United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
Publication 9230.0-05FSm
September! 992
AEPA
Superfund Fact Sheet:
The Remedial Program
Office of Emergency and Remedial Response
Hazardous Site Control Division (5203G)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
Releases of hazardous substances often spread contaminants from a site into drinking
water, soils, and air. Such releases can occur as spills, accidents, or willful dumping
and may occur anywhere over any length of time. Under the Superfund Remedial
Program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) takes long-term cleanup
actions to stop or substantially reduce actual or potential releases of hazardous sub-
stances that are serious but not immediately life-threatening.
How does EPA learn
about potential
remedial sites?
EPA learns about sites that may require remedial action through a variety of sources,
including reports of waste generators and haulers, visible evidence, citizen reports, and
routine inspections of facilities that treat, store, or dispose of hazardous wastes. Citi-
zens can notify EPA of an actual or potential release of a hazardous substance by
calling the National Response Center's 24-hour hotline at 1-800-424-8802. Once a
site is identified, EPA or the State reviews available documents pertaining to the site,
in what is called a preliminary assessment, to determine if further action is needed.
EPA may not require further action if it determines that a site does not threaten human
health or the environment.
If a potential problem does exist, EPA or the State conducts a site inspection. Typi-
cally, the site inspection involves collecting information about the site, such as types of
soils on site, streams or rivers on or near the site, the area's population, weather
conditions, and who owns or operates the site. Samples of wastes, soil, well water,
river water, and air are collected to determine which hazardous substances are present.
Samples also are taken nearby to determine if hazardous substances have spread from
the site.
Based on information collected during the site inspection, EPA uses its Hazard Rank-
ing System (HRS) to establish a score for the site. The HRS score indicates whether
hazardous substances have migrated, or may migrate, through ground water, surface
water, soil or air. Sites with high enough scores are considered for EPA's National
Priorities List (NPL). Sites on the NPL present the most serious problems among
hazardous waste sites nationwide. Only NPL sites are eligible for long-term remedial
actions through the Superfund program.
What Is the State
role In the remedial
process?
Superfund, and the legislation behind it, ensures that States play a substantial and
meaningful role in the remedial process. EPA involves the States when 1) conducting
initial site evaluations, 2) studying sites to determine whether remedial action is neces-
sary, 3) negotiating with potentially responsible parties (PRPs) who may have caused
or contributed to the site contamination, and 4) adding sites to, and removing sites
from, the NPL. EPA can provide money for States to take the lead role in directing
removal and remedial activities through a cooperative agreement. States can also
enforce any required remedial actions. Finally, States are responsible for long-term
maintenance of a site once a remedial action has been completed.
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What happens
during a remedial
response?
A remedial response has two main phases. During the first phase, the Remedial
Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS), conditions at the site are evaluated, any prob-
lems are defined, and alternate methods to clean up the site are compared. A typical
RI/FS takes approximately 25 months to complete. Citizens are encouraged to com-
ment on the RI/FS and the proposed cleanup plan for 30 days. If a timely request is
made, the public comment period will be extended by at least 30 days.
During the second phase, the Remedial Design/Remedial Action (RD/RA), the recom-
mended cleanup is designed and construction begins. Designing the remedy takes
approximately nine months. The time required to complete the remedy varies accord-
ing to the complexity of the site.
During a remedial investigation, EPA, the State, or the PRPs collect and analyze
information to determine the type and extent of contamination at the site. Aerial
photographs of the site and surrounding area may be taken to map the physical features
of the land, including rock formations and sources of water. A variety of techniques
are used to locate contaminated ground water and buried drums or tanks that might
contain hazardous substances.
Samples are taken from soils, drums, lagoons, rivers, ground water, and air, for analy-
sis by EPA-approved laboratories to determine the type and amount of hazardous
substances present. EPA, the State, or the PRPs review and interpret results of the
laboratory analyses.
Once the extent of contamination is known, the feasibility study can begin. During the
feasibility study, EPA and the public evaluate specific alternate remedies. EPA may
consider any or all of the following options:
• Destroying or treating the waste on site through incineration or other treatment
technologies;
• Containing the waste on site so it safely remains there and presents no further
problems; and
• Removing hazardous substances from the site to an EPA-approved, licensed hazard-
ous waste facility for treatment, containment, or destruction.
In rare circumstances, the recommended remedy may involve relocating residents to
prevent further exposure.
Design and construction activities are conducted under the supervision of EPA and the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or the State can manage all site activities on its own.
The process of choosing a cleanup option involves balancing many site-specific fac-
tors. Remedial alternatives are evaluated using nine criteria:
• Overall protection of human health and the environment;
• Compliance with applicable State and Federal laws;
• Long-term effectiveness and permanence;
• Reduction of toxicity, mobility, or volume of the hazardous waste through treatment;
• Short-term effectiveness;
• Ease of implementability;
• Cost;
• State acceptance; and
• Community acceptance.
