&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Emergency
and Remedial Response
Washington DC 20460
Spring 1986
WH/FS-86-004
Public Involvement in the
Superfund Program
How are local
citizens involved
in decisions about
cleanup actions in
their communities?
A0l 11 Street
Washington, I"
^
To guarantee that local citizens are involved in decisions about
cleanup actions in their communities, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has established a Superfund Ccmnunity
Relations Program. This Program helps inform citizens in an area
where a hazardous waste response action is underway or planned.
But the goal is not just to provide information to the local
community. Equally important, the Community Relations Program
also gives local citizens a voice in decisions about actions that
may affect them.
The information that citizens provide to EPA about the history
of a site is very valuable to EPA in planning a response action.
Citizens' knowledge about when and how a site was contaminated has
helped EPA select the areas in and around the site where sampling
and monitoring are needed. EPA may also learn about who is
responsible for a problem from discussions with community members.
EPA also considers citizen concerns in choosing how to clean up
the site, so that the cleanup actions will deal with the problems
especially important to the community.
Community relations activities are somewhat different during
a short-term "removal" action and a longer-term "remedial" action.
During a removal action, the On-Scene Coordinator (the person in
charge at the site) has to protect public health and property
until the immediate threat is over. During such times, the primary
community relations activity is to inform the community about
response actions and their effects on the community. During a
removal action, there is often very little time to involve citizens
in how the site will be cleaned up because of the urgency of the
problem.
In 1980, Congress passed a law
called ihu Comprehensive
Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act
(CKRCLA). CKKCI.A created a lax
on the chemical and petroleum
industries. Tlie money collected
from the lax goes lo a Trust
Fund to clean up abandoned or
uncontrolled hazardous waste
sites. The money has come to he
called the Superfund. The U.S.
Kiiviroiimeiitii! Protection
Agency (KPA) is responsible for
running the Superfund program.
Under the Superfund program,
KF'A can:
• Pay for the cleanup of
hazardous waste sites when
those responsible for such .sites
cannot be found or are unwilling
or unable to clean up a site.
• Take legal action to force
(hose responsible for hazardous
waste sites that threaten public
health or the environment to
clean up or pay for the cleanup
of those sites or reimburse KPA
fur the costs of cleanup.
The law authorizes two kinds
of response actions:
• Short-term removal actions
where immediate actions may be
taken to address releases or
threats of releases requiring
expedited response.
• Longer-term reined in I actions
that slop or substantially reduce
releases or threats of releases of
ha/iirdous substances that are
serious but not immediately
life-threatening.
Response actions may include,
but are not limited to:
• Removing hazardous materials
from the site to an KPA-
appruved, licensed hazardous
waste facility for treatment,
containment, or destruction.
• Containing the waste on-sile
so that it can safely remain there
and present no further problem.
• Destroying or treating the
waste on-sile through
incineration or other innovative
technologies.
• Identifying and removing (he
source of ground water
contamination, and halting
further spread of the
contaminants.
This fact sheet is one of a
series prepared by (he Supcrfund
Community Relations Program to
help citizens understand how
(he Superfund program works.
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During a rennoval action that lasts longer than 45 days or a
remedial action there is more opportunity for citizens to learn
about EPA activities and communicate their concerns to EPA.
Cqmimjnity Relations Plans
EPA learns about community concerns by conducting community
interviews. These are informal discussions with local residents and
government officials, usually at individual's homes or offices.
Through these discussions, EPA learns about the history of the site
and gains a basic understanding of the concerns of the community.
EPA uses this information to prepare a Cgmtunity ReJLa t ions Plan
for sites where removal actions last longer than 45 days and all
remedial actions. The Plan outlines in detail the activities EPA
will conduct to make sure that local residents can express their
opinions and concerns about the site, and are kept inforrred of any
actions at the site throughout the Superfund cleanup process.
There are many ways EPA exchanges information with the
community. Typically, one of the first steps is to set up an
information file that contains accurate, up-to-date documents on
the site. The file is usually located in a public building that
is convenient for local residents — such as a public school,
library, or town hall. File materials may include news releases,
fact sheets, and technical reports about EPA's activities and the
contamination problem at the site.
A contact person is very important. Residents may contact
this person to answer questions about the site. This contact,
usually a Superfund community relations staff person in the nearest
EPA Regional Office, can answer questions throughout the Superfund
process. A State staff member will be the contact person when the
State manages the cleanup.
While the information file and contact person are normally a
part of every cormunity relations program, FPA also uses a variety
of other activities to ensure that local citizens are informed and
given a chance to participate:
• Small discussion groups in which concerned citizens can excharv: 2
information with government officials;
• Large public meetings at which many coanunity meribers can
gather to listen to presentations about site developments, raise
issues, express their concerns and ask questions;
• Ne*/s releases issue.1 to the nvvJi.i announce milestones in work
at the site, such as thp beginning of construction;
• Fact sheets summarizing current knowledge about the site's
problems and cleanup options under consideration.
In some cases, EPA may be limited in ths amount oe informat: on
that it can make available to the public. For example, EPA usua ly
tries to pursue legal action to make those responsible for the
contamination at a site pay for or conduct the cleanup. As a
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resultf there may be seme sensitive or confidential information
that, if disclosed to the public, could damage the government's
legal case.
Before all major decisions are made on remedial actions at a
site EPA gives the public an opportunity to comment. Community
involvement is particularly important during the public comment
period provided after the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Stud}
(RI/FS) is completed. This report describes the contamination and
the response actions being considered. A copy of the draft RI/FS
is placed in the information file, and other copies are made
available for public review. Because the report itself may be
quite long and techical, EPA usually prepares and distributes a
fact sheet at this time to surnmarize the results of the study.
Community members may also be invited to attend workshops or a
public meeting to discuss the response actions.
.The feedback that EPA receives from the public during the
comment period is one of the factors EPA considers in selecting
response actions. EPA also considers the reliability, the
effectiveness and the cost of construction and maintenance of each
alternative.
Can Citizen Input
Really Influence
EPA Cleanup Plans?
Public comment and involvement have significantly influenced EPA's
plans for cleanups in a number of instances and citizens have
provided EPA with valuable information about conditions at a site.
For example:
• At a site in Illinois, local citizens and businesses expressed
concern that EPA's proposed cleanup alternative would limit the
use of a nearby lakeshore and harm the town's economy. In response
to these concerns, EPA developed another cleanup alternative that
preserved the town's use of the lakeshore.
• At a site in Minnesota, local residents expressed a strong
preference for treatment of local contaminated wells over connec-
tion to the reservoir supply of a nearby city. After careful
consideration of information provided by the residents, EPA proposed
a plan to treat the local wells to remove contaminants.
• Local residents are often an excellent source of information.
Many have lived in an area for years and can help identify those
responsible and help locate illegally disposed waste sites in the
neighborhood. Man/ times local residents have called the National
Response Center (1-800-424-8802), a special number set up to
report hazardous materials that present an imminent threat.
Although RPA tries to include the conrrunity's preferences in
selecting a remedy for the site, requirerrents of the Superfund la*
may lead EPA to select a response action that is not the community's
first choice, that is, the remedy thst is most effective, considering
cost, reliability and permanence.
The goal of the SuperEand community relations program is to
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ensure that citizens are kept as well-informed as possible about
cleanup plans and progress and, at the same time, have a say in
decisions about Superfund actions taken in their conmunities.
Public involvement in Superfund contributes to sound decisions and
greater protection of public health and the environment.
For further information on the Superfund Program,
call toll free 1-800-424-9346
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