Previous Superfund Remedial Annual Accomplishments

Fiscal Year 2018 Report

Superfund: Transforming Communities — FY 2018 Accomplishments Report (PDF)(24 pp, 5.8 MB)

On this page:

• Protecting communities' health and ecosystems
• Safeguarding communities from imminent threats
• Preparing for future cleanup efforts
• Funding Superfund work
• Conducting construction work
• Completing construction work
• Getting sites ready for redevelopment
• Ensuring long-term protection
• Optimizing Superfund work to increase efficiency
• EPA Brings More Sites Under Control for Human Exposure, Releases Dashboard to Track Progress
• EPA Funds State Superfund Work

Protecting communities' health and ecosystems

EPA actions at a net total of 32 additional sites controlled potential or actual human exposure risk, bringing the cumulative total at the end of FY 2018 to 1,507 sites.

At a net total of 29 additional sites, EPA controlled the migration of contaminated groundwater through engineered remedies or natural processes, bringing the cumulative total to 1,198 sites.

Safeguarding communities from imminent threats

EPA completed or provided oversight at 242 removal actions to address imminent and substantial threats to communities. Removal responses address sites where contamination poses an immediate threat to human health and the environment.

Preparing for future cleanup efforts

EPA completed 664 remedial site assessments, for a cumulative total of 96,093. These efforts determine whether a site warrants short- or long-term cleanup.

EPA placed 15 sites on and proposed 19 sites to the NPL. At the end of FY 2018, the NPL had 53 proposed, 1,338 final and 412 deleted sites.

As of November 2018, there were 48 sites with active Superfund Alternative Approach (SAA) agreements and 15 additional sites that have completed construction work under SAA.

EPA selected 66 cleanup remedies and amended 48 cleanup plans.

EPA obligated about $220 million in resources to conduct and oversee site assessments and investigations, selection and design of cleanup plans, and support for state, tribal, community involvement and other activities.

Funding Superfund work

EPA obligated approximately $390 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions and potentially responsible party settlement resources for construction and post-construction projects.

In FY 2018, EPA disbursed or obligated more than $220 million, including reclassifications, from Superfund special accounts for site-specific work.

As of the end of FY 2018, more than $4.2 billion has been disbursed or obligated for Superfund cleanups from special accounts.

Funds to clean up sites come from several sources, including congressional appropriations, states, and PRP settlements. In FY 2018, EPA obligated approximately $390 million for construction and post-construction projects. More than $54 million of this total came from infrastructure funding for Superfund remedial construction work that was part of FY 2018 appropriations. EPA used these funds for projects at 11 sites where EPA has the lead due to a lack of viable responsible parties.

EPA’s cleanup enforcement program protects human health and the environment by getting those responsible for a contaminated site to either clean it up or reimburse EPA for its cleanup work. In FY 2018, through enforcement instruments, EPA obtained over $453 million in commitments to clean up Superfund sites and to reimburse the Agency approximately $80 million of EPA’s past costs from cleanup work at Superfund sites. Additionally, EPA billed PRPs approximately $80 million for oversight costs associated with cleanup work performed by PRPs at Superfund sites.

Approximately 60 percent of ongoing remedial construction projects are being performed by PRPs.

Conducting construction work

To protect communities and promote reuse, EPA and other project leads started 73 new remedial construction projects, including 34 government-led projects, 18 PRP-led projects, one SAA project, and 20 federal facility-led projects.

EPA and other project leads conducted construction or provided oversight at 479 remedial construction projects started in prior fiscal years, including 128 government-led projects, 196 PRP-led projects (190 NPL sites and six SAA sites) and 155 federal facility-led projects.

EPA was unable to fund new construction work at 20 NPL sites that would have otherwise been ready for construction in FY 2018. Unfunded Superfund construction projects result when a PRP is not found or cannot pay, and no other funding sources are available.

Completing construction work

EPA and other project leads completed 87 remedial construction projects. This total includes 28 government-led projects, 34 PRP-led projects (28 NPL sites and six SAA sites) and 25 federal facility sites.

“Construction completion” is a site-wide measure that documents the completion of all physical construction of cleanup actions, including actions to address all immediate threats and to bring all long-term threats under control. In FY 2018, all physical construction of the cleanup remedy was completed at 10 NPL sites and two SAA sites. EPA and other project leads have now completed construction of all remedies at 1,205 NPL sites and SAA sites.

Getting sites ready for redevelopment

In FY 2018, Superfund identified 51 additional sites as having all long-term protections, including institutional controls, in place to meet Superfund’s Sitewide Ready for Anticipated Use (SWRAU) measure, the highest annual result since FY 2013. This brings the cumulative total of SWRAU sites to 887. Redevelopment of Superfund sites has brought thousands of jobs to communities. Many sites that EPA has designated as ready for reuse in previous years now host parks, business districts, renewable energy facilities, commercial and industrial facilities, and wildlife habitat.

Ensuring long-term protection

EPA conducted 252 five-year reviews, including 34 at federal facility sites, to ensure that remedies built at these sites continue to protect communities.

Optimizing Superfund work to increase efficiency

Through Superfund’s optimization program, teams of independent technical experts identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness and cost efficiency of Superfund remedies. In FY 2018, Superfund completed 17 optimization projects with another 39 underway. When applied to site management, these techniques and the decisions they support show a significant return on investment.

EPA Brings More Sites Under Control for Human Exposure, Releases Dashboard to Track Progress

EPA identified best management practices to more effectively manage environmental indicators and identified and prioritized actions to bring additional sites under control within accelerated timelines. In FY 2018, EPA brought a net total of 32 sites under control, compared to 24 in FY 2017.

Additionally, EPA launched the Human Exposure Dashboard on the Superfund website to provide real-time human exposure status for all NPL and Superfund Alternative Approach sites. The dashboard provides a breakdown of the number of sites where human exposure is under control. It also includes a searchable, sortable table that lists each site’s human exposure status along with detailed explanations. Visit the Human Exposure Dashboard at https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-human-exposure-dashboard.

EPA Funds State Superfund Work

Through cooperative agreements, EPA provides states with funding to conduct work under the Superfund program including site assessment, remedial action, review of remedy decision documents, and enforcement action. In FY 2018, EPA provided approximately $52 million to states to conduct activities at NPL sites, and to support state Superfund programs. States play a significant role in identifying and assessing sites to determine the most appropriate cleanup program to address the site. In FY 2018, states developed 449 (68 percent) of the 664 Superfund remedial site assessments across 40 different states. 

