United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Site Remediation
Enforcement (2271 A)
Washington, DC 20460
©EPA cleanupnews
Winter 2001
EPA300-N-01-002
Issue #6
inside
CEPPO:EPCRA Regulatory
Revisions Ahead 3
Hudson River Cleanup
of PCBs Proposed 4
Pump and Treat
Optimization 5
In the Courts: RCRA Pre-
enforcement Reviews,
Retroactive Application
of SREA 6
News and Notes
Calendar
7
8
Cleanup News ;s an occa-
sional newsletter highlighting
hazardous waste cleanup
cases, policies, settlements,
and technologies.
Superfund Celebrates 20th
Year of Achievement
Transportation centers. Shopping
malls. Wildlife habitats. These aren't
the first things you think of when
you hear the word "Superfund," but twenty
years after its enactment into law, Super-
fund is routinely turning abandoned haz-
ardous waste sites into soccer fields, golf
courses, shopping malls, and office build-
ings. By September 2000, construction and
cleanup had been completed at over 750
sites nationwide.
The pace of Superfund achievements
picked up in the mid-nineties after a series
of reforms in 1993, designed to make the
Superfund program "faster, fairer, and
more efficient." Three times as many
Superfund sites have been cleaned up in
the past seven years than in all the prior
years of the program combined. The
reforms aimed at expanding state and
public involvement in cleanup decisions,
reducing litigation and transaction costs,
encouraging the redevelopment of
cleanup sites, encouraging innovative
technologies, and addressing stakeholder
criticisms. Examples of these reforms are
described below.
continued on page 2
Historic Settlement Reached
on Iron Mountain Mine
Agreement Will Clean Up One of Country's Most Toxic Superfund Sites
On October 19, 2000, the United
States and the State of California
announced a settlement with Aven-
tis Crop Sciences USA, Inc. that could
approach $1 billion for future cleanup of
the Iron Mountain Mine Superfund Site
located nine miles northwest of Redding,
California.
The settlement, on behalf of the U.S.
EPA the U.S. Department of the Interior,
the U.S. Department of Commerce, and
several state agencies, is one of the largest
settlements with a single private party in the
history of the federal Superfund program. It
is also one of the biggest environmental set-
tlements for state environmental agencies.
The agreement, achieved after nine
years of litigation and negotiation, will
ensure long-term control of more than 95
percent of the releases from Iron Moun-
tain, historically the largest point source of
toxic metals in the country and the source
of the most acidic mine drainage in the
world. Prior to remediation, the mine dis-
charged an average of a ton a day of toxic
metals into the Upper Sacramento River, a
critical salmon spawning habitat and a
central feature in the state's water system.
Aventis, formerly known as Rhone
Poulenc, Inc., has arranged for The IT
Group to operate and maintain the site
continued on page 3
Printed on recycled paper
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20 Years of Superfund
continued from page 1
• Superfund Cleanups: To ensure
that cleanups are cost-effective and
reflect the latest technology, the
Superfund Innovative Technology
Evaluation (SITE) Program was
established. The SITE Program's
demonstrations of new technolo-
gies have led to cost savings of
over 70 percent per site. The total
cost savings for innovative treat-
ment as opposed to conventional
treatment is estimated at $2.1 bil-
lion. To streamline the remedy
process and make it consistent
across sites, EPA now uses stan-
dard or "presumptive" remedies at
four types of sites: municipal land-
fills, wood treater sites, contami-
nated groundwater, and volatile
organic chemicals in soils.
• Superfund Enforcement: For
every dollar spent on enforcement,
EPA has achieved over $6 in pri-
vate cleanup commitments and
cost recovery. With an "Enforce-
ment First" policy in effect, respon-
sible parties have performed over
70 percent of the new cleanup work
at Superfund sites. Some of the
reforms EPA has implemented to
achieve more efficient and equi-
table settlements include: getting
the "little guys" out of Superfund
enforcement by reaching settle-
ments with de minimis parties,
removing legal barriers to eco-
nomic development, and reducing
the need for litigation by using
mediated settlements and other
forms of alternative dispute resolu-
tion.
• Community Participation and
Partnerships: Through Commu-
nity Advisory Groups and Techni-
cal Assistance Grants of up to
Superfund Successes on its
20th Anniversary
(as of 10/3/2000)
Over 6,400 removal actions have been taken to reduce immediate threats.
