UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, B.C. 20460 SEP 30 OFFICE OF SOLID WASTE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE OSWER Directive# 9200.4-05 MEMORANDUM SUBJECT: FROM: TO: PURPOSE Pre- cy and Remedial Response 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 RegnnlV Director, Superfund Division Regions V, VI, VII Assistant Regional Administrator, Office of Ecosystems Protection and Remediation Region VIII Director, Environmental Cleanup Office Region X The purpose of this directive is to ensure that the Agency's Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) becomes a more accurate inventory of hazardous substance sites. All sites coming to the Agency's attention should be screened before CERCLIS entry. Regions generally should not enter those sites which are likely to be addressed by states or under Federal authority other than CERCLA, those for which information on releases is insufficient to substantiate the presence of hazardous substances, or those for which sufficient information exists to show that risk is low. In this way, ------- CERCLIS will become a list of sites which Regions and States/Tribes believe, based on available data, will require a response using Superfund authorities and resources. BACKGROUND Since 1990, the Agency's policy for enteimg sites into CERCLIS directs "...all sites known or suspected to be hazardous substance release sites are to be entered into CERCLIS as expeditiously as possible" (OSWER Directive #9320.3-0; February 5, 1990). In accordance with existing policy, EPA makes every attempt to conduct a Preliminary Assessment (PA) within one year of CERCLIS site entry; and if the PA results warrant further investigation, the Agency tries to have a Site Inspection (SI) conducted within four years of entry (See CERCLA Section 116(b) and the National Contingency Plan (NCP) at 40 C.F.R. 300.420(b) and (c)}. Since 1990, however, various interpretations in the policy have resulted in some sites being entered into the Agency's hazardous waste site inventory where PA's have shown that no Federal response action under CERCLA is needed. Both the resource expenditures for assessment and the perceived stigma of CERCLIS are of concern. OBJECTIVE The intention of this guidance is to minimize the number of sites unnecessarily entered into CERCLIS by introducing pre-CERCLIS site screening criteria. These criteria should help ensure that sites are not unnecessarily entered into CERCLIS. The criteria should also assist in the identification of other (non-CERCLA) authorities or policies that may apply to the pre- screened sites as well as additional information needed to determine whether or not the site should be included in CERCLIS. Several pilots are underway regarding pre-CERCLIS screening. Following completion of these pilots, the Agency may revise this policy or develop additional criteria. This pre-CERCLIS guidance should be used in the interim until the pilots are completed and analyzed. IMPLEMENTATION Regions and States should coordinate closely on sites undergoing the pre-screening process to prevent duplicative evaluations. / Sites that can be excluded from CERCLIS: -those sites addressed by a State Superfund Enforcement Program. EPA will normally rely on the State program to oversee response. - those sites where hazardous constituents are regulated under certain statutory or policy exclusions from CERCLA (e.g., sites subject to corrective action authorities under RCRA Subtitle C (See 54 FR 41000 October 4, 1989 and 60 FR ------- 14641 March 20, 1995), sites permitted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (See CERCLA Section 101(22)), sites with petroleum wastes excluded by CERCLA (See CERCLA Section 101(14) and 101(33) ). - those sites identified by a State using insufficient data (e.g. based on potentially unreliable sources or with no information to support the potential presence of hazardous substances). Under those circumstances Regions should consult with the State and identify the type of data needed (e.g., See Guidance for Performing Preliminary Assessments under CERCLA: EPA/540/g-91/013; September 1991} to make an informed decision regarding CERCLIS entry. EPA will rely on the States to collect any additional information necessary to determine whether or not a site should be included in the CERCLIS site inventory. - situations where the region has documentation that clearly demonstrates that there is no potential for a release that could cause adverse environmental or human health impacts (e.g., hazardous substances are not present at potentially harmful levels). EPA would make an exception to these screening criteria in cases where the Agency is notified of a potential site through receipt of a citizen petition. Under CERCLA section 105 (d), EPA is required by statute to respond within one year to a petition to conduct a PA. Abbreviated PA's should be conducted where preliminary information indicates that the site does not warrant further investigation by EPA; All other sites that might require cleanup under CERCLA authority should be considered for CERCLIS entry. As with all sites, EPA's decision to enter or not enter a site into CERCLIS should be based on current information. If new information becomes available on a site that was not entered, EPA will reconsider the decision. If you have any questions regarding this guidance, please contact Tim Gill, Olfice of Emergency and Remedial Response, at (703) 603-8856. This policy is not a rule, and does not create-any legal obligations. The extent to which EPA applies this policy will depend on the facts of each case. ------- |