Fiscal Year 2017 Superfund Remedial Program Accomplishments Report

View PDF version of Superfund's FY2017 Accomplishments (PDF)(16 pp, 20 MB)

On this page:

• What is Superfund?
• Highlights
• Key Measures
• Other Program Accomplishments

What is Superfund?

Congress created the Superfund program in 1980 to protect human health and the environment by responding to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants.

Research has associated Superfund cleanups with up to a 25 percent reduction in birth defects for those living within approximately a mile of a site. Cleanups of lead-contaminated soil have contributed to documented reductions in children’s blood-lead levels across the country.

In addition, Superfund cleanups often spur development, recreational and ecological projects. These projects can facilitate job creation, increase property values, and enhance local tax bases. Independent research found that residential property values within three miles of Superfund sites increased 19 to 24 percent when sites are cleaned up and deleted from Superfund’s National Priorities List.

Much like EPA’s Brownfields program, EPA puts Superfund sites back into productive use. EPA’s Superfund Redevelopment Initiative has economic data at more than 450 sites in reuse. In FY 2017, these sites supported more than 6,600 businesses that employed more than 155,000 people earning in excess of $11 billion in annual employment income.

Highlights

This report is focused primarily on the fiscal year 2017 accomplishments of the Superfund remedial program, which is responsible for long-term cleanups of contaminated sites. In addition, we will also share a few of our removal program’s many accomplishments. The Superfund removal program conducts emergency and shorter-term responses when contamination poses an imminent and substantial threat to human health or the environment.

Prioritizing the Superfund Program and Establishing the Superfund Task Force

On May 22, Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt issued a memorandum, “Prioritizing the Superfund Program.” The memorandum outlined three actions:

1. It established the Superfund Task Force to provide recommendations on an expedited timeframe.
    
2. To promote increased oversight, accountability and consistency in remedy selections, the administrator is retaining authority previously delegated to the assistant administrator for Office of Land and Emergency Management and the regional administrators to select remedies estimated to cost $50 million or more.
    
3. Regional administrators and their staffs shall more closely and more frequently coordinate with the administrator's office throughout the process of developing and evaluating alternatives and selecting a remedy, particularly at sites with remedies estimated to cost $50 million or more.

On July 25, Former Administrator Pruitt issued the Task Force’s report outlining 42 recommendations under five overarching goals:

• Expediting Cleanup and Remediation;
• Re-invigorating Responsible Party Cleanup and Reuse;
• Encouraging Private Investment;
• Promoting Redevelopment and Community Revitalization; and
• Engaging Partners and Stakeholders.

Redevelopment of Superfund Sites Leads to Billions in Sales and Income

Superfund cleanups provide significant economic benefits to communities. EPA’s data for FY 2017 shows that at 487 Superfund sites in reuse, 6,622 businesses generated $43.6 billion in sales and employed 156,352 people who earned a combined income of $11.2 billion.

The annual sales total of $43.6 billion in FY 2017 at these sites is more than four times the $10.2 billion, adjusted for inflation, that EPA has spent cumulatively at these sites.

Over the last seven years (2011-2017) these businesses’ ongoing operations generated at least $206 billion (inflation adjusted) in sales, which is more than 20 times the $10.2 billion that EPA spent.

EPA Adds Subsurface Intrusion Pathway to NPL Scoring System

On Jan. 9, 2017, the Federal Register published EPA’s rulemaking that added a scoring mechanism to the Hazard Ranking System (HRS) to evaluate sites with subsurface intrusion contamination for placement on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).

The HRS is the principal mechanism EPA uses to place environmental releases on the NPL. It is a numerically based screening system that uses information from initial investigations to assess the relative potential of sites that pose a threat to human health or the environment.

The most common form of subsurface intrusion is vapor intrusion, which occurs when vapor-forming chemicals migrate from the subsurface into an overlying building.

In extreme cases, the vapors may accumulate in dwellings or occupied buildings to levels that may pose near-term safety hazards from explosion or acute health effects.

In buildings with lower concentrations of vapor-forming chemicals arising from vapor intrusion, the main concern is whether the chemicals may pose an unacceptable risk of health effects due to long-term exposure.

See:

• Hazard Ranking System
• Rulemaking for Subsurface Intrusion Contamination
• National Priorities List
• Vapor Intrusion

EPA Adds and Proposes New NPL Sites

On Aug. 3, EPA added seven sites and proposed addition of four sites to the National Priorities List (NPL). EPA adds sites to the NPL when contamination threatens public health and the environment. The NPL guides EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation and/or cleanup. Sites posing an unacceptable level of risk to human health or the environment are remediated.

The new NPL sites are:

• The Battery Recycling Company in Bo. Cambalache, Puerto Rico;
• Former Custom Cleaners in Memphis, Tennessee;
• Highway 18 Ground Water in Kermit, Texas;
• Microfab Inc. in Amesbury, Massachusetts;
• Old HWY 275 and N. 288th Street in Valley, Nebraska;
• Post and Lumber Preserving Co. Inc. in Quincy, Florida; and
• Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics in Village of Hoosick Falls, New York.

The sites proposed for addition to the NPL are:

• Newark South Ground Water Plume in Newark, Delaware;
• American Creosote DeRidder in DeRidder, Louisiana;
• Mississippi Phosphate Corporation in Pascagoula, Mississippi; and
• Eagle Industries in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

See also:

• National Priorities List
• Federal Register Notice of the Current National Priorities List (NPL) Rule (PDF) published Aug. 3, 2017(6 pp, 255 K, About PDF)
• Federal Register Notice of the Current Proposed National Priorities List (NPL) Rule (PDF) published Aug. 3, 2017(6 pp, 257 K)

EPA Completes Deletion Activities at Six NPL Sites

EPA may delete a final National Priorities List site if it determines that no further response is required to protect human health or the environment.

In FY 2017, EPA deleted two sites from the NPL, bringing the total of deleted sites to 394.

In addition, EPA partially deleted four sites in FY 2017. There have now been 86 partial deletions at 65 NPL sites. See:

• National Priorities List
• National Priorities List Deletion

EPA and HUD Sign MOU to Improve Communication

In January, EPA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding “Improving Communication About Certain Public and HUD-Assisted Multifamily Housing Near Superfund Sites.”

