SUPERFUND

FY 2020

Annual Accomplishments Report

Issued by the Office of Land and Emergency Management


-------
Contents

*4 Introduction
I to Superfund

2Superfund
Turns 40

4 Superfund and the COVID-19
Public Health Emergency

6 Fiscal Year 2020:

The Year in Review

8	Protection of Public Health and the Environment

16	Community Involvement

21	Emergency Management and Environmental Response

25	Federal Facilities

27	Superfund Enforcement

30	NPL Site Proposals, Additions and Deletions

33	Superfund Redevelopment

36	Innovations in Science and Technology


-------
Introduction
to Superfund

EPA's Superfund program is responsible for cleaning up some of the nation's most
contaminated land and responding to environmental emergencies and natural disasters.

Superfund cleanups provided significant public health and economic benefits:

20-25% reduction in

birth defects among children
living near sites.

13-26% reduction in
blood-lead levels among
		children living near sites.

1 DD 19-24% increase in residential property
value within 3 miles of sites after cleanup.



Superfund cleanups also facilitate job creation and enhance local tax bases.
At the end of fiscal year (FY) 2020,632 Superfund sites have been returned to
productive use. These sites:

Support more than 9,900

businesses.

Host more

than 227,000 employees.

Generate more than $16 billion
annual employment income.

in

The Superfund removal program conducts emergency and shorter-term
responses when contamination poses an imminent and substantial
threat to human health or the environment.

Accidents, spills,
releases and past
improper disposal and
handling of hazardous
materials have resulted in
hundreds of contaminated
sites in the United States,
potentially affecting the
health of the thousands
of people who live
around these sites.

EPA found that 73
million people live
within 3 miles of a
Superfund site.

The Superfund remedial program is responsible for long-term cleanup
of contaminated sites.

1


-------
The 1970s were an important period for the passage
of important environmental laws such as the National
Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water
Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
However, as the "environment decade" came to a close, there
was still no law addressing hazardous waste sites.

Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York, was the first hazardous
waste site to gain national notoriety. Newspapers and
television chronicled the fear and anger as people learned
that 22,000 tons of dangerous chemical wastes buried 30

years earlier had

"Quite simply,
is one of the mos
environmental tragedies in
American	history.

not the most dis
fact. What is wo
it cannot be rega
an isolated	event

happen again -
in this country-unless
we move expeditiou
prevent	it."

-The EPA Journal, 1979

begun to seep into
backyards and
basements.

Public perception
of the dangers
at Love Canal
spurred elected
officials to write
the first federal
legislation
to address
these sites.

The legislation was called the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Superfund. CERCLA was
enacted on December 11,1980. It authorized EPA to direct the Superfund
cleanup program. The program included effective enforcement to hold
waste contributors accountable for cleaning up sites, thus deferring further
indiscriminate disposal of hazardous wastes. CERCLA also created a Trust
Fund (or "Superfund") to finance emergency responses and cleanups.

2


-------
"One of the key components
in environmental justice is

getting
speak fo
need to be in the room where

policy

- Dr. Robert Bullard,
often described as the
father of environmental justice

The birth of the environmental justice movement in the 1980s influenced how EPA engaged with communities,
expanding EPA's ability to ensure that all communities, regardless of race, color, national origin or income had the
tools and resources they needed to participate in the Superfund process.

In 1986, Congress strengthened the new iaw with the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), which
amended CERCLA and increased the size of the fund, improved public participation, added federal facilities and added
new settlement provisions.

For the past 40 years, EPA's Superfund program has worked to fulfill its mission of protecting human health and the
environment. The Superfund program has cleaned up thousands of sites across the country, turning abandoned,
contaminated industrial sites into parks, landfills into solar farms and former smelters into health clinics, many of
which are located in vulnerable, low income and minority communities.

A NEW LAW, NEW CHALLENGES FOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS

In 1980, when the Superfund program was established, the practice of cleaning up
hazardous wastes was brand new. EPA basically started from scratch. Assessing and cleaning
up contamination in the soil, under the ground, in groundwater, in surface water and in
sediments created a complex challenge for EPA's scientists and engineers.

In the early days, EPA relied extensively on invasive sampling procedures and off-site
laboratory capabilities to assess contamination, EPA was iimited to digging up the
contamination and disposing of it in hazardous waste landfills, burning it, or using cement
to solidify and immobilize contaminants to store on site. We pumped large volumes of water
from the subsurface and treated the contamination above ground.

EPA now relies on much more efficient and higher-resolution tools to locate contaminants,
support decisions and reduce costs. Similarly, cleanup approaches have evolved. At a much
greater percentage of sites, EPA can treat contamination in place and apply technologies that
destroy or remove complex contaminants.

Today, working closely with communities and our tribal, federal, state and local partners,

Superfund continues to strive to innovate, evolve and improve.

3


-------
SUPERFUND

and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

Superfund is well equipped for emergencies.
Responding to disasters such as train derailments,
hurricanes and domestic terrorist attacks is part of the
job. When the COVID-19 public health emergency hit,
EPA's emergency management experience empowered
site teams to continue mission-critical work despite the
unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic.

After states issued stay-at-home orders across the
country, EPA coordinated with federal, state and local
partners to continue essential fieldwork following
guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention to keep staff and communities safe. EPA
accommodated site work disruptions by modifying
field actions, when and where possible, to continue
cleanups on schedule.