757 Superfund sites have had all cleanup construction completed.
Of the 1,450 final National Priorities List (NPL) sites:
• 219 are deleted.
• 1,200 have all final cleanup plans approved.
• 1,330 are either undergoing cleanup construction or have been deleted.
Of the 59 sites proposed for listing on the NPL, 28 have had or are undergoing
cleanup.
Since 1992, responsible parties have performed over 70 percent of all new
cleanups at NPL sites.
Over the life of the Superfund program, the estimated value of private party settle-
ments is $18 billion.
Over 460 de minimis settlements have been reached -allowing 22,800 small waste
contributors relief from the burdens of Superfund litigation.
EPA and its state and tribal partners have assessed more than 41,000 sites. More
than 32,000 sites have been removed from the CERCLIS waste site list to help pro-
mote the economic redevelopment of these properties.
$50,000 for expert advisors, EPA
offers communities meaningful
opportunities for involvement early
in the cleanup process and involve-
ment throughout site cleanup. A
number of partnership programs
have been developed with commu-
nities, local businesses, large cor-
porations, and state, local, and
tribal governments. For example,
the Superfund Jobs Training Initia-
tive creates local economic benefits
from site cleanup in disadvantaged
areas.
Encouraging Economic Rede-
velopment: Successful reuse of
once-contaminated properties is
happening all over the country,
changing the perception that
"once a hazardous waste site, for-
ever a wasteland." The Brown-
fields Initiative, started in 1993,
has leveraged over $2.3 billion in
private investment and awarded
over 500 grants to communities
nationwide. The Superfund Rede-
velopment Initiative, announced in
1999, is a coordinated national pro-
gram to ensure that communities
have the tools and information
needed to realize the potential of
reusing Superfund sites.
Because of Superfund, hundreds of
sites that were once dangerous have
now been made safe. Wastelands have
become productive — and sometimes
even beautiful — again. And, most
important of all, Superfund continues
to prevent new sites and new dangers
from occurring in the first place.
For a special 20th anniversary
report on Superfund, go to
http://www. epa.gov/superfund.
Cleanup News
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EPCRA Regulatory Revisions Ahead
I acilities that report information
I under the Emergency Planning
and Community Right-to-Know
Act (EPCRA) should expect to see
some changes for emergency planning,
accidental chemical release notifica-
tions, and hazardous chemical inven-
tory reports by Fall 2001. The changes
are expected to reduce reporting bur-
dens for the small business community
by streamlining reporting require-
ments, while still preserving the pub-
lic's health and "right-to-know."
New regulations will address
remaining issues from EPAs proposed
rule of June 8,1999. Reporting thresh-
olds for gasoline and diesel fuel at retail
gas stations were included in a separate
final rule (64 FR 7031, Feb. 11,1999).
Issues that remained following the
1999 final rule included: reporting
thresholds for rock salt, sand, gravel,
and other chemicals that pose a mini-
mal risk; clarification of mixtures
reporting and changes to the interpre-
tation of the existing hazardous chemi-
cal exemption for solids under EPCRA
§311; guidance on state flexibility; and
revision of reporting thresholds for
facilities with similarities to gas sta-
tions (motor pools, marinas, rental car
facilities, and van and bus lines).
Not all issues will necessarily be
addressed via rulemaking. EPA wants
to give state and local governments
more flexibility to implement the exist-
ing requirements of EPCRA §311/312.
In the future, companies may find
that much of their EPCRA reporting
could be handled electronically. The
proposed rule discussed several flexi-
ble approaches to reduce the burden
of reporting and managing informa-
tion. Arizona and Florida already have
or are piloting programs that promote
streamlined submission of EPCRA
§311/312 reports.
But states must ensure that any
data management system complies
with the statutory requirement that
the SERC, LEPC, and local fire depart-
ment receive the required information
by March 1. The goal of streamlined
submission must be to reduce the
reporting burden for facilities without
diminishing timely and full access to
reported information. In addition, elec-
tronic data submission programs must
continue to collect, at a minimum, the
identical information required on Tier
1 or Tier 2 forms.
Timeline: Look for a rulemaking
in Fall 2001. Guidance and Q&As will
be available in Spring 2001. Proposed
regulatory changes will be posted on
EPAs Chemical Emergency Prepared-
ness and Prevention Office website at
www.epa.gov/ceppo/lr-regs.htm*
epcra.