EPA and HUD entered into this MOU to facilitate communication, information exchange, and EPA access to HUD properties when further investigation is appropriate.

EPA accomplishments during FY 2017 include:

• Identified hundreds of Superfund sites where public housing, or subsidized multifamily properties, were within the site footprint or nearby. These sites were reviewed to ensure there were no immediate risks to the residents.
   
• Expanded its investigational footprint at one site and accelerated investigational timelines at two more to address potential risks to residents.
• Provided training and communications materials to Superfund remedial project managers and community involvement coordinators to facilitate communications between the agencies.

Superfund Sites Redeveloped for Alternative Energy Generation

Many active and former Superfund sites are now home to alternative energy facilities. As of September 2017, alternative energy facilities located at 50 Superfund sites provided an installed capacity of more than 316 megawatts.

Wind, solar and landfill gas facilities make up about 90 percent of the projects, and 62 percent of these efforts have an installed capacity of 1 megawatt or more. About 32 percent of these projects offset on-site energy demands of cleanup efforts or directly power site-related cleanup activities.

EPA Responds to Hurricanes

The 2017 hurricane season included three of the most destructive storms in U.S. history — Harvey, Irma and Maria. EPA deployed response teams to all three events to help residents recover.

On Aug. 25, Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane. It would go on to dump more than 50 inches of rain on parts of Southeast Texas and cause $125 billion in damage.

EPA Region 6 immediately activated the Regional Emergency Operations Center and deployed personnel to begin coordination with the state of Texas on emergency response activities. The Agency rapidly responded to the state’s request for support.

EPA field operations included identification and assessment of impacts to drinking water and wastewater critical infrastructure; response to oil and hazardous materials discharges and releases; assessments to identify and evaluate discharges and releases; collection and disposal of accumulations of orphaned containers; and assessment of damages to oil and chemical facilities.

Hurricane Irma made landfall on the Florida Keys on Sept. 10 with 130 mile-per-hour winds. EPA personnel integrated into unified operations with the United States Coast Guard and Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Landfill technical specialists provided assistance with debris management in the Keys and performed more than 240 site visits. The EPA Container Recovery Group collected more than 120 items including drums, oil containers and propane tanks. EPA’s water teams, along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, completed 2,227 assessments of drinking water and wastewater facilities.

Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Sept. 20. The storm has resulted in more than 500 fatalities and $92 billion in damage.

EPA has deployed a large response team to help island residents in the aftermath of Maria as well as Irma, which also caused significant damage in the region. As of February 2018, EPA had more than 350 personnel deployed to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

EPA is focused on environmental impacts and public health threats as well as ensuring the safety of those in the affected areas. EPA’s work includes the collection of household hazardous waste and debris management, oil and chemical spill response, vessel recovery, management of medical waste, and activities to restore drinking water and wastewater services.

• EPA’s Hurricane Harvey response
• EPA’s Hurricane Irma response
• EPA’s Hurricane Maria response

Key Measures

EPA uses two types of response authorities to address polluted sites under Superfund: removal and remedial. Superfund responds to chemical releases and other urgent situations under its emergency response and time-critical removal authorities. Superfund’s remedial program conducts long-term cleanups of contaminated sites, and in many cases, returns them to beneficial use.

Sites EPA cleans up under the Superfund remedial program fall under either the National Priorities List (NPL) or the Superfund Alternative Approach (SAA).

The NPL is the list of national priorities among the known or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants. It is intended to guide EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation and/or cleanup. Sites posing an unacceptable level of risk to human health or the environment are remediated.

The SAA is an alternative to listing a site on the NPL. SAA sites have the same investigation and cleanup standards as NPL sites, but are led and funded by a cooperative and capable potentially responsible party under an enforceable agreement with EPA. It can save time and resources compared to listing a site on the NPL.

EPA’s Superfund program tracks the following measures on an annual basis to keep the public and internal and external stakeholders apprised of the program’s progress in cleaning up sites.

For additional information on these topics, see:

• Emergency Response
• Cleaning up Superfund Sites
• National Priorities List (NPL)
• Superfund Alternative Approach (SAA)

Protecting communities' health and ecosystems*

* Includes both National Priorities List and Superfund Alternative Approach sites.

In FY 2017, a net total of 24 additional sites were designated as “Human Exposure Under Control,” bringing the cumulative total at the end of FY 2017 to 1,475 sites. The “Human Exposure Under Control” category describes sites where EPA assessments indicate there are currently no unacceptable human exposure pathways anywhere on site. This is generally because either the entire site has been cleaned up to levels that do not adversely affect public health, or controls have been implemented that prevent human exposure to contamination. For current data and additional information, see:

• Human Exposure Dashboard

EPA controlled the migration of contaminated groundwater through engineered remedies or natural processes at net total of 14 additional sites, bringing the cumulative total to 1,169 sites.

Safeguarding communities from imminent threats

EPA completed or provided oversight at 255 removal actions to address imminent and substantial threats to communities. Removal responses address sites where contamination poses an immediate threat to human health and the environment.

Preparing for future cleanup efforts

EPA completed 747 remedial site assessments, for a cumulative total of 95,416. Remedial assessments are performed to determine if cleanup may be needed under a Superfund-managed or -monitored program. The 747 assessments resulted in the following outcomes:

• 452, or 61 percent, required no further work under Superfund;
• 235, or 31 percent, need further assessment; and
• 60, or 8 percent, were referred to a cleanup program.
• See Superfund Site Assessment Process

EPA placed seven sites on and proposed four sites to the National Priorities List. At the end of FY 2017, the NPL had 49 proposed, 1,342 final, and 394 deleted sites. See:

• National Priorities List
• National Priorities List Deletion

EPA selected 34 cleanup remedies and amended 34 cleanup plans. See:

• Remedy Decisions
• Search for Superfund Decision Documents

EPA obligated approximately $210 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources to conduct and oversee:

• Site assessments and investigations;
• Selection and design of cleanup plans; and
• Support for state, tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.
• See Finding Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)

Funding Superfund work

In FY 2017, EPA obtained approximately $1.2 billion in commitments from potentially responsible parties (PRPs) to clean up Superfund sites, and EPA billed PRPs approximately $99 million in oversight costs associated with cleanup work at sites in FY 2017. See:

• Finding Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)
• Superfund Oversight Policies

Additionally, PRPs committed to reimburse approximately $143 million of EPA’s past costs from cleanup work at Superfund sites. The amounts EPA recovers are either placed in site-specific special accounts for future cleanup work or deposited into the general Superfund Trust Fund to be used for sites where viable, liable parties either do not exist or lack the funds or capabilities needed to conduct the cleanup. See:

• Superfund Special Accounts

EPA obligated approximately $442 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and PRP settlement resources for construction and post-construction projects. See:

• Superfund: Post Construction Completion

Special account funds may be used to partially reimburse parties performing CERCLA response work at a site, pay for EPA’s future cleanup-related costs at a site, or pay for EPA’s past cleanup-related costs at a site (i.e., reclassification).

