UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20460
OSWER Directive 9200.0-21
SEP 25 I996
OFFICE OF
SOLID WASTE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:' National Consistency in Superfund Remedy Selection
FROM:
TO:
Elliott P. Law:
Assistant Ad
Director, Office of Site Remediation and Restoration
Region I
Director, Emergency and Remedial Response Division
Region II
Director, Hazardous Waste Management Division
Regions III, IX
Director, Waste Management Division
Region IV
Director, Superfund Division
Regions V, VI, VII
Assistant Regional Administrator, Office of Ecosystems Protection
and Remediation
Region VIII
Director, Environmental Cleanup Office
Region X
Purpose
This memorandum emphasizes the critical importance of maintaining appropriate
national consistency in the Superfund remedy selection process, and requests that
program managers make full use of existing tools and consultation opportunities to
promote such consistency.
Background
Among the 20 Superfund Administrative Reforms announced by Administrator
Carol Browner in October, 1995, were several designed to improve the transparency
and appropriate national consistency of remedy selection decisions. This
memorandum is being issued to further support these important Reform goals.
Printed on Recycled Paper
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Nationally consistent remedy selection de-Visions remain a prominent and valid
concern among stakeholders of the Superfund p.ogram. Consistent application of
national policy and guidance (reflected in documentation which "tells the decision-
making story") is an important means by which we ensure the reasonableness and
predictability of our decisions to States, communities, potentially responsible parties,
and to our many other customers.
National "consistency" does not mean identical decisions or cleanup levels at all
sites across the nation. Site-specific considerations are crucial to making rational,
cost-effective decisions. "Appropriate consistency" means applying in a reasonable
manner the decision-making processes recommended in our national policies and
guidance, using the criteria they lay out, and exercising the built-in flexibility as
appropriate to address site-specific circumstances. It is vital then to write proposed
plans and Records of Decision (RODs) that articulate the thought process by which
program principles and guidelines are applied in the site-specific context. However,
with this in mind, it is also reasonable to expect that similar response strategies may
be selected at sites with similar contamination problems.
As you know, this concept is not new. In fact, I am very pleased to say that
trends in Regional decision-making reflect consistent implementation of various
program guidances such as the recent OSWER land use directive (OSWER Directive
No. 9355.7-04) and selected groundwater cleanup guidances. This memorandum
reemphasizes the importance of this critical concept and requests your continued
support in promoting it at the Regional level.
Implementation
We should already be using the national policies and guidance currently
available, and anticipating the new tools being developed under our recent Superfund
Reforms. The Superfund program has issued many excellent guidance doc1 iments
through the collaboration of Regional implementors and a variety of Headquarters
program offices. Increasingly, States and other federal agencies contribute
significantly to the development of these documents. Further,' we continue to increase
the role of scientific peer review and broader public input. National policies and
guidance, thus, reflect the collective wisdom of a wide variety of very experienced
individuals and stakeholders, and represent the official recommendations of the Agency
on difficult issues. I expect these policies and guidance to be Implemented in the
field.
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I am proud that by and large our policies and guidance have provided sufficient
flexibility to address the wide variability among site contamination problems. However,
on rare occasions, site circumstances may warrant management innovations that reach
beyond the tools provided by existing policies and guidance. I encourage creativity in
such situations. These innovative approaches, however, should be taken only after
thorough consideration of existing flexibility available within current guidance. In cases
where such innovation may set a national precedent, you should consult your Office of
Emergency and Remedial Response (OERR) Regional Accelerated Response Center
or the Federal Facilities Restoration and Reuse Office (FFRRO). Please consult with
the Office of Site Remediation Enforcement (OSRE) for assistance on enforcement-
related issues. For your information, OERR Center Directors, and the appropriate
FFRRO and OSRE contacts are listed in Attachment A. OERR, FFRRO, and OSRE
staff and management will work closely with you to ensure that the range of Regional
and National perspectives are reflected in final remedy selection decisions. Ultimately,
documentation must clearly explain the basis for the selected cleanup strategy and as
well as any departure from relevant guidance to ensure decision making transparency
for our stakeholders.
In addition to guidance and policy, the Superfund program has established the
following efforts to support appropriate national consistency in remedy selection,
encourage informed discussion of cross-cutting issues, and disseminate site-specific
lessons learned:
• On October 1,1995, OERR formally reorganized to facilitate Headquarters
support of Regional operations and decision making. As a result, Regional staff
and managers are encouraged to consult regularly with appropriate OERR
Regional Accelerated Response Center personnel.
• A National Remedy Review Board (NRRB) was established to promote cost
effectiveness and appropriate national consistency in high cost decisions in real
time as one of the Superfund Administrative Reforms announced in October of
1995.
