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Overview of Superfund
Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act
Shahid Mahmud, Environmental Engineer
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Overview
Origin of CERCLA (Superfund Law)
Key provisions of CERCLA
Key provisions of the National Oil and Hazardous
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP)
Overview of the cleanup process under
Superfund
10/9/2012 2U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The Origin of CERCLA
Public awareness of
abandoned dump sites
Two sites drew significant
media attention:
Love Canal in Niagara
Falls, New York
“Valley of the Drums” in
Brooks, Kentucky
10/9/2012 3U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Key Provisions of CERCLA
Approved as law in 1980
Provides legal authority to respond to a
release of:
A hazardous substance
Any pollutant or contaminant that may present an
imminent and substantial endangerment
Excludes oil releases
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 4
Key Provisions of CERCLA
Creates Hazardous Substance
Trust Fund
Holds those Potentially
Responsible Parties (PRPs)
liable
Cleanup costs
Natural resource damages
Inventories and prioritizes sites
Establishes a National Priorities
List (NPL)10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 5
Key Provisions of CERCLA
Authorizes three types of response actions:
Removal Action
Remedial Action
Enforcement Action
Encourages participation of states and tribal
governments
Provides opportunities for community
involvement
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 6
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 7
PlanNational Oil and Hazardous Substances
Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP)
Blueprint for responding to oil spills and hazardous
substances releases.
All Superfund response actions must be consistent with
the NCP. The NCP is found at 40 Code of Federal
regulations (CFR) Part 300
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-
idx?c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title40/40cfr300_main_02.tpl
NCP provides step-by-step process for conducting
Superfund response actions.
Removal Actions under Superfund
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Three types of removal response actions:
1.Emergency Response (Action within hours)
2.Time-Critical (Action within 6 months)
3.Non-time Critical (Planning period more than 6
months)
On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) investigates site to
determine extent of damage and the appropriate
actions to take during the response effort.
Emergency Response
Coordination and implementation of a
wide range of activities to ensure timely
response measures for hazardous
substance and oil releases.
Includes large-scale national emergencies
such as homeland security incidents.
Emergencies range from small-scale
spills to large events requiring prompt
action and/or evacuation of nearby
populations.
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 9
Removal Responses
Common at Superfund Sites when contamination
poses an imminent threat to human health and the
environment.
Removal actions can supplement long-term cleanup
actions at NPL sites
Classified as either time-critical or non-time-critical
depending on the extent and type of contamination.
Decision to conduct removal documented in an
Action Memorandum.
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 10
11
Long-Term
CleanupClean/
Closure
Short-Term
Cleanup
Removal
Community
Relations
Site Reuse
Enforcement/Cost Recovery
Site DiscoverySite
Assessment
Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS)
Site Listing
Remedial
Overview of Superfund Response Process
Site Listing Process - Hazard Ranking
System (HRS)
Used to identify sites for the National Priorities List (NPL)
Numerically based scoring system that uses information from initial
investigations
HRS assesses relative potential of sites to pose a threat to human health
and the environment
Ranks sites based on their relative risk among sites evaluated
Cut-off score of 28.5 was established for placing sites on the NPL
An HRS evaluation is performed following procedures defined in the HRS
regulation (40 CFR Part 300 Appendix A, part of the NCP)
1210/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Major Phases of Remedial Process
NCP defines five major phases: Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study
Selection of Remedy
Remedial Design
Remedial Action (Site Cleanup)
Operation and Maintenance
Overall goal of remedy selection: Protective of human health and the environment
Maintain protection over time
Minimize untreated waste
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 13
Overview of Remedial Investigation/
Feasibility Study (RI/FS) Process
RI/FS supports remedy selection
Remedial Investigation (RI) provides: Site characterization
Baseline risk assessment
FS develops and analyzes remedial action
alternatives Develop and screen alternatives
Detailed analysis of alternatives
• Nine Evaluation criteria are basis of remedy selection
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 14
Remedy Selection
Proposed plan informs the public on the
preferred cleanup option
Public reviews and provides comments on the
proposed plan
All relevant documents are maintained in the
site information repository
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 15
Record of Decision, Remedial Design and
Remedial Action
Record of Decision Official decision document on remedy selection
Technical, legal and public document
Remedial Design Develop final plans and specifications for
selected remedy
Remedial Action Contract selection
Remedy Construction
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 16
Enforcement and Liability
Enforcement principle: those responsible for
hazardous waste sites pay for or perform cleanup.
CERCLA provides criteria under which a party is liable
for cleanup costs.
EPA identifies those responsible for contamination at a
site and negotiates with them to do the cleanup.
EPA can do the cleanup itself and recover its costs
from the responsible party.
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 17
Post Construction Completion
Ensure that Superfund cleanup
actions provide for the long-term
protection of human health and
the environment.
Activities include: operations
and maintenance (O&M), Five-
year reviews, remedy
optimization, institutional
controls, and deleting sites from
the NPL.
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 18
Operation & Maintenance (O&M)
Ensure that equipment is installed and
that the remedy performs as intended.
Site responsibility transfers to the
States for Fund lead sites.
EPA is responsible for monitoring and
ensuring that the work is adequately
performed.
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 19
Five-Year Reviews/Site Deletion
Five-Year Reviews
Evaluate the implementation and performance of a
remedy to determine whether it remains protective
Required by CERCLA / NCP when hazardous substances
remain on site above levels which permit unrestricted use
and unlimited exposure.
Site Deletion
When cleanup levels are met and Operation and
Maintenance is complete – Site is deleted from NPL
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 20
Superfund Site Reuse and Redevelopment
Over 600 Superfund sites have been returned
to productive use under the Superfund
Redevelopment Initiative
Some mine site examples include:
- Anaconda Smelter Company, Montana
- Midvale Slag, Utah
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 21
Summary
CERCLA provides legal authority to respond
to a release of hazardous substances
NCP provides the blueprint for responding to
oil spills and hazardous substances releases
Program designed to address both short and
long-term actions
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 22
Thank You!!
Contact Information:
Shahid Mahmud
Team Leader, EPA Abandoned Mine Lands Team
Office of Site Remediation and Technology Innovation
703-603-8789
10/9/2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 23