This is Superfund
A Community Guide to
EPA's Superfund Program
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
-------
IF THERE IS A SUPERFUND SITE in your neighborhood,
you are probably wondering, "what will happen?" and,
"what can I do?"
This brochure will give you a better understanding of the
Superfund process and ways you and your community
can be involved, including important topics such as:
^ What is Superfund?
^ Discovering Superfund Sites
^ Taking Action to Clean Up Polluted Sites
^ Responsibility for Superfund Site Cleanup
^ Getting Involved: You and Your Community
^ The Superfund Process
^ Making each Superfund Cleanup "Greener"
^ Maintaining the Site Cleanup Over the Long-Term
I** Deleting a Site from the National Priorities List
Valley of the Drums, KY 1979
Love Canal, NY 1978
-------
What is Superfund?
For a variety of reasons, hazardous commercial and
industrial wastes have been mismanaged and may
pose unacceptable risks to human health and the
environment. This waste was dumped on the
ground or in waterways, left out in the open, or
otherwise improperly managed. As a result,
thousands of hazardous waste sites were created
throughout the United States. These hazardous
waste sites commonly include manufacturing
facilities, processing plants, landfills and mining
sites.
In 1980, Congress established the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended, in response to
growing concerns over the health and
environmental risks posed by hazardous waste
sites. This law was enacted in the wake of the
discovery of toxic waste dumps such as Love Canal
and Valley of the Drums in the 1970s.
CERCLA is informally called Superfund. The Superfund
program is administered by EPA in cooperation with
state and tribal governments. It allows EPA to clean
up hazardous waste sites and to force responsible
parties to perform cleanups or reimburse the
government for cleanups led by EPA.
Superfund was established in 1980 by an act of Congress,
giving EPA the funds and authority to clean up polluted sites
Goals of Superfund:
• Protect human health and the environment by cleaning up polluted sites
• Involve communities in the Superfund process
• Make responsible parties pay for work performed at Superfund sites
tes
-------
Discovering Superfund Sites
Superfund sites are "discovered" when the presence of hazardous
waste is made known to EPA. The presence of contaminants is
often reported by residents, local, state, tribal or federal agencies, or
businesses. Sometimes these hazardous wastes are found by EPA
during inspections or investigations into complaints.
National Response Center (NRC)
You can call NRC toll-free at 800-424-8802 to report potential
releases of hazardous substances and oil 24-hours a day, seven
days a week. You can report potential releases of hazardous
substances and oil to the NRC as well as to your state, tribal and
local authorities.
The NRC is the national point of contact for reporting all oil,
chemical, radiological, and biological releases into the environment
anywhere in the United States and its territories.
Taking Action to Clean Up Polluted Sites
There are two basic types of responses that EPA uses to
manage polluted sites:
Removal Actions: Used to handle emergency oil spills or
chemical releases and short-term responses.
Emergency actions are taken to eliminate immediate risks and
ensure public safety. Examples of such emergencies are chemical
releases at a fixed location or during transportation. EPA may
respond to help state and local authorities deal with these
emergencies quickly.
Remedial Actions: Used to handle complex sites needing
a long-term response. Remedial actions manage releases
that do not pose an urgent threat to public health or the
environment and do not require immediate action.
Remedial actions involve complex and highly contaminated sites
that often require several years to study the problem, develop a
permanent solution, and clean up the hazardous waste. These are
the sites that most people think of when they hear about the
Superfund program.
-------
Responsibility for Superfund Site Cleanup
• Potentially Responsible Party (PRP): From the time the site is
discovered, EPA tries to identify the generators and transporters of
the hazardous waste and the owners and operators of a site.
These people/companies/municipalities are considered PRP(s)
under Superfund and are asked to conduct and/or pay for cleanup
studies and activities. If the PRP(s) refuses to participate, EPA will
clean up the site and sue the party or parties to recover costs.
• State/Tribal Government Involvement: Their involvement in
Superfund has grown over the years, and states and tribes are now
involved in virtually every phase of cleanups. Superfund requires
EPA to coordinate with states and tribes when the federal
government leads cleanup operations, and allows states, tribes, and
local governments to lead cleanup efforts using Superfund money if
they have the necessary technical and management expertise.
Getting Involved: You and Your Community
EPA's Superfund Community Involvement Program provides
individuals affected by hazardous waste sites with information and
opportunities to participate as active partners in the decisions that
affect the Superfund sites in their community. The community has a
voice during all phases of the Superfund process, and plays an
important role in assisting EPA with gathering information about the
site.
Your involvement is very important. You have the opportunity
and the right to be engaged in, and to comment on the work
being done at sites in your community.