• On April 17,1996, a memorandum from OERR to the Regional Superfund
Managers entitled "Administrative Reforms for Lead Risk Assessment"
requested that all completed lead risk assessments be submitted to Superfund's
Lead Technical Review Workgroup for review, in addition, Superfund will
establish a "Lead Risk Managers Policy Group" this fall consisting of senior
managers from the Regions and Headquarters to develop decision-making
guidance for cleanup at lead sites. These two groups provide specialty
consultation resources for Regional lead site issues!
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• A program for Headquarters support of Regional decision-making in key "focus
areas" was announced in an OERR memorandum dated May. ".. 1996. This
memorandum identifies selected issue areas that represent the current focus of
OERR's national Regional coordination effort. These areas include risk
management and cost-effectiveness decision documentation, ground water
policy, lead policy, and presumptive remedies implementation.
• Cost-effectiveness "rules of thumb" are now under development as part of the
Superfund Reforms effort announced in October, 1995. This guidance
(available in draft this fall) will identify circumstances that warrant special
consideration or discussion among program officials.
• Criteria for identifying sites or conditions in which Headquarters consultation is
likely to benefit the proy.am as a whole are presented in an October 8, 1993,
memorandum from Richard Guimond to EPA Regional Administrators entitled
"Twenty-Fifth Delegation Report - FY 1994." Consultation requirements
identified in this memorandum remain in effect. However, OERR acknowledges
that with the recent program reforms, and given the ongoing Regional
reorganization efforts, a closer look at how the Regions and Headquarters work
together in these areas is warranted. Therefore, OERR plans to initiate a cross-
Regional effort this fall to consolidate and simplify these and related
Headquarters consultation requirements.
• CERCLIS 3, Superfund's new national data base and information system should
be fully installed in all Regional offices by fall of 1996. CERCLIS 3 will contain
detailed technical data from site assessments, RI/FSs, risk assessments, RODs
and RD/RA activities. With this wealth of technical information readily available
to all EPA site managers and decision makers, CERCLIS 3 will become a
valuable tool and resource in our efforts to ensure appropriate consistency in
Superfund decision making.
Finally, we must continue to make decisions that achieve cross-program
consistency. On May 1,1996, the Agency issued a statement asserting the concept of
parity between the decisions made under the Superfund and the RCRA Corrective
Action programs (see Corrective Action for Solid Waste Management Units at
Hazardous Waste Management Facilities, 61 FR19432). In addition, the Agency is
drafting a "RCRA/CERCLA integration" policy memorandum, as well as holding "Lead
Regulator" workgroup meetings, designed to address cleanup at Federal Facilities with
.overlapping remedial authorities. We encourage the Regions to strive towards
consistency between these programs as well in their management of contaminated
sites. .
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Both R<. rial and Headquarters staff have worked hard to ensure that new
program policies and guidance are both relevant and of practical value for program
decision makers. I recommend that you rely heavily upon these guidances for the
appropriate decision-making framework. However, there will be instances when
decisions must be made under unique or unpredictable circumstances. In these cases,
I encourage you to talk to your fellow decision-makers in other Regions and to consult
with Headquarters. Use of national policies and guidance, along with collaboration
within and across Regions and with EPA Headquarters, will go far to promote the
appropriate national consistency in remedy selection that is so critical to our program's
success.
Should you have any questions about this directive, please do not hesitate to
call Bruce Means, Senior Process Manager for Response Decisions, at 703-603-8815.
As mentioned, above OERR will be contacting Regional management this fall to begin
planning for the cross-Regional effort to consolidate and simplify the way we work
together on these issues and related Headquarters consultation requirements.
Attachment
cc: S. Luftig, OERR
B. Breen, OSRE
J. Woolford, FFRRO
M. Shapiro, OSW
J. Baylson, OUST
W. Kovalick, TIO
Regional Superfund Managers
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CONTACTS FOR CONSULTATION ON
SUPERFUND REMEDIES
OERR Regional Accelerated Response Center Directors
Attachment A
Regions 1/9: Murray Newton
Regions 2/6: Betsy Shaw
Regions 3/8: Tom Sheckells
Regions 4/10: John Cunningham
Regions 5/7: Paul Nadeau
703-603-8795
703-603-9034
703-603-8916
703-603-8708
703-603-8794
Federal Facilities Restoration and Reuse Office
Tim Mott
Office of Site Remediation Enforcement
Policy and Program Evaluation Division
Linda Boomazian
Regional Support Division
Sandra Connors
202-260-2447
202-564-5100
202-564-4200
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