Iron Mountain
continued from page 1
cleanup over the next 30 years, and for
payment to the federal and state gov-
ernments of $514 million in 2030 to fund
site costs for subsequent years. This
unique funding mechanism enables
Aventis — which is securing the fund-
ing through a financial assurance and
insurance vehicle specifically tailored
for this settlement — to pay roughly
$160 million to fund the long-term oper-
ation and maintenance at the site (an
estimated cost of $200 to $300 million),
a payment to the U.S. EPA of approxi-
mately $8 million, and a payment to the
natural resource trustees to fund nat-
ural resource restoration projects ($10
million). The settlement also waives
$150 million in past costs, bringing the
total amount to close to $1 billion.
'This innovative settlement is good
news for people, fish, and animals
from the northern headwaters of the
Sacramento River all the way down to
San Francisco Bay," said U.S. EPA
Regional Administrator Felicia Mar-
cus. 'The discharge from Iron Moun-
tain is so toxic that when workers inad-
vertently left a shovel in the green
liquid flowing from one of its portals,
the next day half the shovel had been
eaten away completely. You can imag-
ine what damage this type of drainage
could wreak on the local ecosystem.
Now, thanks to a true team effort on
the part of a myriad of federal and state
agencies, we have the funding and the
resources in place to dramatically cur-
tail the damage this site has imposed
on our natural resources."
From the late nineteenth century
through 1963, the Mountain Copper
Company, Ltd. mined the site for vari-
ous minerals - including iron, gold, sil-
ver, copper, zinc, and pyrite. The min-
ing operations fractured the mountain,
changing the hydrology and exposing
the mineral deposit to oxygen, water,
and bacteria According to scientists
from the U.S. Geological Survey,
waters in the abandoned copper and
zinc mines of Iron Mountain are the
most acidic ever measured — even
more concentrated than battery acid.
Additional information on Iron
Mountain Mine is available on the
web at http://www.epa.gov/region
09/fe atur es/ir onmountain. html.
Cleanup News
-------
Hudson River PCB Cleanup Proposed
EPA Proposal Based on 10-Year Study of PCB Risks to People and Wldlife
(: ,, I fter a ten-year, exhaustive sci-
i— ">. entific study of the contamina-
,'—,'""=tion of the Hudson River from
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), on
December 6,2000, U.S. EPA Adminis-
trator Carol Browner announced a
$460 million proposed plan to dredge
portions of the river and protect public
health.
'The Hudson River is among
America's great natural treasures,"
said Browner, calling the proposed
plan "one of the most aggressive envi-
ronmental efforts ever proposed to
restore a contaminated river and pro-
tect the public's health." The proposal
targets the worst PCB hot spots for
cleanup and recognizes the need for
stepped-up containment of new PCB
contamination from active sources.
PCB contamination of the Hudson
dates back to the thirty years before
1977 during which the General Elec-
tric Company (GE) discharged as
much as 1.3 million pounds of PCBs
directly into the river from its facilities
in Hudson Falls and Fort Edward, NY.
Abatement and removal actions
directed by state and federal authori-
ties related to Hudson River PCBs
date back to 1976-77.
People who eat PCB-contaminated
fish face an increased risk of cancer
and other serious medical conditions
including developmental, immune sys-
tem, thyroid, and reproductive prob-
lems. The chemicals pose a special
risk to the health of children.
The cleanup would remove over
100,000 pounds of PCBs that could
contaminate people, fish, and wildlife
through the food chain. It would
reduce risks to public health and fish
by five times immediately following
the cleanup. New York State would be
able to relax fish consumption advi-
sories two years
after cleanup is com-
'r^/rv/ pleted.
The scientific
•'"> (l.Tlil reassessment found
that without tar-
:V /'.'/){' (•-if.i) geteddredging,con-
centrations of PCBs
are not expected to
reach acceptable
.. \ij-li ••('{• \: health and safety
levels as a result of
natural breakdown.
PCBs now buried in the river's sedi-
ments are not remaining in place, the
assessment found, and instead are
moving downstream. Limited burial
has not stopped the sediments from
contaminating Hudson River fish,
which still have PCBs far in excess of
safe levels.
