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Region 2 - Reorganization Structure: Emergency and Remedial Response Division (ERRD)

Office of Regional Counsel (ORC), Office of Policy and Management (OPM), Division of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance (DECA),Division of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP), Division of Environmental Science and Assessment (DESA), Public Affairs Division(PAD), Caribbean Environmental Protection Division (CEPD)

George Pavlou,
Director

Develops, implements and coordinates regional activities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA). The division manages a comprehensive program for site evaluation, expedited response actions, immediate removals and long-term remedial actions, including cost recovery activities. ERRD is also responsible for emergency response and emergency contingency planning and oil spill control and monitoring.

Organization and Functions of ERRD (issued August 16, 1998)

Director, Emergency and Remedial Response Division: Responsible for the development, implementation and coordination of regional activities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA). Manages a comprehensive program for site evaluation, expedited response actions, immediate removals and long-term remedial actions, including cost recovery activities. Serves as the focal point for all emergency response and emergency contingency planning activities. Responsible for spill control and monitoring programs under Section 311 of the Clean Water Act, as amended by the Oil Pollution Act.

Deputy Director, Emergency and Remedial Response Division: Participates fully in the direction, control and management of the Division. Acts as the Division Director in the absence of the Director. Supervises the Sediment Projects/Caribbean Team assigned to the Director’s Office, which manages the planning, design and construction work for complex sediment-related Superfund projects in Region 2.

Remedy Selection/Design and Construction Manager: Responsible for the management of the remedy selection, remedial design (RD) and remedial action (RA) processes from and including the Record of Decision (ROD) through Long Term Response (LTR), operation and maintenance (O&M) and five year reviews, and site deletion from the National Priorities List (NPL), including integration of all support processes, such as contracts management and community involvement. As an authority on the remedy selection and the RD/RA processes, explains EPA policy to the States and other interested groups. Staff includes a constructability/cost estimation expert who will evaluate the constructability/bidability of remedial actions and analyze and revise cost estimates prepared for remedial actions.

Accelerated Cleanup Manager and Ombudsman: Responsible for analysis of all NPL and NPL-caliber sites to determine stabilization needs, acceleration opportunities, and direction/oversight of activities necessary to achieve these objectives including the management of the Superfund Accelerated Cleanup Model (SACM). Also responsible for the management of the removal processes including integration of all support processes, such as contracts management and community involvement. As an authority on the SACM and removal processes, explains EPA policy to the states and other interested groups. As the Ombudsman, is the point of contact for stakeholders with Superfund concerns. Works closely with all parties to respond quickly to these concerns and to find solutions to presented problems. Provides information and guidance for those cases and questions where answers are not readily available. Is available to assist staff members with any site or assignment, particularly in settling or preventing problems with stakeholders. Makes recommendations to streamline and/or improve operations.

Strategic Integration Manager: Responsible for developing the strategic plan for the division which includes the integration and coordination of all program processes and planning, ensuring that the Divisional plan is consistent with the Regional and National Strategic Plans. Oversees, manages and develops the planning for the Superfund enforcement process, from the potentially responsible party (PRP) search, through RI/FS and RD/RA negotiations and compliance monitoring, to cost recovery and oversight billing, including integration of all support processes, such as contracts management. Also coordinates Agency response with other Divisions, specifically in regard to geographic and multi-media activities, including site discovery, inspection, enforcement and removal/remedial actions. Is the principal coordinator with HQ for the Division, especially in relation to special initiatives; ensures that program priorities are established and met throughout the Division; and, ensures that environmental justice and Brownfields issues are evaluated in the Agency's response to CERCLA sites. As an authority on the Superfund processes, explains EPA policy to the States and other interested groups.