GETTING SITE WORK DONE

In addition to using enhanced personal protective
equipment (PRE), innovative solutions enabled
Superfund staff to safely continue fieldwork during the
pandemic.

EPA managed site remediation activities virtually
using daily photo and field reports.

Unmanned aircraft systems (e.g., drones) provided
essential site data.

Separate trailers and facilities for contractors
limited COVID-19 exposure pathways.

4


-------
When COVID-19 restricted EPA's ability to carry out
in-person meetings, site teams quickly pivoted from
traditional communication methods and reimagined
engagement approaches using virtual techniques. Digital
videos, which included virtual site tours and essential
site information, allowed EPA to establish construction
contracts and initiate remedial actions. In some cases,
virtual transactions expedited construction schedules
since decisions were not delayed by contractor visits.

ENGAGING WITH COMMUNITIES

EPA site teams successfully adapted in-person
community involvement activities for virtual
platforms and ensured the continuation of
meaningful community engagement at sites
through:

Interactive digital presentations using
graphics, Google Earth and site photographs.

Posting on social media platforms.

Addressing community members'questions
in real time during virtual meetings.

Using local broadcast stations to facilitate
community outreach.

In communities with technology-related barriers,
EPA continued engaging residents through:

Newspaper advertisements.

Radio announcements.

Phone calls.

Voice mailboxes for public inquiries.

Although COVID-19 tested Superfund's
capabilities, it also demonstrated EPA's
commitment to serving communities and
ultimately made Superfund better prepared to
protect public health and the environment from
future national emergencies.

Technology, such as hand-held
infrared cameras, helped
sitework continue.

This technology
enabled EPA to
reach otherwise-
inaccessible
areas to identify
likely areas of
groundwater
contamination at
sites such as the
Kerr-McGee Chemical
Corp. site in Navassa,
Drth Carolina.

oversaw
time-critical
removals at seven
Superfund sites
from March through
September 2020.

In EPA's Southeast Region

(Region 4) alone, the
Superfund program

responded to 22
oil and hazardous

substances

releases and

EPA also facilitated the

protecting public health.

efforts of first responders
in the fight against
COVID-19 by
donating several
thousand Tyvek®
suits and gloves.
The equipment
helped ensure the
first responders were
equipped in essential
safety gear as they
continued their work

5


-------
Fiscal Year 2020: The Year in Review

658

Remedial site
assessments completed
453 (68%) developed by states,
across 42 states and tribal lands

111

Cleanup decisions
55 new and 56 amended

67

New remedial construction
projects started

*5

Optimization projects
completed with another
31 underway

34

Sites ready for
anticipated reuse



27

N PL deletions
(14 full and 13 partial)

17

NPL listings (8) and
proposed NPL listings (9)

38

Unfunded new construction *
projects (for NPL sites otherwise
ready for new construction)

443

Remedial construction projects "
where EPA and other project
leads conducted construction or
provided oversight

91

Remedial construction
projects completed

293

Five-year reviews, including \
30 at federal facility sites, to
make sure remedies continue to
protect communities

6


-------
Addressing Imminent Threats

*97



Removal actions completed

Protecting Health and Ecosystems

(Ma 20 sites where EPA completed actions to
Vd t//	control human exposure risk

sites where EPA controlled contaminated groundwater
through engineered remedies or natural processes

Funding Superfund Work

03^

About

$636

million from private parties to clean up sites

About

million disbursed or obligated from
special accounts for site work

Funding State Superfund Work

> f
&

million to states to clean up NPL sites

7


-------
PROTECTION

of Public Health and the Environment

In FY 2020, EPA's Superfund program made significant progress cleaning up contaminated land, groundwater and
sediment.

Placing Sites on the National Priorities List (NPL)

EPA works collaboratively with states to investigate sites to determine whether they warrant further investigation
and/or cleanup. If this is the case, EPA turns first to other authorities, including state, tribal or federal authorities,
to determine their ability to clean them up. When other authorities cannot clean up a site, EPA assesses whether
the site qualifies for the NPL using a scoring system called the Hazard Ranking System (HRS). If a site scores 28.5 or
higher on the HRS, EPA adds it to the NPL, the nation's list of the most serious uncontrolled abandoned releases of
contamination.

Far-Reaching Impacts of
Orange County North
Basin Site on Public
Health

Orange County,

California

EPA added the Orange County North Basin
site to the NPL on September 1,2020, to
prevent further migration of contaminated
groundwater into the area's principal aquifer
and to remediate groundwater contaminated
above drinking water standards. The
groundwater plume, contaminated with
chlorinated solvents and other contaminants,
covers about 5 square miles in the basin, a critical water resource for the 2.4 million residents in 22 cities.

While the contaminated groundwater plume threatens Orange County water supplies, all drinking water currently
being provided by local water utilities meets federal standards and state drinking water standards.

8


-------
Fast; Step-by-Step Progress
at the Arsenic Mine Site
Kent, New York

EPA added the Arsenic Mine site,
encompassing 10 residential
properties, to the NPL in November 2019 to protect
residents from exposure to arsenic-contaminated soil.
EPA then moved forward with an "early action," which
involves offers to purchase certain contaminated
properties and permanently relocate affected residents.

Until the residents are permanently relocated or
cleanup finishes, EPA will conduct periodic inspections
and mitigate exposures by maintaining barriers to
contaminated soils in high-use areas and by taking
other measures.

