United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
Publication No. 9200.5-405/FS
January 1990
» EPA HOW TO OBTAIN
SUPERFUND INFORMATION
Office of Emergency and Remedial Response
Hazardous Site Control Division (OS-220)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
INTRODUCTION
The Superfund Docket and Information Center (SDIC) maintains CERCLA-related documents for
EPA's Office of Emergency and Remedial Response (OERR) within the Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response (OSWER). The primary function of this center is to give the public easy access
to records developed in the course of rulemaking. A second function that SDIC serves is to provide a
central source for Superfund policy and procedural documents that are a part of the OSWER Directives
System.
This fact sheet explains how the SDIC works, specifically:
What Type of Information Can Be Found at the SDIC?
What is the OSWER Directives System?
How Do You Order a Superfund Document?
What Other Sources of Superfund Information Are Available?
If you cannot find the information you need from any of the sources described in this fact sheet, see the
Hazardous Waste Data Collection section in your Regional Library.
WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT THE SDIC?
The SDIC provides public access to a wide variety of documents asso-
ciated with Superfund rulemaking efforts, which are contained in in-
dividual "dockets". Each docket is an official file that is mandated by
law to document EPA's decision-making process. A docket is opened
each time a rule is promulgated and accumulates materials through-
out the rulemaking process. A docket allows the public to go to one
place to read Federal Register notices, public comments sent to the
Agency, and all other major documents generated as a regulation
is being developed. For example, a docket currently is being main-
tained to track the development of the revised National Oil and Haz-
ardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The docket
also provides a repository for any comments the public wishes to make
on any rule.
Other documents available through the SDIC include: Records of
Decision; transcripts of Congressional hearings; guidance; and pro-
gram-specific quick reference fact sheets and intermittent bulletins.
Printed on Recycled Paper
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WHAT IS THE OSWER DIRECTIVES SYSTEM?
OSWER maintains a central Directives System, which was designed so that program-specific documents
can be located easily. It includes policy, strategy, and guidance documents. Each program office has been
assigned a block of numbers for tracking their publications, and the Superfund Directives System is one
subset of this larger system. The SDIC maintains copies of Superfund Directives for OERR and, as of
February 1990, will provide a similar function for OWPE. If you know the directive number of a document,
you can tell which office published it as shown below.
Office
Administrative (OSWER)
Superfund (OERR)
RCRA (OSW)
Underground Storage Tanks (OUST)
Superfund Enforcement (OWPE)
RCRA Enforcement (OWPE)
Directive Numbers
9000 - 9199
9200 - 9399
9400 - 9599
9600 - 9799
9800 - 9899
9900 - 9999
Within these series, additional categories exist for major topics. For example, all publications related to
State, political subdivision, and federally recognized Indian Tribal involvement in the Superfund
Program are contained in the 9375.5 series.
HOW DO YOU ORDER A SUPERFUND DOCUMENT?
The easiest way to order a Superfund document is to obtain a "Catalog of Superfund Publications" (EPA/
540-8-89/008). The catalog provides a comprehensive list of all OERR documents currently available,
order forms, and step-by-step instructions for ordering documents from an appropriate source. The
catalog is available through the Center for Environmental Research Information (CERI), described below.
Orders can also be placed by phone or in writing with the SDIC. While an
unlimited number of documents may be requested by mail, only three or
less may be ordered over the phone. When placing an order, the directive
number and the title of the desired document must be included to enable
a quick and accurate response.
Document requests can be mailed to:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Superfund Docket & Information Center
OS-245
401 M St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
or placed by phone by calling: (202) 382-6940 or FTS 8-382-6940 between
the hours of 9 am and 4 pm, EST, Monday through Friday.
WHAT OTHER SOURCES OF SUPERFUND INFORMATION ARE AVAILABLE?
RCRA/SUPERFUND Industrial Assistance Hotline
The RCRA/Superfund hotline provides information to assist EPA person-
nel and the public in interpreting hazardous waste regulations and policies.
It is not intended to be a document distribution center. The hotline is
usually able, however, to direct a caller to an appropriate contact or distri-
bution center for Agency publications. The hotline also can often provide in-
formation on the availability of RCRA and CERCLA documents.
The RCRA/Superfund hotline can be reached by calling (202) 382-3000 or toll-free (800) 424-9346. Hours of operation
are 8:30 am to 7:30 pm, EST, Monday through Friday.
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Center For Environmental Research information (CERH
CERI produces and distributes technical publications for most of the environmental programs within
EPA. Under a special agreement with OERR, CERI also prints, maintains an inventory, and distributes
large guidance and policy documents related to the Superfund program in addition to technical
A separate numbering system exists for Agency publications that are distributed by
CERI, such as (EPA/540-8-89/008) for the "Catalog of Superfund Publications".
When placing an order through CERI you should use the publication number and
complete title. Single copies of available documents are free, and orders can be
placed by writing to:
Center for Environmental Research Information
Office of Research and Development Publications
26 West Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
or by calling: (513) 569-7562 between the hours of 8:00 am and 4:30 pm, EST, Monday through Friday.
Public Information Center (PIC)
The PIC maintains a broad spectrum of publications for all Agency programs that cover such topics as:
recycling, pesticides, radon, wetlands and hazardous waste. Most materials available through the PIC
are nontechnical in nature and are aimed at the general public. The Superfund program office maintains
a broad-based selection of publications that are of interest to the general public in the PIC.
Each month, the PIC updates a list of publications that it has
available. To obtain this list, you can write to:
Public Information Center
401 M St., S.W.
PM-211B
Southeast Basement
Washington, D.C. 20460
or call (202) 475-7751. The PIC is open weekdays between 8:00 am and 5:30 pm, EST, Monday through
Friday.
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
NTIS, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is a source of U.S. Government-sponsored re-
search, development and engineering reports that are for sale. Major technical documents developed by
EPA are sent to NTIS to reach a larger audience. Most OERR documents are submitted to NTIS at the
time of publication. As EPA's archive of choice, NTIS is a good source of technical documents that may
be out of print and are no longer available from EPA. The "Catalog of Superfund Program Publications"
lists NTIS publication numbers and provides ordering information for documents that are only available
from NTIS.
To order documents from NTIS, you should have the publication
number and title of the document you want. An order can be placed
in writing by contacting:
National Technical Information Service
U.S. Department of Commerce
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
or over the phone by calling their 24-hour recorded message service at (703) 487-4650. Cost for documents
vary, usually based on their length. If you are trying to find information on a specific topic, but do not have
a document title or publication number, NTIS will provide assistance if you call (703) 487-4780 between
the hours of 8:30 am and 5:30 pm, EST, Monday through Friday.
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