United States May
Environmental Protection Agency 1985
Washington DC 20460
EPA's
Hazardous Waste
Ground Water
Task Force
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Introduction
Until recently, the purity and availability of
ground water were taken for granted. But that
assumption has been shaken by recent
discoveries of serious ground-water
contamination. At the same time, the nation's
consumption of ground water has been
increasing. Already, half of all Americans get
their drinking water from ground-water sources,
and this percentage is growing. Many
communities simply cannot exist without it.
Ground-water contamination occurs when
wastes and other unwanted materials seep
through the soil into aquifers, invisibly polluting
water supplies. One major potential source of
this contamination is hazardous waste land
disposal facilities. Under authority of the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA), the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency since 1980 has required such facilities
to monitor their sites for evidence of
ground-water contamination. But recent EPA
studies show that many of them have not
complied effectively with the requirement.
Non-compliance not only makes it difficult to
ensure that facilities are performing properly,
but also limits the facilities' usefulness as
depositories for wastes taken from Superfund
sites.
Task Force Project
Because of these findings, EPA and the states
have substantially stepped up inspection and
enforcement efforts. In addition, EPA has
created a special task force to investigate the
adequacy of groundwater monitoring at the 58
commercial facilities around the country that
dispose of hazardous wastes on land. Task force
members include personnel from EPA
headquarters and regional offices, the States,
and EPA's National Enforcement Investigations
Center. The task force has two major goals: o to
determine whether regulated facilities are
meeting RCRA requirements to protect ground
water from contamination by hazardous
materials, including wastes from Superfund
sites; and o to identify and evaluate any causes
of poor compliance and recommend solutions.
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To determine the extent of facing ^ t,\ ance
with ground-water monitoring requirements, and
to identify potential ground-water
contamination, task force members will first
review existing site information, including
evidence derived from permit applications,
monitoring data, local geological studies, and
any prior enforcement actions. This first review
is intended to spotlight any managerial,
operational, or design shortcomings that suggest
probable noncompliance and/or ground-water
contamination. Task Force members will also
conduct onsite inspections and sampling to
confirm potential problems and fill in
information gaps.
Facilities not meeting the requirements will be
subject to enforcement orders, permit
conditions, or other administrative actions to
bring them into compliance. The review process
for any given facility is expected to take several
months. The entire project likely will extend
through 1986.
Of the 58 commercial facilities to be
evaluated, the task force will focus first on those
already undergoing significant state or EPA
review, and on large, multi-waste facilities that
have received Superfund wastes.
Although on-site facilities also can cause
ground-water problems, the task force is
reviewing commercial facilities first because
they receive, or may receive Superfund wastes,
and the agency is continually making decisions
about their use for that purpose.
Normal state and EPA regional oversight of
the 58 commercial facilities will continue
during the task force investigations. Many of the
facilities already are under orders to improve
their monitoring systems, and if any evidence of
ground-water contamination turns up during a
review, the task force will provide that evidence
to the appropriate EPA enforcement office for
action against the facility operators.
Improving Compliance
In addition to identifying any facilities that may
not be complying with requirements for
ground-water monitoring and protection, the
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other major goal of the task force is to identify
the causes of poor compliance and recommend
solutions. In addition to physical and
operational deficiencies, problems potentially
include shortcomings in the guidance available
both for facility operators and enforcement
personnel; inadequate training programs; and
the way in which parts of the regulations
themselves are written.
EPA and the states already are using
additional inspectors to reinforce their
ground-water enforcement efforts; the task force
project is expected to speed up the improvement
process and ensure a consistent nationwide
focus. It also will help determine where
Superfund wastes should go and under what
conditions.
For More Information
EPA Regional Offices can answer your questions
about the task force and its activities.
Region 1 Region 6
No commercial hazardous Pat Hull
waste land disposal facilities (214) 767-9736
in Region ,,
0 Region 7
Region 2 Rowena Michaels
Margaret Randol (913) 236-2803
(212> 264-2515 Regions
Region 3 Xola Cooke
Janet Luffy (303) 837-1694
(215)597-9370 Regjon g
Region 4 Patricia Post
Charlis Thompson (415)974-8026
H°4)881-3004 Region 10
Region 5 Debbie Yamamoto
Virginia Donohue (206) 442-1466
(312) 886-6694
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