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How Is the best The process is designed to choose remedies that will protect human health and the
Cleanup alternative environment, maintain protection over time, and minimize untreated waste.
chosen?
Can EPA make those
responsible pay?
EPA always makes a thorough effort to identify and locate those responsible for
causing contamination problems at the site. Although EPA is willing to negotiate
with responsible parties and encourages voluntary cleanup, it has the legal authority to
force them to take specified cleanup actions. In cases where responsible parties have
been identified, EPA will take legal action to make them pay the costs of cleanup
actions; this allows EPA to save Superfund monies for those cases where no respon-
sible party can be identified. All work performed by responsible parties is closely
guided and supervised by EPA and must meet the same standards required for actions
financed through Superfund.
How are citizens
Involved in
Superfund clean-
ups?
Before beginning a remedial response, the lead agency must prepare a Community
Relations Plan (CRP), establish an information repository, and inform the community
about the availability of Technical Assistance Grants (TAGs).
The CRP details how the lead agency will ensure that local residents are informed
about any actions at the site throughout the cleanup, and how local residents can
express their opinions and concerns.
The information repository contains both technical and non-technical information about
a site. Usually, it is located near the site in a public building such as a school, town
library, or town hall. EPA can provide Technical Assistance Grants (TAGs) of up to
$50,000 per site to groups of individuals affected by the actual or potential release of
hazardous substances at an NPL site. Citizen groups can use TAGs to hire experts to
interpret technical information on site hazards and on the recommended alternatives
for investigation and cleanup. Citizen groups must contribute at least 20 percent of
the total project costs. In-kind services, such as administrative support, may be used
instead of cash to meet this requirement. Under certain circumstances, the matching
requirements may be waived.
The public must have a chance to comment before any major decisions are made
concerning remedial actions at a site. Citizens are encouraged to comment on the RI/
FS and the proposed remediation plan during a 30-day comment period. The pro-
posed remediation plan explains in non-technical language the preferred method of
cleaning up the site and the other alternatives under consideration. EPA or the State
lead agency must publish in a major local newspaper a brief analysis of the proposed
plan, including when and where it can be examined. If a timely request is made, the
public comment period may be extended by 30 days.
During the public comment period, EPA must provide an opportunity for a public
meeting. EPA encourages and gives strong consideration to public comments on all
the alternative remedial actions being considered at a given site, and on other site
activities. EPA also considers each alternative's reliability, effectiveness, construc-
tion cost, and maintenance cost. After this consideration, EPA must prepare a Re-
sponsiveness Summary describing the significant public comments and responding to
the issues raised. After the lead agency selects the final engineering design, it must
issue a fact sheet and give a public briefing before starting the remedial action.
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EPA is developing the Superfund Accelerated Cleanup Model (SACM) to make hazardous waste cleanups more
timely and efficient. This will be accomplished through more focus on the front end of the process and better
integration of all Superfund program components. The approach involves:
• A continuous process for assessing site-specific conditions and the need for action.
• Cross-program coordination of response planning.
• Prompt risk reduction through early action (removal or remedial).
• Appropriate cleanup of long-term environmental problems.
SACM will operate within the existing statutory and regulatory structure. As SACM develops, there may be
modification of certain policies noted in this fact sheet. However, overall priorities will remain the same: deal
with the worst problems first; aggressively pursue enforcement opportunities; and involve the public in every
phase of the process.
Regional Superfund Community Relations Offices
Region 1
Superfund Community Relations
Office of Public Affairs
EPA Region 1 (RPA-74)
#1 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02203
(617)565-3425
Region 2
Community Relations Branch
External Programs Division
EPA Region 2 (2-EPD)
26 Federal Plaza
New York. NY 10278
(212) 264-7054
Region 3
Superfund Community Relations
Office of External Affairs
EPA Region 3 (3EA21)
841 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215)597-9905
Region 4
Superfund Community Relation
Waste Management Division
EPA Region 4
345 Courtland Street, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30365
(404) 347-2643
Region 5
Superfund Community Relations
Office of Public Affairs
EPA Region 5
Metcalfe Federal Bldg.
77 West Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604
(312)353-2073
Region 6
Superfund Community Relations
Hazardous Waste MgmL Division
EPA Region 6 (6H-SS)
1445 Ross Avenue
12th Floor, Suite 1200
Dallas, TX 75270
(214) 655-2240
Region 7
Community Relations
Office of Public Affairs
EPA Region 7
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City. KS 66101
(913)551-7003
Region 8
Community Relations Branch
Office of External Affairs
EPA Region 8 (80EA)
1 Denver Place
999 18th Street, Suite 1300
Denver, CO 80202
(303)294-1144
Region 9
Superfund Community Relations
Hazardous Waste MgmL Division
EPA Region 9 (T-l-3)
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415)744-2178
Region 10
Community Relations Section
Hazardous Waste Division
EPA Region 10 (HW117)
12006th Avenue
Seattle, W A 98101
(206) 553-6901
v>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency (5203G)
Washington, DC 20460
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