The Agency's goal in establishing and using special accounts is to ensure PRPs pay for cleanup at Superfund sites. This conserves annually appropriated resources from the Superfund Trust Fund for sites where there are no liable or viable PRPs.

In FY 2017, EPA disbursed or obligated more than $357 million, including reclassifications, from Superfund special accounts for site-specific work.

As of the end of FY 2017, more than $4.0 billion has been disbursed or obligated for Superfund cleanups from special accounts.

Conducting construction work

EPA and other project leads started 75 new remedial construction projects, including 22 government-led projects, 30 potentially responsible party-led projects (25 NPL sites and 5 SAA sites), and 23 federal facility-led projects. See:

• Remedial Design/Remedial Action
• Finding Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)

EPA and other project leads conducted construction or provided oversight at 472 remedial construction projects started in prior fiscal years, including 133 government-led projects, 193 potentially responsible party-led projects (184 NPL sites and 9 SAA sites), and 146 federal facility-lead projects. See:

• Remedial Design/Remedial Action 

EPA was unable to fund new construction work at 18 National Priorities List sites that would have otherwise been ready for construction in FY 2017. Unfunded Superfund construction projects result when a potentially responsible party is not found or cannot pay, and no other funding sources are available. See:

• FY 2017 sites with unfunded new construction project starts
• Remedial Design/Remedial Action
• National Priorities List (NPL)

Completing remedial construction projects

EPA and other project leads completed 97 remedial construction projects.  This total includes 30 government-led projects, 38 potentially responsible party-led projects (33 NPL sites and 5 SAA sites), and 29 federal facility sites.  Remedial construction (often referred to as remedial action) is how the Superfund program implements solutions to the environmental problems at uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. There can be multiple remedial actions to be performed at each site. All of these actions must be performed in order for a site to be deemed to have completed construction. See:

• Remedial Design/Remedial Action

Completing construction work

“Construction completion” is a site-wide measure that documents the completion of all physical construction of all cleanup actions, including actions to address all immediate threats and to bring all long-term threats under control. In FY 2017, all physical construction of the cleanup remedy was completed at seven National Priorities List sites and three Superfund Alternative Approach sites. EPA and other project leads have now completed construction of all remedies at 1,195 National Priorities List sites and 13 Superfund Alternative Approach sites. See:

• Remedial Action Project Completion and Construction Completions
• National Priorities List
• Superfund Alternative Approach

Ensuring long-term protection

EPA conducted 257 five-year reviews, including 33 at federal facility sites, to ensure site remedies remain protective. Five-year reviews are generally required when hazardous substances remain on site above levels that permit unlimited use and unrestricted exposure. Five-year reviews provide an opportunity to evaluate the implementation and performance of a remedy to determine whether it adequately protects human health and the environment. See:

• Five-Year Reviews

Getting sites ready for redevelopment

In FY 2017, Superfund identified 43 additional sites as having all long-term protections, including institutional controls, in place to meet Superfund’s Sitewide Ready for Anticipated Use measure, bringing the cumulative total to 836. See:

• Superfund Redevelopment Initiative

The Superfund Redevelopment Initiative ensures EPA and its partners have the tools to return Superfund sites to productive use. See the Highlights section above for data on the Initiative’s economic impact. In FY 2017, EPA began five new reuse projects under the Initiative and continued support on another six ongoing reuse projects.

Optimizing Superfund work to increase program efficiency

Through Superfund’s optimization program, teams of independent technical experts identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness and cost efficiency of Superfund remedies. In FY 2017, Superfund completed 25 optimization projects and had a total of 68 underway. See:

• Cleanup Optimization at Superfund Sites

Other Program Accomplishments

Report Provides Trends in Remedy Decisions

EPA published the 15^th edition of the Superfund Remedy Report to provide information on remedies EPA selected to address contamination at Superfund National Priorities List and Superfund Alternative Approach sites.

The report informs stakeholders in Superfund communities about the program’s remedy decisions, and helps federal, state and tribal remediation professionals select remedies. Furthermore, analyzing the trends in remedy decisions provides an indication of the future demand for remedial technologies.

Some key findings:

• Contaminated groundwater and soil are the most commonly addressed media at Superfund sites.
   
• Superfund sites and remedies are generally complex. A majority of sites address multiple media (i.e., soil, groundwater) and types of contaminants, with multiple remedial approaches.
   
• Almost 80 percent of sites with remedies include treatment of the source materials (i.e., soil or sediment), groundwater or both.
   
• More than half address volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds, and metals.
   
• With regard to technologies to treat groundwater contamination, in situ treatment is increasing, and pump and treat is decreasing.
   
• Almost all sediment decision documents include excavation or dredging.
   
• Active depressurization was the most frequently selected technology for vapor intrusion mitigation.
   
• Institutional controls continue to be selected in most new remedy decision documents.

Superfund Releases Best Practices Document to Inform Work at Abandoned Mines

In July, the Superfund program issued Planning for Response Actions at Abandoned Mines with Underground Workings: Best Practices for Preventing Sudden, Uncontrolled Fluid Mining Waste Releases Reference Document (PDF)(70 pp, 4 MB)

In an effort to minimize the potential for sudden uncontrolled releases of fluid mine waste resulting from its response actions, EPA will use these best practices, as applicable, before carrying out Superfund activities at hard-rock mining and mineral-processing sites with fluid-release hazards.

EPA compiled these best practices as a follow up to recommendations made by EPA’s internal review and the Department of Interior’s review of the 2015 Gold King Mine release near Silverton, Colorado.

Superfund Documents Recent Optimization Reviews

EPA released the Superfund Optimization Progress Report 2011-2015 (PDF)(75 pp, 2.7 MB). The report describes EPA’s optimization efforts to make its cleanups more efficient and effective.

