United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
Directive 9355 7-02FS1
August 1991
Structure and Components
of Five-Year Reviews
Office of Emergency and Remedial Response
Hazardous Site Control Division	Quick Reference Fact Sheet
This fact sheet provides guidance for planning and conducung five-year reviews The fact sheet focuses primarily on implementation
of five-year reviews and the issues associated with implementation. These include: initiation and termination of reviews; responsibilities
and funding; content; and documenting results of reviews. The goal of this fact sheet is to help assure that reviews are implemented in a
consistent manner nationally, with appropriate consideration of local concerns and widely varying site conditions. Addiuonal information,
including an explanation of the five-year review policy and a matrix that outlines the components of five-year reviews, is contained in
Structure andComponents of Five-Year Reviews (May 1991, OSWER Directive No. 9355.7-02). Further information regarding five-year
reviews will be provided by the Agency this year Questions about documents should be directed to the Superfund Document Center, (202)
475-9760, mail code OS-240.
Background
This fact sheet provides guidance on
periodic reviews EPA plans to implement
consistent with section 121(c) of the Com-
prehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act
vCERCLA), as amended, and section
300 430 (f)(4)(u) of the National Contin-
gency Plan
For purposes of this fact sheet, five-year
reviews that EPA plans to implement con-
sistent with CERCLA section 121(c) and
the NCP are referred to as "Statutory Re-
views." Such reviews will be conducted at
least every five years or until contaminant
levels allow for unlimited use and unre-
stricted exposure The fact sheet also refers
to "Policy Reviews," which are five-year
reviews that the Agency believes should be
conducted, as a matter of policy, although
they are not expressly required by CERCLA
section 121(c). While most Policy Reviews
Section 300.430(f)(4)(ii) of the National
Contingency Plan (NCP) states that:
If a remedial action is selected that results
in hazardous substances, pollutants, or
contaminants remaining at the site above
levels that allow for unlimited use and
unrestricted exposure, the leadagency shall
review such action no less often than every
five years after initiation of the selected
remedial action.
are of remedies selected prior to the enact-
ment of the Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA),
some are of post-SARA remedies (e.g.,
response actions where, upon completion
of the remedial action no hazardous sub-
stances will remain, but five or more years
are required to reach that point).
Consistent with the NCP, Statutory
Reviews are conducted of sites at which
hazardous substances, pollutants, or
contaminants remain above levels that
allow for unlimited use and unrestricted
exposure following completion of all
remedial action. Consequently, EPA will
ensure that all remedies requiring any engi-
neering controls, or access or land-use re-
strictions or controls, are reviewed, includ-
ing remedies that attain protective levels
for the current use, but which include re-
strictions on activities due to limits on pos-
sible future exposure. For purposes of
implemenbng five-year reviews, "hazard-
ous substances, pollutants, or contaminants"
are those that are identified in the Record of
Decision (ROD) as "contaminants of con-
cern."
Deleuon of a site from the NPL docs not
affect the site's potential need for a five-
year review. For information on the rela-
tionship between five-year reviews and the
deletion of sites from the NPL, consult the
Agency's guidance on Completion and De-
letion of National Priorities List Sites
(OSWER Directive No 9320 2-3)
Implementation
Purpose of Reviews- Five-year reviews
are intended to evaluate whether the re-
sponse action remains protective of public
health and the environment. The focus of
the five-year review wdl depend on the
original goal of the response action. If pro-
tectiveness is being assured through expo-
sure protection (e.g., containment with a
cap) and insututional controls, the review
should focus on whether the cap remains
effective and the controls remain in place.
Fora Long-Term Remedial Action (LTRA)
(i.e., an ongoing remedial action that has not
yet achieved the cleanup standards set in ihe
ROD), the review should focus on both the
effectiveness of the technology and on the
specific performance levels established in
the ROD (e.g., performance of an extracuon
and treatment system for groundwater).
Sites at which Reviews will be Con-
ducted: EPA will conduct a Statutory Re-
view of any site at which a post-SARA
remedy, upon attainmentof the RODcleanup
levels, will not allow unlimited use and
unrestricted exposure, and a Policy Review
of (1) Sites where no hazardous substances
Section 121(c) of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation,
and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended,
provides that:
If the President selects a remedial action
that results in any hazardous substances,
pollutants, or contaminants remaining at
the site, the President shall review such
remedial action no less often than each five
years after the initiation of such remedial
action to assure that human health and the
environment are being protected by the
remedial action being Implemented.