The Arsenic Mine site made it onto the NPL via a rarely used CERCLA provision. In April
2019, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry issued an urgent health advisory
recommending that EPA take actions to mitigate residents' exposure to contamination and
implement a long-term cleanup. The health advisory allowed EPA to add the site to the NPL
without completing HRS scoring and ranking.

w Discovery then Action, before a Site
¦L Is on the NPL - Blades Groundwater Site
Sussex County, Delaware

EPA added the site to the NPL in September
2020 to address groundwater contamination
affecting the main drinking water source in the
Blades, Delaware area. Sampling by EPA and the Delaware
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
(DNREC) found three municipal and seven domestic wells are
contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
above EPA's provisional health advisory level. These municipal
water supplies serve about 1,600 people and private wells
serve another 150 people.

A coordinated response effort followed, EPA immediately
led residential well assessments to determine if PFAS have
impacted any residential wells near the former chrome-
plating facility. At the same time, DNREC coordinated
response actions to provide the town of Blades with an
alternate source of safe drinking water. In spring 2018, DNREC
and the town of Blades installed a treatment system on the
public wells to mitigate the PFAS contamination, DNREC also
installed treatment systems on eight affected residential
wells.

9


-------
Transforming Sites for the Future


-------
Stories of Progress and Transformation
at Superfund Sites

After 22 Years, Soil Cleanup Completion
at Vigor Portion of Harbor Island Site | Seattle, Washington

Cleanup of the Vigor (formerly Todd) Shipyard portion of the Harbor Island Superfund site
finished, assuring the protection of Puget Sound's surface water quality. Releases from the former
oil company's tankfarms contaminated the soils. The Vigor shipyard later purchased the land.

Under EPA oversight, shipyard operators removed more than 300,000 gallons of floating petroleum product using
vacuum-enhanced extraction. The product was disposed of off site. Groundwater monitoring has not identified any
contamination that could reach surface water.


-------
Large Public Works Project at Durham Meadows Site
to Provide Clean Water to Hundreds | Durham, Connecticut

EPA, supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will soon wrap up a second construction
season - having completed much of the Durham waterline installation on or ahead of schedule.
Roughly 28,000 of the anticipated 30,000 linear feet of water line are in place. The private wells
currently in use require treatment. In some cases, residents rely solely on bottled water.

The project makes good on a 2005 cleanup decision to provide a clean, safe, potable water supply to residents, business
owners and area schools. The undertaking of such a large public works project required EPA to expertly navigate state
and local requirements and address concerns regarding the storage tank location.

During their respective operating histories, the Durham Manufacturing Company and the Merriam Manufacturing
Company used various chlorinated solvents, most notably trichloroethene (TCE).The companies'past disposal practices
contaminated wells at over 50 locations, requiring the installation of carbon treatment systems as a temporary solution.

Innovative, Final Cleanup Decision for
Quendall Terminals Site Along Lake
Washington | Renton, Washington

m

J mil i i i™	jssuec| jts fjna| c|eanUp decision for the

Quendall Term nals Superfund site. This former

II ¦	W creosote manufacturing facility offers a prime

location for redevelopment; it is the largest
undeveloped waterfront parcel on Lake Washington. Past releases
of coal tars and creosote contaminated about 22 acres of soil and
groundwater and about 29 acres of lake sediments.

The remedy includes an innovative approach using in-situ
underground smoldering combustion and collection of combustion
byproducts in areas with high subsurface concentrations of creosote and
coal tar. EPA estimates that the cleanup will cost about $100 million, which
includes the cost of monitoring the remedy's effectiveness.

12


-------
Jm±/—r Consolidating Waste to Eliminate Exposure
and Save Millions at the Ray mark
Industries Site | Stratford, Connecticut

After decades of discussion with the town of Stratford about the final disposition of 100,000 cubic
yards of waste from the former Raymark Industries Superfund site - located at 26 commercial and municipal properties
throughout the town - EPA, supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, sent the first shipment of waste to a local
property for consolidation and disposal.

Consolidating waste "in town"saves taxpayers $200 million in transportation costs and reduces waste transportation risks.
Under the final 2016 cleanup decision, EPA and the state of Connecticut are investing $95 million to eliminate exposures
in the community and to repair the harm resulting from more than 70 years of dumping.

Raymark Industries operated on site from 1919 to 1989. Manufacturing waste was historically
disposed of as fill at the facility. Over time, the facility also disposed of waste at a minimum of
46 residential properties and at many other commercial, recreational and municipal properties
in Stamford. Several wetland areas near the Housatonic River were also filled in with waste
from the facility.The waste contained PCBs, asbestos, lead and copper.

Cleanup Expected to Return Fish Dinners to the Table =

Donna Reservoir and Canal System Site | Donna, Texas

EPA completed a challenging cleanup on time and under budget despite the COVID-19 public
health emergency. About 25,000 tons of contaminated sediment were excavated from the
Donna canal system in south Texas near the U.S. border with Mexico. The sediment contains
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which accumulate in fish tissue and are a health risk for
people who eat fish from the canal. By collecting sediment and fish tissue samples for the next
four years, EPA will continue to assess the impact of sediment remediation activities.



13


-------
Lead Exposure at Superfund Sites:

Protecting Public Health

Cleaning up Residential Yards in the South

Birmingham, Alabama, Chattanooga,Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia

By working closely with
community members, EPA
cleaned up 171 residential
properties with lead
contamination at the 35th
Avenue site in Birmingham,

Alabama, the Southside
Chattanooga site in
Chattanooga, Tennessee,
and the Westside Atlanta site
in Atlanta, Georgia. Waste
produced over decades by
nearby industrial facilities was
used as fill or topsoil for these
residential communities.