New Jersey Remediation Branch: Responsible for the management of remedial, enforcement and community relations activities at National Priorities List (NPL) sites in New Jersey through a branch consisting of three sections and a New Jersey Projects/State Coordination Team. Identifies the sources of hazardous waste, moves to immediately stabilize and contain the problem, studies the problem todetermine the most cost-effective and environmentally sound cleanup, then designs and implements the cleanup. Also searches for and negotiates with potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and oversees both federal and state PRP contractors to accomplish the planning, design and construction work of the Superfund program. Extensive community involvement efforts, including public meetings, open house or informational meetings, fact sheet development and various written responses, are managed from the time a site is listed on the NPL until it is deleted.

New York Remediation Branch: Responsible for the management of remedial, enforcement and community relations activities at National Priorities List (NPL) sites in New York through a branch consisting of three sections. Identifies the sources of hazardous waste, moves to immediately stabilize and contain the problem, studies the problem to determine the most cost-effective and environmentally sound cleanup, then designs and implements the cleanup. Also searches for and negotiates with potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and oversees both federal and state PRP contractors to accomplish the planning, design and construction work of the Superfund program. Extensive community involvement efforts, including public meetings, open house or informational meetings, fact sheet development and various written responses, are managed from the time a site is listed until it is deleted.

Special Projects Branch: Responsible for the management of the Superfund federal facilities activities, the pre-remedial activities and several special projects through a branch consisting of two sections and a Mega-projects Team. The team is responsible for the management of the planning, design and construction work for several sediment-related and other very large and complex Superfund projects in the Region.

Federal Facilities Section: Responsible for the management of the pre-remedial, remedial/removal, and base closure activities of the other federal agencies in the Region through a section of remedial project managers. Ensures that the federal facilities docket is updated appropriately and that the federal facilities provide the necessary preliminary assessment and site investigation information to enable EPA to prepare the hazard ranking system (HRS) package for listing federal facilities on the national priorities list (NPL). Ensures that the remedial and removal work, including public and state involvement, is accomplished in accordance with the Superfund law and regulations, as mandated by Section 120 of CERCLA. Oversees the restoration, by the federal facilities, of federal properties on which operations have terminated or are planned to beterminated, such as closed or closing military bases, to ensure that the affected parcels are environmentally suitable for transfer or lease under the Base Realignment and Closure Act and Community Environmental Response Facilitation Act.

Pre-remedial Section: Responsible for the management of the site discovery pre-remedial and early action coordination activities through a section of site assessment managers. Manages the hazardous waste site inventory data base and coordination/reconciliation of the EPA and state inventories to ensure that potential sites are inventoried for further action by one of the appropriate authorities or deleted from the data base. Conducts preliminary assessments, site inspections, expanded site inspections, site inspection prioritizations, hazard ranking system (HRS) evaluations, national priorities list (NPL) listings, and community relations efforts related to all of the above, to ensure that the necessary assessments/evaluations are performed in order to determine whether a site is an NPL candidate or should be referred to another jurisdiction for response. Ensures that every site entering the site assessment stage is evaluated for opportunities for early action, by either EPA's removal or remedial program or by the states.

Program Support Branch: Responsible for the management of the contracts management activities, the resource management/cost recovery activities and the remedial technical support activities through a branch consisting of two sections and two teams, a Technical Support Team, and a Brownfields Team. The Technical Support Team provides technical support, guidance, and assistance to the Region's technical staff, as well as Superfund managers, in areas such as risk assessment, human health assessment, ecological assessment, geology, hydrology, hydrogeology, and engineering. The Brownfields Team provides direction and coordination to the Region’s Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative and the Showcase Communities Initiative, which are concerned with the redevelopment through partnerships of sites that either have been contaminated or are perceived to be contaminated. The team oversees the resources provided for implementation of these initiatives and acts as a liaison with other EPA support, such as legal, site assessment, removal assessment, technical, and administrative. The team also is responsible for all outreach to stakeholders involved in these initiatives.