Optimization is a systematic site review by a team of independent technical experts. It identifies opportunities to ensure remedy protectiveness and cost efficiency, and to facilitate progress toward cleanup completion.

The Superfund program released the National Strategy to Expand Superfund Optimization Practices from Site Assessment to Site Completion in September 2012. The strategy instituted changes to technical approaches at Superfund remedial sites to use tools and strategies that promote more effective and efficient cleanups.

The body of knowledge on applied optimization techniques and their use throughout the cleanup lifecycle is substantial and has grown markedly since the strategy was released. When applied consistently and systematically to site management, these techniques and the decisions they generate show a significant return on investment.

Superfund Provides Job Training for Cleanup Work

The Superfund Job Training Initiative (SuperJTI) is a job-readiness program that provides training and employment opportunities for people living in communities affected by Superfund sites. EPA’s goal is to help these communities develop job opportunities that remain long after a Superfund site has been cleaned up.

In 2017, EPA conducted three SuperJTI projects at sites in Hillsboro, Illinois; East Chicago, Indiana; and Klamath Falls, Oregon. Thirty-eight trainees completed the program and are ready to go to work. See:

• Superfund Job Training Initiative (SuperJTI)
• Eagle Zinc Co. Superfund Site (Hillsboro, Illinois)
• USS Smelter and Lead Refinery (East Chicago, Indiana)
• North Ridge Estates Superfund Site (Klamath Falls, Oregon)

Superfund Program Redesigns Site-Profile Pages

Every National Priorities List and Superfund Alternative Approach site has its own site-profile page on the web. In 2017, Superfund staff from across the nation worked together to redesign the site-profile page template.

The team put the needs of Superfund communities first to develop an easy-to-navigate design that aligned with EPA’s overall web look-and-feel. You can view the redesigned site-profile pages by searching for NPL and SAA sites on the Sites Where You Live page.

Superfund Issues Sediment Sites Directive

In January, EPA released a contaminated sediment sites directive containing 11 recommendations based on current best practices for characterizing sediment sites, evaluating remedial alternatives, and selecting and implementing appropriate response actions.

The memorandum also included updated operating procedures for the Contaminated Sediment Technical Advisory Group.

Cleanup Work Advances at Sites Nationwide

In FY 2017, EPA completed its work or made major progress at removal and remedial sites across the country, including:

Portland Harbor

On Jan. 6, EPA released its cleanup plan, or record of decision, for 10 miles of the Lower Willamette River within the Portland Harbor Superfund site which runs through the economic heart of Portland, Oregon.

EPA’s plan addresses contaminated sediments through dredging, capping, enhanced natural recovery, and monitored natural recovery, including removal of over three million cubic yards of contaminated sediments.

The plan also addresses contaminated groundwater that could re-contaminate the river and river banks.

Approximately 1,774 acres of the site with lower contaminant levels are expected to recover naturally over time.

Active cleanup work at the site is now expected to take as much as 13 years and cost approximately $1 billion. See:

• Portland Harbor Superfund site
• Portland Harbor Record of Decision

U.S. Smelter and Lead Refinery

EPA continued to clean up residential areas of the U.S. Smelter and Lead Refinery, Inc. Superfund site in East Chicago, Indiana.

This construction season, soil and interior dust cleanup work was conducted at residential properties. As of Nov. 30, 2017, EPA completed soil cleanups at 229 properties and interior dust cleanings at 62 properties.

This brings the total over the last two years of work to 284 soil cleanups and 88 interior dust cleanings.

EPA’s community involvement team made more than 1,200 contacts with residents and provided Superfund for Communities training for residents in the affected area.

In addition, EPA began a feasibility study for the West Calumet Housing Complex property to support a potential remedy change due to the pending demolition of the housing complex.

San Jacinto River Waste Pits

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, EPA divers conducted a damage assessment of the armored cap materials at the San Jacinto River Waste Pits site in Channelview, Texas.

Approximately 20 dives were performed over three days in the Northwest Cap Area, which contains relatively steep capped slopes over dioxin waste extending into the San Jacinto River.

During the cap assessment, EPA divers also selected 14 locations of possible cap damage for surficial sediment sampling. At the same time, commercial divers collected similar samples at collocated positions.

On Oct. 11, EPA approved the cleanup plan to address highly toxic dioxin contamination at the site.

The selected remedy will protect human health and the environment by removing highly contaminated material from the site and securing less contaminated areas. EPA’s cleanup plan includes installing engineering controls such as cofferdams before excavating almost 212,000 cubic yards of dioxin-contaminated material for disposal.

The plan provides certainty to people living near the site by permanently addressing risk posed by the contamination.

Jacksonville Ash and Brown's Dump Sites

Years of coordinated efforts in Jacksonville, Florida, have transformed four once-contaminated areas in low-income neighborhoods into safe places for locals to live, shop, work and play.

The Jacksonville Ash and Brown’s Dump sites are areas where incinerator ash was deposited.

Cleanup efforts have included soil removal, surface covers and institutional controls to prevent contact with contaminated soils. About 50 properties have been cleaned up to date, addressing more than 90 percent of all site areas.

The city of Jacksonville worked with EPA to allow residential and commercial uses to continue during cleanup. Community facilities – a public park, middle and high school, and two elementary schools – also remained open. The school properties were cleaned up during the summer months when students were on their break.

The cleanup has spurred new development as well. The sites now support an animal care center, several residential projects, a church, community centers, and the 11-court MaliVai Tennis Center. Future plans include additional park facilities.

Kinta/Elk City Oil Spill

During spring 2017, parts of Oklahoma suffered heavy rains. On Apr. 30, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) requested EPA assistance responding to reports of oil contamination impacting residential properties in Kinta. Leading up to the incident, there were flash floods and moderate to major river flooding.

That day, EPA assessed the extent of oil contamination while working with Haskell County officials. EPA investigated and identified multiple sources of oil spills. Due to the lack of a clear responsible party, EPA initiated cleanup activities including excavation of oil-impacted soils; removal of oiled vegetation on both private and public property; removal of oil from the concrete drainage canal and unnamed tributary creek; and recovery of multiple orphaned oil containers.

On May 18, ODEQ requested EPA assistance again after a tornado struck Elk City. Two 300-gallon storage tanks were thrown 200 yards near an unnamed creek which flowed into Elk Creek and the Washita River.

EPA identified a responsible party that assisted with cleanup efforts. On May 19, EPA completed cleanup of a drainage ditch and contained the source oil, preventing further contaminants from reaching Elk Creek. The team then restored the area back to pre-spill conditions.