To get permission to sample residents'yards, EPA reached out to more than 3,500 people via letters and door-to-door
contact. EPA posted newspaper and radio advertisements, posted videos on its websites and used social media to let
people know about EPA's effort to request permission to sample yards and to inform residents about reducing their
lead exposure. EPA also coordinated with school districts to test the soil in school playgrounds and local parks.

EPA REDUCES HUMAN HEALTH EXPOSURE TO LEAD IN THE MIDWEST

Lead is a concern at many Superfund sites in EPA Region 7 as a result of historic and ongoing lead
mining and ore processing in Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska.

FY 2020 progress:

= A

l

400}000 cubic
yards of lead-contaminated
soil cleaned up

360,000

homes provided with
alternative sources of
drinking water, such as
bottled or filtered water

Cleanup includes stabilizing and capping of mine waste to remove ongoing sources of
contamination, providing alternate drinking water, and cleaning up hundreds of residential
properties and public areas where exposures threaten the public and children.

14


-------
Addressing the Cultural Needs of the Muckleshoot and
Suquamish Indian Tribes at the Lockheed West Seattle Site

Seattle, Washington

EPA and the Lockheed Martin Corporation successfully coordinated with
tribal partners to reduce disruptions in tribal fishing in the area of the site. The
industrial site, located at the confluence of the West Waterway and Elliott Bay,
includes part of the tribes'traditional fishing areas. In these areas, the tribes
harvest salmon, clams and other seafood.

To minimize interference with tribal fishing, EPA periodically stopped dredging and
other field activities during the tribes' high-value Chinook salmon fishing season. When
disruptions were unavoidable, Lockheed Martin compensated the tribes.

Tribal partners were essential in providing information critical to the site's risk assessment. The
tribes ensured accurate estimation of tribal exposures (accounting fortribal collection of clams, net fishing and the
consumption of seafood by adults and children) and that cleanup levels were based on estimated health risks for
seafood consumption and not just sediment exposure scenarios.


-------
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Building Strong Collaborative Foundations for Success

Communities play a key role in the Superfund process, and they are valuable partners in helping EPA make
better cleanup decisions and in leading the way for redevelopment opportunities. Over the past 40 years,
EPA's Superfund Community Involvement program has evolved to include a robust variety of opportunities
for communities to engage and to be actively involved in the decision-making process. Building a strong
foundation for communities to participate in the Superfund process helps ensure better cleanup decisions
and lays the groundwork for site redevelopment, enabling beneficial uses that communities can enjoy for
generations.

16


-------
GETTING RISK COMMUNICATION RIGHT

In 2019, as part of an agency-wide effort to improve how we communicate
environmental risks, EPA released Getting RiskCommunication Right: Helping
Communities Plan atSuperfund Sites.Through this effort, EPA launched an
implementation plan to enhance risk communications activities during the
post-construction phase of Superfund cleanups.

Post-construction presents unique communication challenges. Once sites are
cleaned up, EPA may become less visible and maintaining relationships with the
community becomes more challenging. The implementation plan identifies potential
risk communication challenges at 10 Superfund sites and provides a framework for
planning risk communications goals. The project provided an opportunity for the Superfund
program to review its approaches for communicating risk effectively and to identify areas for
improvement. A final report summarizing the plan's findings is scheduled for release in 2021.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

Although COVID-19 restricted EPA's ability
to carry out in-person meetings and
other outreach events, site teams quickly
pivoted from traditional communication
methods and reimagined their engagement
approaches using virtual techniques.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT BYTHE NUMBERS

EPA's community involvement coordinators (CICs) did remarkable work in FY 2020:

n

*

n

. •

57^ public
meetings held or
attended

1$200* interviews
conducted with community
members living near
Superfund sites

750+

fact sheets, mailings,
postcards, advertisements

and newsletters
distributed, reaching more
than 259,000 people living
near Superfund sites

17


-------
A New Way to Tell the Story
at the Carson River Mercury Site

Dayton, Nevada	&EpA

Caron m...

The Carson River Mercury Superfund site spans 330 square miles,
covering five western Nevada counties. Its vast size meant that EPA
had to find innovative ways to communicate the site's potential
health risks, and especially how to prevent exposure to mercury
contamination.

Using an interactive digital story map, community
members can look up their addresses to locate
how far away their properties are from mercury
contamination and at what levels the mercury is present.

The story map also provides information about the site's history and
cleanup status, including health advisories due to mercury contamination in fish.

The interactive story map is based on 30 years of data, including more than 10,000 samples
taken from 800 unique locations, which allows community members to interact with the data in an informative and
understandable format.


-------
Contamination at the Carson River Mercury site is a legacy of the Comstock
mining era of the late 1800s, when mercury was imported to the area for
gold and silver ore processing. During the mining era, an estimated 7,500

tons of mercury were discharged into the Carson River. As a result of those

discharges, mercury contamination is commonly found at former mill sites,
waterways next to the mill sites, and in sediments, fish and wildlife



in addition to the story map, EPA collaborated with the Nevada Division
of Environmental Protection to release a five-year risk communication
strategy to discourage people from eating mercury-contaminated fish in
the Carson-River watershed. The strategy includes:

# Reviewing and clarifying current fish advisories with the state
of Nevada.

Health officials, wildlife biologists, local business owners and community members
helped design the strategy, with support from EPA's Technical Assistance Services for
Communities (TASC) program.