EPA has extensive experience with
successful dredging projects. The pro-
posed cleanup plan targets for dredg-
ing the most contaminated portion of
the river — about 12 percent of the 40-
mile stretch of the upper Hudson from
Fort Edward downstream to the Fed-
eral Dam at Troy. The plan calls for the
removal of over 2.6 million cubic yards
of contaminated sediment, backfilling
with clean material, then disposal and
ongoing monitoring. After treatment,
the dredged material would be trans-
ported away from river communities
by rail for disposal. The plan recog-
nizes the need for stepped-up contain-
ment of PCBs still entering the river
through fractures in the bedrock
beneath the GE Hudson Falls Plant.
EPA will consider public comment on
this plan and expects to finalize an
approach to the Hudson River cleanup
in August 2001.
EPA evaluated a capping alternative
for the river as a whole to contain PCB
sediments, but found it would be unre-
liable. Another alternative of bank-to-
bank dredging was also rejected, in
favor of targeted dredging of the cont-
aminated areas. The dredging project,
which would require GE responsibility
for cleanup under the Superfund law,
would take an estimated five years to
complete and is estimated to cost
about $460 million.
To address public participation for a
project of this magnitude, EPA has
implemented a unique Community
Interaction Program (CIP), a tiered
process composed of six working
groups at three levels. To ensure that
cleanup efforts are sensitive to the
needs of local communities, EPA has
already held several open houses and
public meetings to present the cleanup
proposals, and has opened a website
(www.epa.gov/hudson) to make infor-
mation continually available.
The public comment period on the
cleanup proposals runs until April 17,
2001; comments should be sent to: Ali-
son Hess/Doug Tomchuk, Hudson
River PCBs Public Comment, U.S.
EPA, 290 Broadway, 19th Floor, New
York, NY 10007.
Cleanup News
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Pump and Treat Optimization
••' ''*): / i uperfund managers have
'•^/~ "•"-', .....
'"'"-.._ . made use of over 700 pump
v. y V and treat (P&T) systems at
various stages of site work. P&T sys-
tems can be extremely costly to run
and many will need to stay in opera-
tion for decades. Until recently much
of EPA's focus has been on remedy
selection, design, and construction; as
Superfund moves into its third
decade, it is appropriate to review
long-term operation, maintenance,
and monitoring issues across all sites.
In July 2000, the Office of Solid
Waste and Emergency Response out-
lined a commitment to optimize Fund-
lead P&T systems (OSWER Directive
No. 9200.0-33). The Optimization Ini-
tiative is intended to encourage sys-
tematic review and modification of
existing P&T systems to enhance
overall remedy effectiveness and cost
effectiveness, without compromising
protectiveness or other objectives of
the Superfund program. It provides
EPA an opportunity to demonstrate its
commitment to effective management
of long-term remedies. This effort rec-
ognizes that remedial approaches
should not remain static, that site con-
ditions change over time, and that bet-
ter tools and strategies have evolved
which allow for improved perfor-
mance.
Background
Over the past year, the Office of
Emergency and Remedial Response
(OERR) and the Technology Innova-
tion Office (TIO) worked together to
develop, pilot, and implement a
process to optimize ground water
P&T systems. Conducted in coopera-
tion with the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
neers, the pilot included identification
of all Fund-lead P&T sites in the EPA
Regions and subsequent optimization
analysis of four sites in Regions 4 and
5. Results from the pilot indicated that
there is a potential to improve our
operating Fund-lead P&T systems and
a definite need for continuous evalua-
tion of system operation and mainte-
nance.
Recommendations for the pilot
sites included changes in P&T system
operation and maintenance, remedia-
tion technology modifications, above-
ground treatment technology modifi-
cations, and changed or reduced
monitoring data needs. Implementa-
tion of some of the recommendations
will require additional capital expendi-
tures; others are relatively low-cost
adjustments. Overall, the pilots
demonstrated that optimization can
reduce long-term remedial action
costs, accelerate cleanup times, and
enhance protectiveness of human
health and the environment.
Initiative Goal and
Schedule
The primary goal of the initiative is to
assist the EPA Regions in optimizing
Fund-lead P&T systems by expanding
the pilot project to all ten Regions. An
additional goal of this effort is to
increase awareness of the benefits and
the need for routine optimization
analysis as a part of the ongoing man-
agement responsibilities for long-term
Superfund remedies. In year one,
Headquarters, in collaboration with
the Regions, will identify all Fund-lead
P&T systems, collect baseline cost
and performance data on those sys-
tems, prioritize sites based on opti-
mization potential, and further evalu-
ate the optimization opportunities for
up to two high-priority sites in each
Region. The effort will use an
approach called Remedial Systems
Evaluation (RSE), in which an inde-
pendent expert team works collabora-
tively with the regional project man-
ager (RPM) and site contractor to
evaluate the performance of all major
components of the operating system.