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will remain above levels that allow unlim-
ited use and restricted exposure after
completion of the remedial action, but the
cleanup levels specified in the ROD will
require five or more years to be attained
(e.g., LTRA sites); and (2) sites addressed
pre-SARA at which the remedy, upon at-
tainment of the ROD cleanup levels, will
not allow unlimited use and unrestricted
exposure. In addition, EPA will examine
previously deleted sites, as a matterof policy,
to determine the appropriateness of five-
year reviews.
Timing of Reviews: Statutory five-year
reviews are required no less often than each
five years after the initiation of the remedial
acuon. Statutory Reviews should be com-
menced in sufficient time to assure comple-
tion of the review within five years of mi-
tiauon of the remedial acuon (1 e., award of
the contract for remedial action). Initiation
of the first remedial acuon may trigger a
five-year review.
Termination of Reviews: EPA may
terminate Statutory five-year reviews when
no hazardous substances, pollutants, or
contaminants remain at the site above levels
that allow for unrestricted use and unlimited
exposure. Once begun, reviews should be
discontinued, only iflevelsof contaminants-
of-concern are reported based on the appro-
priate period of monitoring below this level,
and requirements promulgated or modified
after ROD signature that are AR ARs do not
result in a determination that the remedy is
no longer protective.
Responsibilities for Conduct of Re-
views: EPA will retain final review and
approval authority for five-year reviews.
However, through contracts and/or other
agreements, EPA may authorize other par-
ties to perform portions of the reviews (e.g.,
studies, investigations, and analyses) and
identify alternatives to assure protection of
human health and the environment.
Funding of Reviews: Five-year reviews
are response actions selected under section
121 and, as such, expenditures for review
acuviues are authorized uses of the Fund
under CERCLA section 111(a). EPA Re-
gions should reflect plans to conduct five-
year reviews in their annual Superfund
Comprehensive Accomplishment Plan
(SCAP) or other appropriate strategic plan-
ning and budgeting system.
Public Participation: EPA will inform
the public of its determination that a five-
year Statutory or Policy Review is appropri-
ate, the planned scope of such reviews, the
location of the report on the review, on-site
review activities, actions taken based on
any review, and the location of the adminis-
trative record file for the site. The Five-Year
Review Report should be made available to
the public through the administrative record
file.
Five-Year Review Matrix
OSWER Directive 9355.7-02 contains a
matrix that explains the activities which
should be considered in determining the
scope of reviews proposed in future RODs
and in developing work plans for five-year
reviews. Additionally, the matrix may be
useful in explaining the scope, structure,
and possible components of five-year re-
views to the public. The matrix is designed
to reflect the different levels of review that
may be appropriate depending on the site-
specific circumstances or the status of the
site with regard to completion of the re-
sponse acuon
FIVE-YEAR REVIEW
REPORTS
•	Summary of Site Conditions
. Summary of Response Action
Selected
•	Summary of Response Action
Performed
•	Description of Post-Response
Action Activities
. Scope and Nature of Five-Year
Review
' Results and Recommendations
of Five-Year Review
Reports on Five-Year
Reviews
EPA will develop and issue a report on
each review. OERR will issue addiuonal
guidance on the form and substance of such
reports later this year. The Report will r
elude the scope and nature of the curre.
review, the results of the review, actions
taken orproposed on the basis of the review,
and the scope and nature of future reviews
Conduct of Five-Year
Reviews
The policy outlined in the referenced
Directive 9355.7-02 is effective immedi-
ately. Regions should initiate their develop-
ment of work plans and proceed with re-
views to assure completion within five years
of initiation of the remedial acuon OERR
will issue more detailed supplementary
guidance on five-year review model work
plans, agreements, and sample reports later
this year.
FIVE-YEAR REVIEW
ACTIVITIES
Document Review
Background Information
Design Review
Maintenance and Monitoring
Standards (ARARs) Review
Background Information
Changing Standards
Risk Assessment
Interviews
Background Information
Local Considerations
Operational Problems
Inspection/
Technology Review
Performance and Compliance
Offsite Considerations
Recommendations
Report
Background
Site Conditions
Risk Assessment
Recommendations
^NOTICE: The policies set out in this document are intended solely as guidance. They are not intended, nor can they be relied upon A
to create any rights enforceable by any party in hugauon with the United States. EPA officials may decide to follow the guidance
provided in this document or to act at variance with this document based on an analysis of specific circumstances. The Agency also
^reserves the right to change the policies set out in this document at any ume, without public nouce.	

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