#

#
#

Ensuring risk communication is consistent across federal and
state environmental agencies.

Improving access to online information, including social media.
Expanding and diversifying advisory signs.

Reevaluating fish stocking and commercial fish permitting practices.

Establishing relationships with local social networks to share fish advisory
information.


-------


20

Working Together Creates Job
Opportunities for San Gabriel Valley
Residents

Los Angeles, California

EPA celebrated 20 graduates from the Superfund Job
Training Initiative (SuperJTI), a job-readiness program
that provides training and employment opportunities
for people in communities affected by Superfund sites.

Working in partnership with other local entities,
EPA recruited students and conducted the training
over 13 weeks. The training consisted of classroom
instruction and hands-on exercises. Graduates earned
certificates in Water Distribution and Treatment, Work
Readiness, CPR/First Aid, and 40-hr Hazardous Waste
Operations and Emergency Response.The SuperJTI
program provides graduates with the necessary skills
to work on a broad range of projects in environmental
remediation, water treatment, construction and
Superfund site cleanup.

Honoring Community Advocacy

EPA gave this year's Superfund Excellence in
Community Involvement Award to Sandy Wynn-Stelt
for her enduring commitment to community advocacy
and engagement at the Wolverine World WideTannery
Superfund site in Kent County, Michigan.

Sandy was compelled to act after learning her home sits
directly across from the tannery's contaminated waste
dump. This former disposal site polluted groundwater
with PFAS and tests found that Sandy's drinking well
water tested high for PFAS contamination.

Sandy began hosting weekly neighborhood meetings
and forging relationships with EPA site staff and the
Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and
Energy. Ultimately, she became a iiaison between the
agencies and affected residents and played a key role
in forming and leading the local Community Advisory
Group (CAG). Sandy ensured the CAG represented the
community's diverse interests and that views were
heard and accounted for in the cleanup decision-
making process.

Through her measured leadership and respectful
dialogue, Sandy channeled community tension into
productive conversations, leaving both sides feeling
heard and understood. Her invaluable contributions
as a community advocate extend beyond Michigan
to Washington D.C., where she testified in front of
Congress on the site's profound impact on residents
and their livelihoods.


-------
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND
ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE

Addressing Imminent Threats to Public Health and the Environment

EPA's Office of Emergency Management and EPA's Office of Superfund Remediation and
Technology Innovation work together to respond to, prepare for and prevent environmental
emergencies.

Hurricanes Hanna, Laura and Sally

Prior to the storms' landfall, EPA assessed the readiness of the states and tribes in each storm's
projected path. Ahead of and during the storms, EPA coordinated public messaging on a range
of topics, including air quality, drinking water, mold and building debris, and generator safety, as
well as the conditions at major industrial facilities, and securing of Superfund sites.

This year, in response to the EPA Office of Inspector General's recommendations after Hurricane
Harvey in 2017, EPA improved risk communications with disadvantaged communities before and
during natural disaster responses. In preparation for the 2020 hurricane season, EPA Region 6 enhanced
protocols to: (1) inform people in advance of the developing situation; (2) provide outreach with real-time updates
about information on the ground; and (3) relay community concerns back to the responders. These were tested with a
tabletop exercise, successfully implemented during the hurricanes, and are now built into EPA Region 6's emergency
preparedness processes. During Hurricane Laura, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) identified
vulnerable communities for increased air monitoring.These communities helped prioritize on-site air monitoring.

EPA's Environmental Response Team performed ambient air monitoring next to petrochemical
facilities and refineries using the trace atmospheric gas analyzer mobile laboratory during the
aftermath of Hurricane Laura.

21


-------
Wildfires in California and Oregon

In response to unprecedented wildfires in both
states, EPA removed household hazardous
waste from almost 5,000 properties in over
15 counties. Waste included propane tanks,
ammunition, oil, gasoline, paint, solvents,
pesticides, fuel, batteries, bulk asbestos and
other combustible items. Removing this waste
ensured that potentially dangerous materials
were properly handled and disposed of
and helped protect workers slated to begin
removing ash and debris during the second
phase of the cleanup.

To protect water quality, sensitive fish and
wildlife habitat, EPA Region 10 stabilized
banks, controlled erosion and removed fire
debris on 226 riverfront properties along seven
vulnerable rivers. Critical technical assistance
was also provided to protect drinking water
systems throughout the affected area.

22


-------
EPA participates in a special task force in
response to Eastwick flooding with Philadelphia
Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection, local,
state and federal elected officials, and members
of the community.

Flooding Response at the Lower Darby
Creek Area Super fund Site

Darby Township, Pennsylvania

Due to Tropical Storm Isaias, flooding from creeks
next to the site was extensive in parts of the Eastwick
Neighborhood. Some homes were inundated with 2 to
6 feet of water and 20 to 30 homes were evacuated. As
soon as flood waters subsided, EPA collected samples
from the flood waters and creeks and remediated
residential properties. No site-related contamination was
present. EPA repaired portions of the cap and stormwater
management features at the landfill and addressed
erosion issues in previously cleaned-up residential yards.

During and after the storm, EPA:

•	Sent weekly flood response and landfill construction
updates via text message and email using the RedFlag
mass notification system to 225 recipients.