Contracts Management Section: Responsible for the management of the external contract/interagency agreement (IAG) management coordination and oversight activities, internal contract/IAG management support activities and long-term contract/IAG strategy activities through a section of project officers. Ensures that the extramural contractors' support activities are furnished in accordance with the needs of the pre-remedial, remedial and removal programs. Also ensures that contractors perform in conformance with statutes, regulations, policies and procedures governing contracting activities. Assists project managers in developing Independent Government Cost Estimates (IGCEs) for negotiating work assignments with the contractors, troubleshoots any differences with the contracting officers to ensure expeditious processing of work assignments, offers technical and administrative advice to ensure compliance with contract and IAG requirements and provides the appropriate contract mechanism to meet the project specifications. Ensures that sufficient contract/IAG capacity, diverse contractor technical capabilities and a variety of contractor procurement mechanisms are available to suit the needs of the pre-remedial, remedial and removal programs.

Resource Management/Cost Recovery Section: Responsible for data base management and information systems activities, program planning, budgeting and accomplishment tracking activities, enforcement support and cost recovery activities and records management and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) activities through a section of scientists, environmental protection specialists and civil investigators. Manages the CERCLIS, WasteLAN and Superfund Enforcement Support System data bases and Regional and national information systems, and develops and oversees the Superfund local area network programs/functions. Sets, coordinates and reports external/internal Superfund goals and accomplishments and formulates, coordinates and monitors the Superfund budget. Manages responsible party searches, tracks information request and notice letters and coordinates the preparation of cost documentation for cost recovery purposes. Compiles an administrative record and site file for all removal and remedial projects, manages the administrative record and site file rooms and manages the preparation of responses to all non-site specific FOIA requests.

Response and Prevention Branch: Responsible for the management of the emergency response, oil and removal technical support activities through a branch consisting of one section and two teams, an Emergency Response Team and an Oil Program Team. The teams provide notification of, respond to and activate technical personnel for emergency incidents involving hazardous substance releases or oil spills posing an immediate or potential threat to human health or the environment, and take appropriate actions to immediately abate, prevent, minimize, stabilize, mitigate or eliminate such emergency threats. The Oil Program Team makes referrals to the Office of Regional Counsel for failure to comply with the oil storage regulations under the Clean Water Act as amended by the Oil Pollution Act. The Emergency Response Team performs outreach and training activities and inspections under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act.

Technical Support Section: Responsible for the management of the removal administrative support activities, Emergency Planning and Community Right To Know Act (EPCRA) activities and some removal activities through a section of on-scene coordinators and other technical specialists. Provides contract and IAG management, GIS management, data management and other administrative and cost management support for the removal program. Provides guidance and technical assistance to state and local officials concerning their emergency plans and toxic chemical risks, trains state and local officials to prepare for, respond to and prevent chemical accidents, and inspects facilities to ensure compliance with their accidental release notification and hazardous chemical and toxic chemical release inventory reporting requirements under EPCRA. Takes appropriate actions (generally less than 6 months in duration) to abate, prevent, minimize, stabilize, mitigate or eliminate a release or threat of a release which poses a threat to human health or the environment. Takes enforcement action for failure to notify under EPCRA Title III and CERCLA.

Removal Action Branch: Responsible for the management of the removal, removal enforcement and removal community relations activities through a branch consisting of one section and an Enforcement Management Team. The team searches for and negotiates with potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and oversees PRP contractors in their conduct of removal actions.

Removal Section: Responsible for the management of removal, site assessment and community relations activities through a section of on-scene coordinators. Takes appropriate actions to immediately abate, prevent, minimize, stabilize, mitigate or eliminate a release or threat of a release which poses a threat to human health or the environment, including actions related to oil spills and the Superfund Accelerated Cleanup Model initiative. Characterizes sites in terms of contaminants present, their quantity compared to national standards and the dangers posed by the chemicals, in order to determine the eligibility of the site for a removal action or to refer it to another jurisdiction, such as the states, for action. Extensive community involvement efforts, including public meetings, open houses or informational meetings, fact sheet development and various written responses, are managed throughout the removal activities.

Supersession: This Order supersedes Regional Order R-1100.2B dated November 2, 1997.

February 4, 1998

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