Superfund Community Involvement staff strive to:
• Keep the community well-informed of ongoing and planned activities
• Encourage and enable community members to get involved
• Listen carefully to what the community is saying
• Collaborate with the community to address concerns
• Incorporate community input into planned actions
• Explain to the community what EPA has done and why
Ways YOU Can Get Involved
• Attend public meetings • Join/form a Community Advisory Group (CAG)
• Review/comment on site decision . Contgct (ne sjte,s Commmit
documents (where applicable) Involvement Coordinator (CIC)
• Participate at information sessions
-------
The Superfund Process
EPA encourages and engages in community involvement throughout
the Superfund process. Look for the throughout this brochure for
ways you and your community can be involved in the Superfund
process at your site.
Preliminary Assessment/Site Inspection (PA/SI)
Once a site is identified, EPA looks at existing information, inspects
the site, and may interview nearby residents to find out the history of
the site and its effects on the population and the environment. EPA
also normally tests the soil, water and air to determine what
hazardous substances were left at the site and how serious the risks
may be to human health and the environment.
EPA may take early action at a site if there is a need for quick risk
reduction, and enough site information and data available to take
action. Early actions are taken before the site has been
characterized fully, and usually address a portion of a site, often as a
removal action. For example, EPA may take early action to provide
an alternative water supply to residents who are affected by
contaminated drinking water, while the PA/SI process continues
throughout the site. Additionally, these sites often require long-term
actions such as restoring contaminated ground water or taking
measures to protect wetlands, animals, and other ecological
resources. In contrast to early actions, long-term cleanups are
complex and may take many years to complete.
Depending on the situation, EPA may conduct various
community involvement activities during the PA/SI phase. These
activities may include meeting with local officials and opinion leaders,
conducting community interviews or planning an informal community
meeting. EPA may also prepare fact sheets, contact local media,
establish an information repository and designate an EPA
Community Involvement Coordinator (CIC). In addition, the
community may provide any information it has about the site to EPA.
The Technical Assistance Services for Communities
(TASC) program helps communities understand the technical issues
related to site activities, hazardous substances, and sampling results.
This technical assistance is available to help you understand and
review the information gathered at the site throughout the Superfund
process, beginning with PA/SI.
-------
The National Priorities List
The National Priorities List (NPL) is a published list of hazardous
waste sites in the country that are eligible for federal funding to pay
for extensive, long-term cleanup actions under the Superfund
remedial program.
How Do Sites Get On the NPL?
To evaluate the dangers posed by hazardous waste sites, EPA
developed a scoring system called the Hazard Ranking System
(HRS). EPA uses the information collected during the assessment
phase of the Superfund process to score sites according to the
danger they may pose to human health and the environment.
Many of the sites that are reviewed do not meet the criteria for federal
Superfund cleanup action. Some sites do not require any action,
while others are referred to the states, other programs, other
agencies, or individuals for cleanup or other action.
If a site has a high enough score on the HRS and meets all
other criteria, EPA may propose that it be put on the NPL. The
proposal is published in the Federal Register, the official publication
of the U.S. government, and the public has an opportunity to
comment on whether the site should be included on the NPL.
EPA responds to comments and if applicable, announces the
decision in the Federal Register.
After a site is added to the NPL, EPA is required to conduct
community interviews and to develop a Community Involvement
Plan (CIP). EPA must also establish and maintain an information
repository and administrative record and inform the public of the
availability of these document archives.
Technical Assistance Grants (TAG) provide money for
activities that help community groups participate in decision making
at eligible Superfund sites. TAGs are available at Superfund sites that
are on the NPL or proposed for the NPL, and for which a response
action has begun. EPA must notify the public when a site in their
community qualifies for a TAG.
-------
Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study
(RI/FS)
Once a site is placed on the NPL, further investigation into the
problems at the site and the best way to address them is required.
This is called a Remedial Investigation (Rl) and the Feasibility
Study (FS). The Rl usually involves gathering and analyzing
numerous samples of soil, surface water, ground water, and waste
from locations throughout the site and near the site borders. The Rl
also involves assessing risks posed by the site.
The analysis of potential treatment methods or "cleanup alternatives"
is called a FS. During the FS, the advantages and disadvantages of
each cleanup method are explored.
Choosing a Cleanup Plan
After all of the cleanup alternatives are developed, EPA
recommends the option it considers best for the site and offers it to
the community for evaluation and comment in a Proposed Plan.
A Proposed Plan does the following:
• Summarizes cleanup alternatives studied in the FS
• Includes information on the site history, community
participation, the nature and extent of the contamination,
and the reasonably anticipated future land uses at the site
• Highlights EPA's recommended cleanup method
EPA provides the public with an opportunity to comment on the
Proposed Plan in writing or in person, and hosts a public
meeting to discuss the recommended cleanup method. EPA
prefers cleanups that will allow for reuse of the site if possible.
Community input at this phase is critical to making good choices.
EPA provides a "responsiveness summary" of the written and
oral comments the public has made and the Agency's responses to
those comments.