The RSE team will consist of senior
technical staff from EPA, technical
experts from the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, and selected support con-
tractors.
The site RPMs will have the essen-
tial role of determining which opti-
mization recommendations are appro-
priate, and working with Head-
quarters to secure any funding and
technical assistance needed for imple-
mentation. Headquarters is committed
to providing technical, administrative,
and monetary support for this project
in FY 2001. A system will be set up to
document any cost savings or changes
in remediation time frame associated
with optimization recommendations.
The anticipated schedule for the
initiative is as follows:
December 2000 - March 2001:
Identify all Fund-lead P&T sites.
February - September 2001:
Complete one or two RSEs per Region.
November 2001:
Prepare report summarizing project
findings.
For more information on this pro-
ject, please contact Kathy Yager (TIO),
732-321-6738, or Paul Nadeau (OERR),
703-603-8794.
Cleanup News
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EPA Upheld in Two
RCRA Pre-enforce-
ment Review Cases:
Mohave County, AZ,
and Amoco Oil Co.,
Casper, WY
V^i n September 26,2000, the U.S.
A ^5 District Court for the District
f*i & \
""5 * ' ot Arizona granted the govern-
ment's Motion to Dismiss Mohave
County's complaint seeking pre-
enforcement review of a unilateral
administrative order (UAO), issued by
Region 9 under §7003 of RCRA. The
Court held that "both the statutory
structure and legislative history of
RCRA compel the conclusion that the
statute precludes judicial review of the
preenforcement order in this case."
Mohave County, along with 12 other
Arizona counties, had entered into an
agreement in which Maricopa County
would arrange for the disposal of tires
from the 13 counties. Maricopa County
then contracted with Colinas Tire
Recovery, Inc. to dispose of the tires.
Colinas contracted with Blackwater
Industrial Corporation to temporarily
store the tires on the Gila River Indian
Community Reservation. However,
Colinas' successor breached its con-
tract with Maricopa County and aban-
doned the tires on the reservation.
In August 1997, about two million
tires caught fire, and it took three
months to bring the fire under control.
Because of air quality concerns, the
Gila River Indian Community Reserva-
tion, Final County, and the State of Ari-
zona declared a state of emergency
and evacuated more than 300 people.
Using the statutory authority under
RCRA §7003, the EPA Gila River team
successfully negotiated a settlement
with all of the potentially responsible
counties except Mohave County.
Under the settlement, the counties
have removed and properly disposed
of all of the unburnt tires and are now
evaluating, under EPA oversight, how
best to address the burnt tire piles.
In May 1999, EPA issued a unilat-
eral order under RCRA §7003 to
Mohave County, directing the County
to participate in the remediation plan
being developed by the other counties.
Mohave County did not comply with
the Order and commenced the District
Court action challenging the issuance
of the Order.
In the second case involving RCRA
pre-enforcement review, the 10th Cir-
cuit, in Amoco Oil Co. v. USEPA,
affirmed a decision of the District Court
for the District of Colorado not to vacate
its earlier order holding that RCRA
§3008 (h) is not subject to pre-enforce-
ment review. In 1996, EPA issued a
UAO to Amoco under §3008 (h) of
RCRA related to Amoco's Casper,
Wyoming, refinery and associated facil-
ities. Amoco challenged the UAO, and
the District Court dismissed the chal-
lenge, holding that there is no pre-
enforcement review of UAOs issued by
EPA under §3008 (h) of RCRA. Amoco
appealed to the 10th Circuit.
Contacts: Lewis Maldonado,
Region 9 (Mohave), 415-744-1342;
Chuck Figur, Region 8 (Amoco), 303-
312-6915; Tracy Gipson, Headquarters
RSD, 202-5644236.
Retroactive Applica-
tion of SREA: Gould,
Inc. v. A & M Battery
& Tire Service, et al.
On October 31, 2000, the Third Cir-
cuit, ruling on an appeal from the U.S.
