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Round 2
In February 1995, EPA introduced a second round of reforms. The 12 reforms encompass five areas: enforcement, economic redevelopment, public involvement and environmental justice, innovative technology, and State and Tribal empowerment.Reform 2-1: PRP Search Pilots
EPA piloted several procedures to improve the quality and timeliness of potentially responsible party (PRP) searches, to make information obtained more accessible, and to identify a larger universe of PRPs earlier in the process. Ongoing efforts continue to improve the PRP search process.
Reform 2-2: Expedited Settlements
EPA identified eligible parties and offered them expedited settlements (ability to pay settlements and early de minimis settlements) at pilot sites. Lessons learned have been incorporated into guidance.
Reform 2-3: Allocation Pilots
EPA has been piloting a process to allocate responsibility for response costs among all parties at selected pilot sites.
Reform 2-4a: Brownfields Pilot Projects
EPA developed Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilots to help empower States, communities, and other stakeholders interested in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to assess, clean up, and reuse brownfields. Grants are awarded by EPA under cooperative agreements to States, cities, towns, counties, and Tribes to foster creative brownfields solutions.
Reform 2-4b: Brownfields Community Outreach
This initiative enhances community involvement in the process of brownfields redevelopment.
Reform 2-4c: Refining CERCLIS
This reform established a process of archiving sites from CERCLIS that no longer need to be tracked.
Reform 2-4d: Clarifying NPL Sites
EPA has issued guidance that authorizes the Regions to identify land parcels on or adjacent to NPL sites that are considered uncontaminated. A similar reform was included in Round 3, Reform 3-9, Delete Clean Parcels from the NPL.
Reform 2-4e: Removing Liability Barriers
EPA identified options to encourage the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties, giving prospective purchasers, lenders, and property owners more assurances that acquisition of such property will not also mean acquisition of liability.
Reform 2-5a: Community Advisory Groups (CAGs)
This initiative encourages Regions to establish CAGs, which provide a public forum for community members to present and discuss their needs and concerns about the decision-making process at Superfund sites affecting them.
Reform 2-5b: Technical Assistance Grants (TAGs)
TAGs provide resources to communities to acquire independent technical assistance to help them understand and comment on Superfund site-related information. EPA is encouraging the Regions to consider means to increase citizen involvement further, such as advance funding of TAGs and the authorization of training for TAG recipients.
Reform 2-6: Community Involvement in the Enforcement Process
EPA fostered the development of innovative approaches for community involvement in technical settlement issues.
Reform 2-7a: Training and Health Service Assistance to Communities
In coordination with the U.S. Public Health Service, EPA established the Medical Assistance Plan (MAP) to provide health services assistance to citizens in proximity to Superfund sites.
Reform 2-7b: Job Training and Development
EPA has developed interagency pilots to train and employ residents living near Superfund sites through classroom instruction and hands-on work experience.
Reform 2-8: Guidance for Remedy Selection
EPA has produced a number of guidance documents to improve consistency and help streamline site characterization and remedy selection.
Reform 2-9a: Risk Sharing -- Implementing Innovative Technology
To share risks associated with implementing innovative technologies, EPA agreed to underwrite the use of certain promising innovative approaches for a limited number of approved projects.
Reform 2-9b: Risk Sharing -- Obstacles to Using Innovative Technology
To encourage contractor use of innovative technology, EPA has reduced associated implementation risks by expanding indemnification coverage to include the prime contractor as well as the innovative technology contractor when indemnification is offered. These parties are thereby protected from third-party negligence claims should the technology not perform as expected.
Reform 2-10: Voluntary Cleanup Program
This reform supports effective State and Tribal voluntary cleanup programs and promotes cooperation between States, Tribes, and Regions. EPA has provided financial assistance to support State Voluntary Cleanup Program infrastructure and has issued guidance on drafting Memoranda of Agreement between EPA Regions and States.
Reform 2-11 Integrated Federal/State/Tribal Site Management Program
This initiative allows States, Territories, and Tribes to oversee and compel potentially responsible party actions at selected NPL-caliber sites. EPA has signed numerous deferral agreements which defer sites from NPL-listing so that they may be handled by State and Tribal environmental agencies.
Reform 2-12: State/Tribal Superfund Block Funding
This initiative provides greater flexibility to States and Tribes in their use of Cooperative Agreement (CA) resources to conduct or assist Superfund response actions.