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A Series of Firsts (continued)
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CREATING THE REGULATORY STRUCTURE
The framework was established by Congress, but the actual mechanisms for implementing CERCLA were the responsibility of EPA. For example, at the Valley of the Drums site, EPA was able to respond quickly under the new Superfund statute to the immediate threat posed by the leaking drums, but it took the creation of a Superfund program to clean up the site so it was safe for the long-term.
One of the biggest questions that EPA needed to answer in order to prepare the regulatory framework for Superfund was: "How clean is clean?" In other words, at what level was a cleanup considered protective of human health and the environment?
EPA created three major regulatory mechanisms under Superfund to establish cleanup standards and procedures. They are: the National Contingency Plan (NCP), the Hazard Ranking System (HRS), and the National Priorities List (NPL). EPA has revised these three mechanisms over the years based on new understandings on how best to protect human health and the environment. They still remain the foundation of how EPA responds to a hazardous substance release.
The National Contingency Plan
The NCP is the primary regulation dictating CERCLA response actions. The NCP sets forth detailed procedures to be followed by EPA, the States, and private parties in selecting and conducting emergency removals and long-term cleanup actions.
The Hazard Ranking System
EPA developed the HRS to evaluate the environmental hazards of a site. The HRS is a numerically-based screening system that uses information from initial, limited investigations to assess the hazards a site poses to human health and the environment.
The HRS is designed to estimate the potential risks presented by releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants at one site compared to those presented by other sites. The calculation of the HRS score analyzes potential "pathways" of exposure to human population or a sensitive environment. Each release, or potential release, is analyzed based on exposure from pathways such as ground water, surface water, air, and soil exposure.
The National Priorities List
The HRS score is the primary method for determining placement on the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL identifies the sites that are national priorities for receiving further investigations and long-term cleanup actions. The first NPL was announced in 1983, with 406 priority sites identified. One of those sites was the Valley of the Drums. Because it was on the NPL, the site qualified for a Superfund-financed remedial action -- and today, the "Valley of the Drums" is remembered mainly for historical reasons since the area is no longer the location of leaking drums and is safe for humans and the environment.
The NPL is updated regularly based on the evaluation of both new sites and the progress of cleanup at sites already on the NPL. As of October 2000, there are 1,450 sites on the final NPL -- with 59 additional sites proposed for inclusion. Over the years, in addition to completing remedial construction at over 750 sites, EPA has deleted 219 sites from the NPL. Developing and maintaining the NPL requires close coordination among EPA and State agencies.
Superfund Successfully Responds in Times Beach The Town of Times Beach, Missouri, captured the Nation's attention in 1982, when EPA, acting upon recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, closed down the town after discovering dangerous levels of dioxin. Roads to the town were blocked off, and the site was patrolled around-the-clock by security guards. The contamination occurred because the town sprayed dioxin-contaminated waste oil on streets and parking lots to control dust. Times Beach was one of the most extensive cleanups in Superfund history. In 1983, EPA added the site to the first NPL. After the site was listed, EPA permanently relocated more than 2,000 people and tore down all of the homes and businesses. Cleaning the Times Beach Superfund site was a massive effort that included installation of a temporary incinerator to burn the contaminated soil and the erection of a 15 foot high barrier around the incinerator to protect from regular flooding by the Meramec River. By the end of 1997, cleanup of the site was completed by EPA and Syntex Agribusiness, the company that assumed responsibility of the site's cleanup. More than 265,000 tons of dioxin-contaminated soil from the site and 27 nearby areas had been cleaned. EPA and the State of Missouri worked closely with Syntex during cleanup to ensure that the restoration made the site suitable for productive use. In 1999, a new 500-acre State park commemorating the famous Route 66 opened on what was once one of the most recognized sites in the country. Thousands of visitors now enjoy the scenic riverside area in Missouri once known as Times Beach. |
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