District Court for the Middle District
of Pennsylvania, held that the post-
judgment enactment of the Superfund
Recycling Equity Act (SREA) required
the reversal of the judgments entered
against the appellant PRPs in lower
court contribution actions, finding that
the SREA applies retroactively to judi-
cial actions initiated by private parties
prior to November 29,1999, and pend-
ing at the time of enactment. The appel-
lant PRPs had earlier been held liable
for contribution of costs in connection
with contamination at a battery recy-
cling site.
This decision finding that the SREA
applies retroactively to pending judicial
actions between private parties (and
not initiated by the United States) falls
in line with two other court decisions
on the retroactive application of the
SREA, Department of Toxic Sub-
stances Control v. Interstate Non-Fer-
rous Corporation, 99 E Supp. 2d 1123
(E.D. Cal. 2000) (addressing pending
litigation initiated by a state) and Mor-
ton International v. AE. Staley Manu-
facturing Co., 106 F. Supp. 2d 737
(D.N.J. 2000) (addressing pending liti-
gation initiated by a private party). In
the case at hand, Gould, which remedi-
ated the battery recycling site, lost its
argument that its lawsuit was part of a
judicial action initiated by the United
States because it was an EPA adminis-
trative action that caused Gould to
incur response costs necessitating its
cost recovery action.
This ruling also addressed other
issues regarding interpretation and
implementation of the SREA, whether or
not application of the SREA violates due
process guaranteed by the Fifth Amend-
ment for lack of rational basis, and the
definition of "recyclable material." Hav-
ing found the SREA to apply, the Third
Circuit remanded the case to the District
Court for it to determine whether appel-
lants satisfy the Act's requirements for
exemption from liability. The decision
upon remand may be the first to address
substantive issues pertaining to what
materials are or are not covered by the
exemption (e.g., whole batteries vs. bat-
tery components, etc.).
Contact: Meredith McLean, 202-
564-4216 [No. 99-3294, 2000 WL
1635392 (3rd Cir. 2000)].
Cleanup News
-------
Improving Superfund
Fiscal Management
I | mprovements in fiscal manage-
| j ment of the Superfund program
1 1 were the subject of a memo to the
EPA Regional Administrators issued in
September 2000 by OECA Assistant
Administrator Steve Herman. The five
key areas in the cost recovery and
accounting process to receive
renewed focus are:
• implementing revised indirect cost
rates (see Cleanup News #5),
• maintaining timely billing of PRPs
for oversight,
• improving the data in information
systems,
• managing and collecting overdue
accounts receivables, and
• improving site-specific charging.
Regional Offices were asked to update
their plans for addressing overdue
accounts receivable, including desig-
nating a single point of contact for
Superfund accounts receivable man-
agement, instituting procedures for
timely recording, tracking, review, and
follow-up on accounts receivables, and
conducting an initial case by case
review of all overdue receivables.
Also announced in the memo is a
new award to be added to the Notable
Achievement Awards, for Superfund
Financial Manager of the Year. The cri-
teria for the award will focus on devel-
oping, implementing, and sharing best
practices to ensure accurate site-spe-
cific charging.
For more information on these fiscal
measures, contact Bruce Pumphrey,
OSRE, 202-564-6076.
USTf ields Pilots
Announced
EPA has announced grants for ten
communities in a new initiative to
clean up abandoned underground
petroleum tanks. The new program
places special emphasis on communi-
ties with environmental problems
caused by the fuel additive MTBE.
Like the successful Brownfields pro-
gram, the new program, called UST-
fields, will provide grants to states for
community pilot projects to plan
cleanups, stop contamination of
groundwater, protect public health,
and allow for future economic devel-
opment of the sites.
Communities in ten states are tar-
geted to receive $100,000 each for
assessment and cleanup of these
abandoned tanks. The ten communi-
ties include: Nashua, NH; Trenton,
NJ; Wilmington, DE; Anderson, SC;
Chicago, IL; Kansas City, MO; Albu-
querque, NM; Salt Lake City, UT;
Oakland, CA; and Portland, OR. EPA
plans to select forty more USTfields
pilot projects in 2001. These UST-
fields pilots are intended to be a sup-
plement or attachment to an existing
EPA cleanup and redevelopment
pilot such as a Brownfields assess-
ment .
Like a Brownfield, an USTfield is a
site or a portion of a site that has actual
or perceived contamination, as well as
an active potential for redevelopment
or reuse. Petroleum contamination is
generally excluded from cleanup
under EPAs Superfund and Brown-
fields programs due to the petroleum
exemption under the Superfund law.