Morgan Materials

EPA Region 2 received a referral from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to undertake a cleanup at the Morgan Materials site in Buffalo in November 2016.

The site consisted of several warehouses where hazardous and nonhazardous products were improperly stored.

EPA identified manufacturers’ names and addresses that sold products to Morgan Materials. Over 30 companies voluntarily removed their chemicals and waste products from the site in 2017.

As of the end of FY 2017, over 3,300 tons of waste products and over 8,400 drums and small containers were removed to off-site disposal facilities.

Brunswick Wood Preserving

In August 2017, EPA completed the second five-year review of the remedy for the Brunswick Wood Preserving site in Brunswick, Georgia. It confirmed that the cleanup remains protective of human health and the environment.

The site’s remedy included construction of two containment cells to contain and isolate contamination at the site. The cells consist of subsurface barrier walls surrounding the former creosote pond areas, solidified and stabilized site soils and sediments from Burnett Creek, and engineered caps.

In 2015, EPA installed a water extraction/treatment system to control the water level in the eastern containment cell. In 2016, EPA conducted additional remediation of creosote remaining in the shallow subsurface outside the western containment area.

Commencement Bay

In 2017, EPA Region 10 completed all the anticipated active remedial actions to reduce groundwater contamination emanating from the Commencement Bay, South Tacoma Channel Superfund site in Tacoma, Washington.

The site is contaminated with chlorinated solvents and petroleum.

Significant achievements of the interim remedial action include 88 percent reduction in mass discharge of contaminants of concern, 99 percent reduction in mass discharge of parent compounds (1,1,2,2-PCA, PCE, and TCE), and five of the six contaminants of concern reduced to below maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in the Groundwater Extraction Treatment System influent.

Naval Air Station Oceana

On May 11, the Naval Air Station Oceana experienced a discharge of approximately 96,000 gallons of fuel from its fuel farm in Virginia Beach, Virginia, due to an open tank filter. The cleanup effort was led by the U.S. Navy, working with the U.S. Coast Guard.

On May 16, the U.S. Coast Guard contacted EPA Region 3 for assistance. Region 3 reached out to the Superfund program’s Environmental Response Team (ERT) to provide air monitoring support to determine potential air contamination.

On May 18, ERT mobilized to the site with 24-hour air monitoring equipment. The goal was to set up those instruments to monitor for volatile organic compounds coming off the fuel. ERT conducted air monitoring at several locations in the surrounding area of the spill, and ERT provided human health data for those affected.

Once the numbers were below the agreed-upon action level, the Navy and Coast Guard allowed the residents to return to their homes.

West Odessa Tire Fire

On Apr. 9, EPA received notification of a large fire occurring at a tire disposal facility in West Odessa, Texas. Adjacent to a large chemical blending facility and within a half mile of a residential community, the fire created a large plume of smoke that became a public health hazard for downwind populations.

The local fire departments did not have the specialized resources needed. Therefore, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requested EPA assistance.

EPA mobilized to the incident and formed a unified command with TCEQ and Ector County Emergency Management. EPA also activated resources to extinguish the fire and assess any threats to the public arising from the smoke plume.

The Ector County Health Department established a voluntary shelter-in-place for areas immediately surrounding and downwind of the fire. EPA also initiated air monitoring along the perimeter and within the dispersion area of the plume.

After approximately one week of unified operations, the joint team contained the fire. Approximately 1,000 yards of dirt was applied to the fire pit area before the fire finally extinguished. EPA used the infrared camera to verify that no hot spots remained.

North Ridge Estates

During the second construction season at North Ridge Estates, a residential asbestos cleanup site in Klamath Falls, Oregon, EPA removed 150,000 cubic yards of asbestos-contaminated soil from 14 residences.

The completed properties were then backfilled and revegetated. This has readied 10 homes for restoration for resale or for lease as office and living space.

Cleanup construction at the site is expected to be completed in the next 18 months.

Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia Win Redevelopment Awards

EPA developed the State Excellence in Supporting Reuse award in 2014 to recognize state partners whose work has led to lasting benefits that enhance community quality-of-life and ensure the long-term protectiveness of site remedies. The 2017 awardees are:

Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM): IDEM has provided critical support for cleanup and redevelopment efforts at Superfund sites across Indiana. IDEM has worked with EPA to help developers understand how to fit redevelopment efforts within a site’s remedial constraints. They have been instrumental in ensuring that implemented institutional controls do not unnecessarily hinder potential redevelopment opportunities. Highlighted sites:

• Continental Steel (Kokomo)
• Lake Sandy Jo (M&M Landfill) (Gary)
• Tippecanoe Sanitary Landfill (Lafayette)

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NC DEQ): In addition to their involvement in the cleanup and reuse planning processes at Superfund sites, NC DEQ has also collaborated with EPA to promote redevelopment in an innovative way. They have worked with EPA to use geographic information systems (GIS) to provide important information to potential developers on site use limitations. Highlighted sites:

• Martin-Marietta, Sodyeco, Inc. (Charlotte)
• Ecusta Mill (Pisgah Forest)

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ): VADEQ has long been a team player, working with EPA and other parties to achieve protective reuse and redevelopment of Superfund sites. By prioritizing the return of sites to productive use, outstanding redevelopment successes have been realized across the commonwealth of Virginia over the past several decades. These successes illustrate that the benefits of Superfund redevelopment are here to stay. Highlighted sites:

• Avtex Fibers (Front Royal)
• Chisman Creek (York County)
• Dixie Caverns County Landfill (Salem)

Superfund Clears Path for Redevelopment

Every year, new Superfund sites become ready for redevelopment and new businesses relocate to previously contaminated property. View the Highlights section above for the overall economic impact of the Superfund Redevelopment Initiative.

Here are just a few examples of sites that are providing benefits to their surrounding communities.

Iron Horse Park

The Iron Horse Park site in Billerica, Massachusetts, is a leading example of contaminated-site revitalization and transformation.

Three solar projects with a total capacity of 16 megawatts provide power to four school systems and the local government.

Nine commercial and industrial businesses are currently active at the site. Site businesses generated over $57.1 million in annual sales and employed over 350 people, providing annual employment income of $21.3 million to the local community.

