United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
Publication 9200.5-008J
November 1990
ŁEPA Superfund Contracts
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) estab-
lished the Superfund Program in 1980. The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986
(SARA) continues the program to clean up hazardous waste sites that threaten human health or the
environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is primarily responsible for manag-
ing cleanup and enforcement activities under Superfund. Much of the cleanup is done by private
contractors with EPA or State oversight.
Why Are Private Contractors Used?
From its inception, the Superfund program has used private contractors to perform much of the work
related to hazardous waste cleanup. Because the workload and skills required vary over time and
across Regions, Superfund needs a flexible source of expert labor. This is more easily obtained
through contractors than from a permanent, in-house workforce.
What Do Contractors Do?
EPA has approximately 100 contracts currently in place, covering a wide range of Superfund activities.
The major types of EPA contracts are summarized in the table below.
Type
Emergency Response
Technical Assistance
Team (TAT)
Emergency Response
Cleanup (ERCS)
Hazardous Site Field
Investigation Team (FIT)
Hazardous Site Remedial
Engineering Management
(REM)
Alternative Remedial
Contracts Strategy (ARCS)
Response Engineering and
Analysis (REAC)
Contract Laboratory
Program (CLP)
Environmental Service
Assistance Team (ESAT)
Aerial Survey and Mapping
Support
Hazardous Materials Incident
Response Training
Technical Enforcement
Support (TES)
SUPERFUND CONTRACTS
Purpose
Provides rapid-response technical assistance on CERCLA removal
actions.
Provides cleanup personnel and equipment to contain, recover, or dispose of
hazardous substances, to analyze samples, or to restore the area.
Provides professionals from many disciplines who do most site assessments
and inspections of waste sites, helping to determine whether the sites should
go on the National Priorities List.
Performs remedial investigations and feasibility studies to determine the
type and extent of site contamination, to design remedial actions, and to
support enforcement actions.
Provides program management and technical services to support remedial
response activities. (Will replace the REM contracts.)
Supports EPA's Emergency Response Team by providing technologies for
remediating hazardous waste sites and spills.
Analyzes environmental samples for chemical content, under a program of
strict quality controls.
Expands EPA's existing capabilities for analyzing hazardous waste
samples; also supports non-Superfund analytical programs.
Uses aerial photography techniques to characterize contaminated sites and
determine the need for cleanup.
Provides training in emergency response and safety to 5,000 Federal, Stale,
and local government employees per year.
Supports Superfund enforcement efforts by providing expert witnesses,
searching for responsible parties, evaluating monitoring data, and other
activities.
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Other Superfund contracting activities include:
• Site-specific removal contracts issued to companies that have particularly relevant qualifications
or technologies;
• Planning and cleanup services purchased by States with Federal funds provided under
cooperative agreements with EPA; and
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracts awarded to private firms to design and construct very
large remedial responses.
All contractors are selected through competitive procurements and are carefully supervised by EPA.
What Is The Future For Superfund Contracting?
EPA has completed a Long-Term Contracting Strategy (LTCS) for the Superfund Program which
provides the framework for Superfund contracting through the 1990s. The LTCS direction will
provide a flexible, integrated contract infrastructure to support regional based contracts and will be
implemented in the early 1990s.
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