As a result, the cleanup and redevel-
opment of properties containing aban-
doned underground storage tanks are
either not occurring or are delayed.
Under the new USTfields Initiative,
local communities can use federal
grant money to interest developers
and citizens in helping to plan
cleanups of these tanks, as well as to
leverage new funds to complete the
job. In addition to protecting public
health and the environment, such
actions will create new commerce,
new jobs, and local neighborhood
improvements.
Special consideration is given in the
awarding of grants to cities experienc-
ing problems from MTBE contamina-
tion. MTBE is a fuel additive that ful-
fills a provision required by Congress
under the Clean Air Act. A Blue Rib-
bon Panel assembled by EPA has
determined that MTBE poses special
risks to groundwater. EPA has subse-
quently called on Congress to elimi-
nate MTBE from reformulated gaso-
line and, as a backstop measure, is also
beginning regulatory action aimed at
eliminating MTBE under the Toxic
Substances Control Act.
For more information about the
USTfields Initiative, go to www.epa.
gov/oust and look under "What's
New."
Brownfields
Showcases Selected
Twelve new Brownfields Showcase
Communities were selected in Octo-
ber 2000 to demonstrate the benefits
of collaborative activity on Brown-
fields. The 15 federal agencies partici-
pating in the Brownfields National
Partnership will offer coordinated
technical, financial, and other assis-
tance to the selected communities.
The showcase communities include
nine federally designated Empower-
ment Zones/Enterprise Communities,
four small/rural communities, two
tribes, and one Base Realignment and
Closure Community (BRAC).
The first round of 16 Showcase
Communities, announced in March
1998, has leveraged more than $900
million in economic redevelopment
funds. For more information, call 202-
2604039 or visit the EPA Brownfields
website at: http://www.epa.gov/
brownfields/showcase.htm.
Cleanup News
-------
June 10-13, 2001
2001 International Containment &
Remediation Technology
Conference and Exhibition
Orlando, FL
State-of-the-art and innovative technologies for contain-
ment, remediation, and long-term monitoring of conta-
minated sites, with a particular focus on issues of impor-
tance DOE and other federal agencies conducting
defensible assessments of the present and post-closure
cumulative effects of radioactive and chemical contam-
ination at hazardous waste sites.
Contact:http://www.containment.fsu.edu
Cleanup News is trying to move to an elec-
tronic format. If you send us your e-mail
address, we will notify you when each issue of
Cleanup News is available on the web, and you
can read it or download it at your convenience.
Please send your name and e-mail address to
Robert France at rfrance@scicomm.com or fax
to 301-652-7001. Cleanup News is available
on the web at www.epa.gov/oeca/osre.
CEPPO Chemical Emergency Preparedness and
Prevention Office
CERCLA Comprehensive Emergency
Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act (Superfund law)
EPCRA Emergency Planning and Community
Right-To-KnowAct
LEPC Local Emergency Planning Committee
MTBE Methyl-tert-butyl ether
NPL National Priorities List (Superfund)
OERR Office of Emergency and Remedial
Reponse (EPA)
PCB Polychorinated biphenyls
Cleanup News is a publication of EPA's Office
of Site Remediation Enforcement, in cooperation
with the Office of Emergency Response and
Remediation,Office of Underground Storage Tanks,
Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention
Office, and the Technology and Innovation Office.
PRP
RCRA
RPM
RSD
SERC
SREA
UAO
UST
Potentially Responsible Party
Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (hazardous waste)
Regional Project Manager
Regional Support Division (OSRE/EPA)
State Emergency Response
Commission
Superfund Recycling Equity Act
Unilateral Administrative Order
Underground Storage Tank
Rick Popino,Ph.D., editor
EPA Review Board : Rick Popho, Ph.D., Paul
Connor, Karen Ellenberger, Ken Patterson,
Helen Duleau, Jeff Heimerman, Carole Macko
Cameron
Gilah Langner, writer
Robin Foster, SciComm Inc., designer
To comment on the newsletter, contact Rick Popino, Ph.D. (MC-2271A), U.S. EPA.401 M
Street SW, Washington, DC 20460, e-mail: popino.rick@epa.gov.
For mailing list inquiries.contact Robert France, SciComm Inc.,7735 Old Georgetown Rd,
5th Floor, Bethesda, MD 20814, fax: 301-652-7001, e-mail: rfrance@scicomm.com.
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