•	Distributed a fact sheet via the CAG.

•	Hosted a meeting with the community.

23


-------
EPA*s Environmental Response Team

EPA's Environmental Response Team (ERT) provides a wide scope of technical and logistical assistance, including field
support, technical advice and training. It is a special team recognized in the National Oil and Hazardous Substances
Pollution Contingency Plan.

Real-Time Air Surveillance of the Union Pacific Train Spill

Tempe, Arizona

On July 28,2020, a Union Pacific Railroad train derailed while crossing the rail bridge over Tempe Town Lake, an
impoundment on the Salt River, in Tempe, Arizona. The train caught fire and the southern section of the railroad
bridge collapsed. Three tank cars fell to the ground below the bridge as it collapsed. Two were 23,000-gallon rail cars
containing cyclohexanone, a flammable solvent. The derailed cars containing hazardous materials were not involved
in the fire. However, one leaked an unknown amount of the solvent onto the ground by the water's edge.

ERT assisted by setting up a comprehensive air surveillance system for continuous observation of air conditions during
the emergency response to protect the community and on-site responders. EPA's VIPER telemetry system was tied
into EPA's online map viewer, allowing for real-time transmission and sharing of monitoring data to inform EPA and
our response partners. Air monitoring equipment included sensors for detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs),
oxygen and carbon monoxide. Particulates were also monitored upwind and downwind during the removal of the
derailed cars. Additional sampling was done for metals and asbestos in air and sediment contamination.

Unique Design to Redirect Salmon-bearing
Stream at the Hamilton/Labree Roads
Groundwater Contamination Site

Chehal is, Washington

EPA's ERT provided support to EPA Region 10 with a design
plan to reconstruct and relocate a salmon-bearing stream.
The relocation was necessary because the stream needed
to be insulated from the heat of a thermal treatment zone,
which is part of the site's remedy. The stream's location
between two high-traffic roads and its flow rates that vary
between summer (low flow) and winter (high flow) created
additional design challenges.

24


-------
FEDERAL FACILITIES

Making Progress at the Largest Superfund Sites

Ensuring Clean and Safe Drinking Water
for Communities at the JPL (NASA) Site

Pasadena, California

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Jet
Propulsion Lab (JPL), working with EPA, the state of California
and the local authorities, achieved "construction completion" of
groundwater treatment systems serving 184,000 consumers,
putting in place controls to ensure nearby communities receive
clean drinking water.

The U.S. Army established the 176-acre facility, which the
army operated between the 1930s and the 1950s. NASA took
jurisdiction over the lab in 1958. Historical operations at JPL used
hazardous substances, including chlorinated solvents, solid rocket
fuei propellants, sulfuric acid, Freon™, mercury and other chemicals.
The chemicals were disposed of in on-site seepage pits, waste pits
and surface water points across the facility.

From nuclear weapons plants and military bases to landfills and fuel distribution stations, the U.S.
government operates thousands of federal facilities across the country. Federal facility NPL sites can
encompass challenges like complex groundwater contamination, munitions, radiological waste and
contaminants of emerging concern such as PFAS.


-------
Monumental Demolition and Cleanup
Makes Way for New Development
at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP)

Oak Ridge,Tennessee

The U.S. Department of Energy completed a decades-long
effort to convert the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a
former uranium enrichment facility, into a multi-use industrial
park. The site is part of the Oak Ridge Reservation, which was
established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project. The gaseous
diffusion plant, closed in 1987, is one of five uranium enrichment
buildings.

Partnering at Nansemond Ordnance Depot
Accelerates Cleanup, Facilitates Waterfront Park
and other Development

Suffolk, Virginia

EPA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Virginia Department
of Environmental Quality, along with private entities, collaborated to
identify redevelopment timelines and expedite cleanup at the 975-
acre former Nansemond Ordnance Depot.This extensive coordination
led to the investigation and removal of 6,200 munitions items and
200,000 pounds of munitions. Plans for the site include a waterfront
park for public access and mixed-use commercial, industrial and
residential development.

ETTP Demolition and Conversion

13 million square feet of buildings removed
1}200 acres of land ready for economic development
3,000 acres set aside for community recreational use conservation.
$500 million saved in project costs and reduced environmental liabilities
Dozens of innovative solutions completed four years ahead of schedule



26


-------
SUPERFUND ENFORCEMENT

Spurring Cleanups, Saving Taxpayer Money

EPA's Superfund enforcement program finds the companies or people responsible for contamination at sites and
negotiates with or orders them to do the cleanups themselves, or to pay for the cleanup work done by another
party (e.g., EPA, state agencies or other parties). By holding responsible parties accountable for cleanup, the Agency
facilitates cleanup work while also preserving taxpayer dollars and scarce Superfund Trust Fund resources to address
truly abandoned and orphaned sites. EPA's Superfund enforcement program also works with prospective purchasers
to facilitate the cleanup and reuse of contaminated sites.

FY 2020 EPA Enforcement Work

90 settlements and
orders totaling $702.8
million, including
$438,000 from
redevelopers

$111.7 million

billed to PRPs for
oversight costs

of sites with negotiations
lasting greater than one
year were addressed. Effort

resulted in settlement
negotiations with combined
value estimated to be more
than $167 million.

27


-------
The enforcement instruments related to the dredging and capping
cleanup work includes a unilateral administrative order valued at $125
million and eight settlement agreements valued at $40 million. One
additional agreement is for payment of $10 million to the Agency for its past
cleanup costs.