• Redevelopment profile
• Iron Horse Park site webpage

Kennecott South Zone

The Kennecott South Zone in Salt Lake County, Utah, serves as a national model for the use of the Superfund Alternative Agreement, which is an alternative to listing a site on the NPL that can save time and resources. EPA approved the cleanup plan, setting the stage for the site’s cleanup and redevelopment.

Open communication, extensive collaboration and innovative thinking helped contribute to the transformation of this industrial site into a thriving residential area and regional economic hub.

Operable unit (OU) 7 and surrounding areas support Daybreak, the largest master-planned community in Utah. The site provides a wide range of commercial, industrial, public service, residential and recreational reuses. Businesses located in OU7 employ about 914 people, providing nearly $38 million in annual employment income and generating an estimated $143.2 million in annual sales.

• Redevelopment profile
• Kennecott South Zone site webpage

Torch Lake

Quincy Smelter is part of the larger Torch Lake Superfund site in Franklin Township, Michigan.

EPA worked closely with the National Park Service, the Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Franklin Township and local partners to support Quincy Smelter, a 25-acre area located in Keweenaw National Historical Park, becoming part of the Quincy Mining Company National Historic Landmark.

Reuse plans for the area include a waterfront recreation area and historical tours of the landmark, which is considered the best-preserved copper smelter in the country.

• Redevelopment profile
• Torch Lake site webpage

PJP Landfill

The PJP Landfill site in Jersey City, New Jersey, has been transformed from a contaminated landfill into an economic hub and ecological asset.

Four businesses operate at the site — a paper product manufacturing company, a distribution facility for an online grocery supplier, a trucking company, and a gas station.

The area also includes over 32 acres of restored green space along the Hackensack River that supports wildlife.

Site businesses employ about 1,225 people and provide estimated annual employment income of nearly $51 million.

• Redevelopment profile
• PJP Landfill site webpage

Chisman Creek

The Chisman Creek site in York County, Pennsylvania, is home to two popular athletic parks used by several sports leagues.

These high-quality recreation facilities have been a tremendous asset to the citizens of York County. Since the parks opened, they have hosted thousands of games and visitors.

• Redevelopment profile
• Chisman Creek site webpage

Fiscal Year 2016 Superfund Remedial Program Accomplishments Report

On this page:

• What is Superfund?
• Highlights
• Superfund Annual Accomplishment Metrics
• Program Accomplishments
• Superfund Redevelopment Initiative Accomplishments

What is Superfund?

Congress created the Superfund program in 1980 to protect human health and the environment by responding to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants. Superfund cleanups have been shown to reduce the incidence of birth defects by as much as 25 percent for those living within approximately a mile of a site. Cleanups of lead-contaminated soil have contributed to documented reductions in children’s blood-lead levels across the country.

In addition, Superfund cleanups often spur development, recreational and ecological projects. These projects can facilitate job creation, increase property values, and enhance local tax bases. Independent research found that residential property values within three miles of Superfund sites increased 19 to 25 percent when sites are cleaned up and deleted from Superfund’s National Priorities List.

Highlights

• EPA placed 15 sites on the National Priorities List (NPL), including the Bonita Peak Mining District. Gold King Mine is one of 48 mining-related areas within this district. EPA adds sites to the NPL when contamination threatens public health and the environment. Adding a site to the NPL is the most effective and comprehensive approach for investigating and cleaning up contamination. At the end of FY 2016, the NPL had 53 proposed sites and 1,729 final and deleted sites. See:
  • National Priorities List (NPL)
  • Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund Site
  • Gold King Mine
     
• During FY 2016, at non-federal Superfund sites, EPA:
  • Started 703 investigations;
  • Made 24 remedy decisions and updated 12 decisions;
  • Initiated 44 remedial construction projects;
  • Completed 105 remedial construction projects;
  • Completed all construction work at 13 sites;
  • Has 1,337 sites in long-term response;
  • Deleted two sites and a portion of one site from the National Priorities List, bringing the total of deleted sites to 392.
     
• The Superfund Redevelopment Initiative ensures EPA and its partners have the tools to return Superfund sites to productive use. Information EPA has collected at 458 of the 850 sites in reuse indicate these sites supported approximately 4,700 businesses in 2016. These businesses’ ongoing operations generate annual sales of $34 billion and employ more than 131,000 people who earned a combined income of $9.2 billion. In 2016, Superfund identified 41 additional sites as having all long-term protections, including institutional controls, in place to meet Superfund’s Sitewide Ready for Anticipated Use measure, bringing the cumulative total to 793. See:
  • Superfund Redevelopment Initiative
     
• EPA actions at 12 sites controlled potential or actual exposure risk to humans, bringing Superfund’s cumulative total to 1,452 sites, which represents 82 percent of all final and deleted sites. 
   
• EPA controlled the migration of contaminated groundwater through engineered remedies or natural processes at 17 sites, bringing Superfund’s cumulative total to 1,155 sites. 
  • Remedial Design/Remedial Action
     
• EPA completed or provided oversight at 226 removal actions to address immediate and substantial threats to communities. EPA also completed 105 remedial action projects.

• On Feb. 3, 2016, EPA proposed a rulemaking that would add a screening mechanism to the Hazard Ranking System (HRS) to evaluate sites with subsurface intrusion contamination for placement on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy signed the rulemaking on December 7, 2016, and the rule was published in the Federal Register on January 9, 2017.
  
  The HRS is the principal mechanism EPA uses to place uncontrolled waste sites on the NPL. It is a numerically based screening system that uses information from initial investigations to assess the relative potential of sites to pose a threat to human health or the environment.
  
  The most common form of subsurface intrusion is vapor intrusion, which occurs when there is a migration of vapor-forming chemicals from the subsurface into an overlying building. In extreme cases, the vapors may accumulate in dwellings or occupied buildings to levels that may pose   near-term safety hazards from explosion or acute health effects.
  
