecting remedial action alterna-
tives in response to the requirements
of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act (CERCLA) and the National Con-
tingency Plan (40 CFR 300). The
manual is designed to be used in
conjunction with EPA's manual
entitled Guidance on Feasibility Stu-
dies Under CERCLA. The audience for
this manual includes EPA Regional
Project Officers, remedial investiga-
tion/feasibility study contractors, and
state and local remedial action person-
nel and other Federal agencies.
Detailed procedures are provided for
generating estimated capital and
annual operating costs, calculating
annual costs and present worth for
each remedial action alternative, and
performing sensitivity analyses of the
cost estimates to determine the impact
of changes to various cost input
parameters. Worksheets are provided
to assist the user in developing the
feasibility cost analyses. An example
cost analysis is provided to illustrate
these procedures.
This Project Summary was devel-
oped by EPA's Hazardous Waste Engi-
neering Research Laboratory, Cincin-
nati, OH, to announce key findings of
the research project that is fully doc-
umented in a separate report of the
same title (see Project Report ordering
information at back).
Introduction
As the number and scope of remedial
actions at uncontrolled hazardous waste
disposal sites increase, there is a cor-
responding need for standard procedures
for preparing engineering cost estimates
for proposed remedial solutions. The
National Contingency Plan (NCR) of 1982
outlines a general approach for conduct-
ing remediation at Superfund sites. The
purpose of the manual is to provide
specific procedures for the cost estimat-
ing and economic analysis steps required
for the various remedial action planning
phases. These phases are:
• Preparing an initial assessment of
remedial action alternatives to estab-
lish a general cost for the remedial
investigation/feasibility process and
initial remedial measures,
• Screening remedial action alterna-
tives during feasibility analysis to
eliminate those alternatives for which
the costs are substantially greater
than other alternatives and yet do not
provide a commensurate public health
or environmental benefit,
• Preparing detailed cost estimates for
feasibility studies to aid in selecting
a remedial action alternative.
The full manual presents procedures
and provides worksheets to accomplish
the cost analysis objectives of the
phases. The guidance presented has
been developed for generalized condi-
tions at uncontrolled hazardous waste
disposal sites. The user should modify
these procedures where necessary to
accommodate site-specific conditions.
-------
The anticipated audience for this
document includes those persons
responsible for Superfund remedial
actions: EPA Regional Project Officers,
remedial investigation/feasibility study
contractors, state and local remedial
action personnel, and other Federal
agencies. This manual should also be
useful to those involved in planning
state- and private-lead and voluntary
actions, particularly to demonstrate to
the public and other interested parties
that the selection of a remedial action
alternative was conducted according to
EPA approved procedures.
Discussion
Chapter 2 of the full manual addresses
initial site planning cost estimating. Site
response assessment costing is impor-
tant because it sets the tone for the
remedial investigation and feasibility
study, and gives a rough estimate of the
level of effort and funding necessary to
address site problems under Superfund.
It is a fairly straightforward procedure
requiring minimal time and effort to
complete. It should be noted that these
initial costs will be superseded by costs
derived during the feasibility study
process.
The purpose of Chapter 2 is to define
the steps of the site response assess-
ment process and offer guidelines as to
how costs for each of these steps may
be derived. With this data the reader
should be able to:
• Construct a site response assessment
report outline and identify areas
which require estimating.
• Assign order-of-magnitude costs to
the applicable sections of the site
response assessment report format.
• Determine total order-of-magnitude
costs for site RI/FS activities and
remedial alternatives available at the
site assessment stage.
Chapter 3 describes standard proce-
dures for preparing cost estimates for
remedial action alternatives being eval-
uated during feasibility analysis. Initial
site planning cost estimating efforts,
discussed in Chapter 2, are based solely
on existing data and are performed to
provide general cost data associated with
RI/FS activities. Remedial Removal
measures, and remedial alternatives.
Feasiliby study cost estimating is aimed
solely at providing remedial altnernative
costs using information collected during
the investigation. The sections in Chapter
3 provide an overview of the costing
process for both screening and detailed
feasibility analysis of alternatives; proce-
dures for economic analysis; guidance on
the use of sensitivity analysis; and an
example illustrating these cost analysis
procedures. Additionally, worksheets are
provided to assist the user to estimate,
analyze, and present costs for remedial
action alternatives.
Brian Burgher and Werner Zieger are with JRB Associates, McLean, VA 22102;
Mike Culpepper is with CHtM Hill, Atlanta, GA 30339.
Doug/as Ammon is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
The complete report, entitled "Remedial Action Costing Procedures Manual,"
(Order No. PB 88-113 691/AS; Cost: $14.95. subject to change) will be
available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: 703-487-4650
For information Donald Banning can be contacted at:
Hazardous Waste Engineering Research Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Cincinnati, OH 45268
United Stales
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
BULK RATE
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
EPA
PERMIT No. G-35
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use S300
EPA/600/S8-87/049
uuui
60604
------- |