Cleanup Order and Settlement Agreements Get
Cleanup Underway at the Gowanus Canal Site

Brooklyn, New York

EPA completed work on 10 enforcement actions valued at $ 175
million for cleanup work and payment of the Agency's past
costs. Responsible parties will perform dredging and capping
of contaminated sediments within the 1 QQ-foot-wide, 1.8-mile-
long Gowanus Canal, as well as upgrading canal bulkheads to
support the dredging and capping.

The cleanup work will continue to benefit redevelopment underway in the commercial
and residential areas next to the canal.

28


-------
Third-Party Settlement Agreement
Will Spur Redevelopment
at Conroe Creosoting Site

Conroe, Texas

EPA, the U.S. Department of Justice, and TCEQ
completed a Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser
(BFPP) agreement with Conroe Logistics
Center, LLC (CLC) regarding its purchase of part
of the former wood-treating facility. Under the
agreement, CLC commits to performing some
of the cleanup work and will then put the
property back into beneficial use.

CLC's redevelopment plans include
construction of a large distribution building
that will provide many benefits to the
community, including the creation of
permanent and temporary jobs and the
generation of tax revenues.

Since the inception of the Superfund

program, over 9,531 Superfund
enforcement instruments have been
finalized, addressing contamination
at 3,876 sites across the country.
The estimated value of private-party
commitments to clean up sites is
about $38.9 billion. Cost recovery
settlements total more than $7.4
billion, for a combined total of over
$46.3 billion.

29


-------


NPL SITE PROPOSALS,
ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS

Deleting sites from the NPL announces to communities and signals to
potential developers and financial institutions that cleanup is
complete. EPA may delete a site from the NPL if it determines no
further response action is required to protect human health or
the environment.

r

OD-

(3 Deleted NPL sites

American Crossarm & Conduit Co. (Chehalis, Washington)

Annapolis Lead Mine (Annapolis, Missouri)

Cimarron Mining Corp. (Carrizozo, New Mexico)

Dupage County Landfill/Blackwell Forest (Warrenville, Illinois)

Fairfax St. Wood Treaters (Jacksonville, Florida)

First Piedmont Corp. Rock Quarry (Route 719) (Pittsylvania County, Virginia)

FMC Corp. (Dublin Road Landfill) (Shelby, New York)

Fridley Commons Park Well Field (Fridley, Minnesota)

Hormigas Ground Water Plume (Caguas, Puerto Rico)

JASCO Chemical Corp. (Mountain View, California)

Northside Landfill (Spokane, Washington)

Red Panther Chemical Company (Clarksdale, Mississippi)

Scrap Processing Co., Inc. (Medford, Wisconsin)

Tulsa Fuel and Manufacturing (Collinsville, Oklahoma)

O Partially deleted NPL sites

Allied Chemical & Ironton Coke (Ironton, Ohio)

Anaconda Co. Smelter (Anaconda, Montana)

Douglass Road/Uniroyal Inc., Landfill (Mishawaka, Indiana)

Fort Wayne Reduction Dump (Fort Wayne, Indiana)

Idaho Pole, Co. (Bozeman, Montana)

Industri-Plex (Woburn, Massachusetts)

Libby Asbestos Site (Libby, Montana)

Maccalloy Corp. (Charleston, South Carolina)

Omaha Lead (Omaha, Nebraska)

Queen City Farms (Maple Valley, Washington)

Redstone Arsenal U.S. Army/NASA (Huntsville, Alabama)

Southeast Rockford Ground Water Contamination (Rockford, Illinois)

U.S. Smelter and Lead Refinery, Inc. (East Chicago, Indiana)

30


-------
Deleting Portions of the
Anaconda Co. Smelter Site
Clears Way for Hotel Development

Anaconda, Montana

EPA partially deleted three parts of the site from
the NPL after completing cleanup and putting
development guidelines in place to allow the site's
reuse. These properties host the county's class III
landfill and recycling center. Since the partial deletion,
a ground-breaking ceremony was held for the
community's newest development, a $10 million hotel
and conference center.

31


-------
Fairfax Street Wood Treaters Site - Nine-Month

Expedited Cleanup Leads to Deletion

Jacksonville, Florida

To protect yourig children living and attending school nearby, EPA's
accelerated its cleanup work at the site, which led to its deletion from the
NPL in about nine months - two full years ahead of schedule.

The site, once a wood-treating facility whose operations used the
preservative chromated copper arsenate, is surrounded by a community
with environmental justice concerns and cumulative negative
environmental impacts. The cleanup remediated 12.5 acres of the site and
51 residential properties, and removed 60,000 tons of contaminated soil
and 300,000 gallons of contaminated water.

Key factors supporting the site's successful cleanup included:

•	Strategies that incorporated incremental outcomes from the cleanup
and accounted for evolving site conditions.

•	EPA's partnership with Florida Department of Environmental Protection
throughout the cleanup, which allowed for early action at the
elementary school next to the site to prevent children's exposure to
contaminated soil on the playground.

•	Training through EPA's Superfund Job Training Initiative provided 13
local residents with new job skills and employment opportunities.

•	Regular and consistent engagement with the community, which built
trust and facilitated cleanup. EPA hosted nine availability sessions,
mailed out over 4,000 fact sheets and responded to calls received on
the dedicated local phone line.