-------
Record of Decision (ROD)
The cleanup method ultimately chosen for the site, and the
reasons for the selection, are set forth in the ROD. The ROD is a
document that is available to the public and explains all the
activities that occurred prior to selection of a cleanup method, and
describes how the cleanup method will be protective of human health
and the environment. It also contains the responsiveness summary
and shows how those comments were factored into the final decision.
Remedial Design (RD)
The RD is the phase during which the plans for the cleanup method
are carefully designed. The RD is based on the cleanup method
described in the ROD. As the plans for constructing the cleanup are
developed and reviewed, more sampling may be needed to further
define the location and amount of contamination.
EPA may provide the public a fact sheet and hold a briefing
describing the final remedial design.
Remedial Action (RA)
The RA starts the actual cleanup at a site. For example, the cleanup
method may involve building wells to inject chemicals or organisms
into the soil that will break down the contamination.
The RA phase is similar to building a house. Those responsible for
the cleanup obtain all the materials needed and follow the plans that
were developed during the RD phase. During the RA phase,
construction equipment will be operating on site to conduct the
cleanup.
During the RA phase, the community should be informed about
the work to be done including planned work hours, truck traffic, and
health and safety precautions.
RI/FS: Data collection & analysis
-------
Making each Superfund Cleanup
"Greener"
The process of cleaning up a hazardous waste site uses energy,
water, and other natural or materials resources, thereby creating an
environmental "footprint" of its own. EPA strives to conserve natural
resources, minimize waste generation, and reduce energy
consumption to improve the environmental performance of
Superfund activities while protecting human health and the
environment.
Opportunities to decrease the environmental footprint and maximize
the environmental outcome of a cleanup exist throughout a project
life, and can include actions such as utilizing renewable energy to
power site operations and reducing total air emissions by
discouraging construction truck engine idling.
Returning Sites to Productive Use
As early in the process as possible, EPA works with communities
through an array of communication techniques and partnerships to
help to return sites to productive uses.
These uses can be industrial or commercial, such as factories and
shopping malls. Some sites can be used for housing, public works
or healthcare facilities, transportation, and other community
infrastructure. Sites could also be redeveloped as recreational
facilities such as golf courses, parks and ball fields; or for ecological
resources, such as wildlife preserves and wetlands. Sites could
even be used for generating energy from renewable sources such
as wind turbines or solar panels.
No matter what use is appropriate for a site, the community
benefits from restoring the site to productivity, because the property
can once again add to the economic, social, and ecological value of
the community.
Work with EPA, your local government, and your community to
plan the redevelopment of the site. Explore the redevelopment
ideas and resources provided by EPA.
10
-------
Maintaining the Site Cleanup Over
the Long-Term
After EPA determines that the physical construction at a site is
complete, activities are put in place to ensure that the cleanup
actions will protect human health and the environment over the
long-term. For example, these activities may include routine
maintenance at the site such as making sure signs and fences are
intact or soil treatment systems are running smoothly.
EPA is also required to conduct a review of the site cleanup
every five years. This Five-Year Review may include examining site
data, inspecting the site, taking new samples, and talking with
affected residents about site conditions, problems or concerns.
EPA is required to notify the community and other interested
parties when a Five-Year Review will be conducted at the site.
Deleting a Site from the NPL
EPA may delete a site or portion of a site (sometimes called an
operable unit) from the NPL if all cleanup goals have been met and
no further cleanup action is required to protect human health and the
environment.
EPA publishes a notice of its intention to delete the site, or
portion of the site, from the NPL in the Federal Register, and notifies
the community of the opportunity for comment. EPA then accepts
comments from the public and formally responds to public comments
received. If, after the formal comment period, the site or portion of the
site still qualifies for deletion, EPA publishes a formal deletion notice
in the Federal Register and places a final deletion report in the
administrative record for the site.
Learn More on the Web!
EPASuperfund homepage: www.epa.gov/superfund/
TAG: www.epa.gov/superfund/community/tag/
TASC: www.epa.gov/superfund/community/tasc/
Superfund Job Training Initiative (SuperJTI):
www.epa.gov/superfund/community/sfjti/
Superfund Redevelopment:
www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/index.html
Superfund & Green Remediation: www.epa.gov/superfund/greenremediation/
11
-------
EPA Regional Superfund
Community Involvement Offices
EPA wants to remain accessible and responsive to your concerns.
Our community involvement staff is available
to answer any questions regarding a Superfund site
or an area you think may be a site.
Here is a list of EPA's Regional Superfund
Community Involvement Offices.
Region 1 888-372-7341 Region 6 800-533-3508
Region 2 800-346-5009 Region 7 800-223-0425
Region 3 800-553-2509 Region 8 800-227-8917
Region 4 877-718-3752 Region 9 800-231-3075
Region 5 800-621-8431 Region 10 800-424-4372
www.epa.gov/superfund/community
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
EPA-540-R-11-021
August 2011
------- |