Task Force Recommendations Summary

Roles and Responsibilities

EPA should continue to review its decision documents, agreements, and other tools as appropriate, to ensure that site-specific LTS roles and responsibilities are clearly delineated.
EPA should continue to develop guidance addressing LTS implementation and assurance across its cleanup programs, as appropriate.
EPA, State, and Tribal cleanup programs and other Federal agencies should invest more time working with and building stronger relationships with local governments, and conduct more training and outreach, to help them better define and understand their potential specific LTS roles/responsibilities.
EPA should partner with other Federal agencies and State, Tribal, and local government organizations to sponsor one or more "summits" in which representatives from Federal, State, Tribal and local agencies can share their perspectives and insights on LTS.

Information Management

EPA should continue to facilitate the maintenance and exchange of LTS information through existing grants and other resources, and by establishing and promoting data standards (e.g., data element registries and XML schema and tags).
EPA should continue to support the development of mechanisms for sharing information to prevent breaches of institutional and engineering controls.

LTS Costs

EPA should evaluate current LTS costing guidance and, if appropriate, either revise it or develop new guidance to improve the Agency's ability to produce more consistent and reliable cost estimates. As appropriate, EPA should draw on existing governmental and non-governmental studies and information for estimating LTS costs.

Institutional Controls (ICs)

EPA should develop mechanisms and criteria across its cleanup programs for evaluating the effectiveness of ICs at sites.
EPA should support the development of an analysis of institutional controls to determine the reliance on (and burden to) State, Tribal, and local governments.
To enhance the availability and reliability of ICs, EPA should encourage States to review the Uniform Environmental Covenants Act or similar legal provisions for potential state applicability.

LTS Funding and Resources

EPA should work with outside organizations to explore adequate and sustainable funding sources and mechanisms at the Federal, State, and local level to monitor, oversee, and enforce LTS activities.
EPA should continue to explore the role of the private sector in supporting the LTS of sites and foster their involvement, as appropriate.