12.5 acres and

5* residential
properties remediated

60,000 tons

of contaminated
soil removed

300,000

gallons of contaminated
water removed

32


-------
SUPERFUND REDEVELOPMENT

Returning Land to Beneficial Use

Today, about 1,000 Superfund sites support new and ongoing uses. As of 2020, EPA collected economic data on 632 of
these Superfund sites. Below is information on the data for these 632 sites.

9,900

businesses
operating

$63.3

billion in sales
generated by
businesses

227,000

people
employed

$16.3

billion in income
earned by
employees

$394

billion in sales
generated in the
last decade

33


-------
Superfund Sites Redeveloped for Alternative Energy Generation

Biomass
5 projects, 66 MW

Landfill Gas
5 projects, 42 MW

| Ji Wind
/*j| 6 projects, 54 MW

Geothermal
2 projects, 0.05 MW

liti

Solar

54 projects, 233 MW

A Rising Tide Lifts All
Boats - Literally - at
the Pepper Steel &
Alloy Site

Medley, Florida

This 25-acre area, a dumping
ground for a variety of
industrial businesses for 20
years, sat vacant after cleanup.
In 2004, EPA started worked
with stakeholders to identify
uses compatible with the
remedy that would benefit the
community. EPA also worked
with a local company on an
agreement to address liability
concerns. The efforts paid off.
Several companies purchased
site parcels for redevelopment
Mostly recently, in January
2020, a 220,000-square-foot
custom boat manufacturing
and sales facility opened at
the site, adding 100 jobs to the
local economy.


-------
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis has long stood in the shadow of this Superfund site. Industrial operations on
site over decades resulted in PCB and TCE contamination. Prior to EPA's cleanup, the site was the subject of significant
community concern about potential exposures to area children and residents.

Now that the site's remedy is in place, the community can move forward with redeveloping the property as a
community asset. An agreement to transfer ownership of the cleaned-up site to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St.
Louis will facilitate the development of a golf training facility for youth on the property. The organization will partner
with a local nonprofit to develop the facility. EPA is also helping the City of St. Louis Land Reutilization Authority
restore pollinator and bird habitat on part of the site.

Redevelopment of500-Acre South
Bay Asbestos Site into a Vibrant
Office Park, Trails and Open Space

San Jose, California

Once the location of two landfills, which
accepted asbestos-containing materials from
a manufacturing plant for over three decades,
redevelopment at this cleaned-up site now
provides economic, recreational and social
benefits to the community.

in April 2019, the corporate headquarters of
Hewlett Packard Enterprise opened on the
property, employing over 1,000 people. The
new facility includes sports fields, a gym,
cafeteria and an open roof-top area.

Transforming a Blighted Site into a Golf Training Center for Inner-City Youth and
Pollinator and Bird Habitat at the Carter Carburetor Site I St. Louis, Missouri


-------
Many factors associated with cleaning up sites
inspire the spirit of innovation in the Superfund
program, including the challenges of addressing
complicated sites, new complexities requiring
new cleanup solutions, advances in science, and
the quest for more efficient, effective and timely
cleanups.

INNOVATIONS IN SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY

3D-Visualization Gives Window to What's
Beneath the Surface at the Summitville
Mine Site | Rio Grande County, Colorado

Using cutting-edge software, EPA collaborated with the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment on a 3D digital model that
allowed site staff to visualize subsurface conditions, including elevated levels
of contamination, and make more informed - and more effective - cleanup
decisions.

The software combined large environmental and geospatiai
data sets to generate a 3D model that illustrated the
underground mine's infrastructure, geology and heavy
metals distribution in the site's groundwater and surface
water.The model highlighted geologic faults and groundwater
seeps that may act as potential pathways for heavy metals and acidic
groundwater to enter an adjacent stream.

36


-------
Bedrock Investigation
Key to Protecting
Drinking Water Wells
at Hidden Lane Landfill
Super fund Site
Sterling, Virginia

EPA used innovative technologies to conduct a
high-resolution bedrock investigation at the site. The
effort improved understanding of the site's geology
and contaminant mass distribution, leading to more
comprehensive cleanup decisions.

The investigation consisted of drilling and collecting
rock cores that were analyzed in an on-site laboratory
for VOCs using the Core Discrete Fracture Network
Approach (CoreDFN™). CoreDFN™ enabled EPA
to evaluate and interpret the distribution of
contaminants in the bedrock that have affected the
aquifer, which is the area's drinking water source.

EPA also analyzed rock samples at an off-site
laboratory using high-frequency computerized
tomography (CT), three-dimensional dual-energy CT,
and thin-section geological analysis, which provided a
detailed 2D and 3D picture of the material making up
the site's underlying bedrock.

EPA, in partnership with the site's PRPs, successfully
used steam enhanced extraction (SEE) to recover
more than 400,000 pounds of contaminants. The
use of about 95 million pounds of steam led to
achievement of the site-specific soil cleanup criteria.
SEE involves injecting steam deep into the subsurface
to remove contaminants that had infiltrated through
surfkial soils and migrated deep into the ground.
EPA's Office of Research and Development provided
extensive technical support for this technology's use
and operation.

Technology Using
Millions of Pounds
of Steam Extracts
Contaminants and
Protects Groundwater at
the Beede Waste Oil Site
Plaistow, New Hampshire

37


-------




U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460

EPA 904/R21/001 | May 2021
httDs://www.eDa.aov/suDerfund


-------