  A 2010 Government Accountability Office report concluded that if these sites are not assessed and listed on the NPL as needed, there is potential that contaminated sites with unacceptable human exposure will not be acted upon. See:
  • Hazard Ranking System
  • Rulemaking for Subsurface Intrusion Contamination
  • National Priorities List (NPL)
  • Vapor Intrusion
     
• EPA disbursed or obligated more than $332 million in FY 2016 from Superfund special accounts for site-specific work. The Agency's goal in establishing and using special accounts is to ensure potentially responsible parties (PRPs) pay for cleanup at Superfund sites. This conserves annually appropriated resources from the Superfund Trust Fund for sites where there are no liable or viable PRPs. As of the end of FY 2016, more than $3.6 billion has been used for Superfund cleanups from special accounts. See:
  • Superfund Special Accounts
     
• In FY 2016, EPA obtained approximately $1 billion in commitments from potentially responsible parties to clean up Superfund sites. EPA billed potentially responsible parties approximately $91.8 million in oversight costs associated with cleanup work at sites in FY 2016, the third highest amount of oversight ever billed in the program’s history. See:
  • Finding Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)
  • Superfund Oversight Policies
     
• Several active and former Superfund sites are now home to alternative energy facilities. As of September 2016, alternative energy facilities are located at 45 Superfund sites, providing an installed capacity of just over 260 megawatts. Nearly two-thirds of the installations are solar powered, while half of the installations have an installed capacity of 1 megawatt or more.
   
• The Superfund Job Training Initiative (SuperJTI) is a job-readiness program that provides training and employment opportunities for people living in communities affected by Superfund sites. EPA’s goal is to help these communities develop job opportunities that remain long after a Superfund site has been cleaned up. In 2016, EPA conducted two SuperJTI projects — one for the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp., site in Columbus, Mississippi, and another for the North Ridge Estates site in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Thirty-four trainees completed the program and are ready to go to work. See:
  • Superfund Job Training Initiative (SuperJTI)
  • Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp. Superfund Site
  • North Ridge Estates Superfund Site

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Superfund Annual Accomplishment Metrics

EPA uses two types of response authorities to address polluted sites under Superfund: removal and remedial. Superfund responds to chemical releases and other urgent situations under its emergency response and time-critical removal authorities. Superfund’s remedial program conducts long-term cleanups of contaminated sites, and in many cases, returns them to beneficial use.

Sites EPA remediates under Superfund fall under either the National Priorities List (NPL) or the Superfund Alternative Agreement (SAA) program.

The NPL is the list of national priorities among the known or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants. It is intended to guide EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation and/or cleanup. Sites posing an unacceptable level of risk to human health or the environment are remediated.

The SAA is an alternative to listing a site on the NPL. SAA sites have the same investigation and cleanup standards as NPL sites, but are led and funded by a cooperative and capable potentially responsible party under an enforceable agreement with EPA. It can save time and resources compared to listing a site on the NPL.

EPA’s Superfund program tracks the following measures on an annual basis to keep the public and internal and external stakeholders apprised of the program’s progress in cleaning up sites. See:

• Emergency Response
• Cleaning up Superfund Sites
• National Priorities List (NPL)
• Superfund Alternative Agreement (SAA)

Protecting communities' health and ecosystems*

* Includes both National Priorities List and Superfund Alternative Agreement sites.

• EPA actions at 12 sites controlled potential or actual exposure risk to public health, bringing the cumulative total to 1,452 sites. 
   
• Controlled the migration of contaminated groundwater through engineered remedies or natural processes at 17 sites, bringing the cumulative total to 1,155 sites. See:
  • Remedial Design/Remedial Action

Obligating funds for construction and post-construction activities

• Obligated approximately $402 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party (PRP) settlement resources for construction and post-construction projects. See:
  • Finding Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)
  • Superfund: Post Construction Completion

Funding new construction projects at EPA and PRP-lead projects

• Started 44 new remedial construction projects, including 22 government-led projects and 22 potentially responsible party-led projects. See:
  • Remedial Design/Remedial Action
  • Finding Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)
     
• Conducted construction work or provided oversight at 365 remedial construction projects started in prior fiscal years. See:
  • Remedial Design/Remedial Action
     

  FY2016 Removals and Remedial Action Project Completions

  
  Map of FY2016 Removals and Remedial Action Project Completions
   
• EPA was unable to fund new construction work at 12 National Priorities List sites that would have otherwise been ready for construction in FY 2016. Unfunded Superfund construction projects result when a potentially responsible party is not found or cannot pay, and no other funding sources are available. See:
  • FY 2016 sites with unfunded new construction project starts
  • Remedial Design/Remedial Action
  • National Priorities List (NPL)

Cleaning up hazardous waste sites

• Construction completion is a site-wide measure that documents the completion of physical construction of all cleanup actions, including actions to address all immediate threats and to bring all long-term threats under control. All physical construction of the cleanup remedy was completed at 11 National Priorities List sites and two Superfund Alternative Approach sites.
  
  EPA has now completed construction of all remedies at 1,188 National Priorities List sites. See:
  • Remedial Action Project Completion and Construction Completions
  • National Priorities List (NPL)
     
• Completed 105 remedial action projects. Remedial action is how the Superfund program implements solutions to the environmental problems at uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. There can be multiple remedial actions to be performed at each site. All of these actions must be performed in order for a site to be deemed to have completed construction. See:
  • Remedial Design/Remedial Action
  • Map of FY2016 Removals and Remedial Action Project Completions
     
• Through Superfund’s optimization program, teams of independent technical experts identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness and cost efficiency of Superfund remedies. In FY 2016, Superfund supported 31 optimization projects at 31 sites. See:
  • Cleanup Optimization at Superfund Sites

Safeguarding communities from imminent threats

• Completed or provided oversight at 226 removal actions to address imminent and substantial threats to communities. Removal responses are for sites where the contamination poses an immediate threat to human health and the environment. See:
  • Map of FY2016 Removals and Remedial Action Project Completions

Preparing for future cleanup efforts

• Completed 703 remedial site assessments, for a cumulative total of 94,593. Remedial assessments are performed to help determine if cleanup may be needed under a Superfund-managed or -monitored program. The 703 assessments resulted in the following outcomes:
  • 433, or 62 percent, required no further work under Superfund;
  • 238, or 34 percent, need further assessment; and
  • 32, or 4 percent, were referred to a cleanup program.

Collectively, remedial site assessments completed in FY 2016 at sites in the Superfund active site inventory were within approximately one mile of:

• 4.1 million total residents
• 1.6 million total minority residents
• 800,000 children (residents less than 18 years old)
• 1.8 million households
  • See: Superfund Site Assessment Process
     
• Placed 15 sites on the National Priorities List, and proposed 16 sites to the National Priorities List. At the end of FY 2016, the National Priorities List had 53 proposed sites and 1,729 final and deleted sites. See:
  • National Priorities List (NPL)
  • National Priorities List Deletion
     
• Selected 24 cleanup remedies and amended 12 cleanup plans. See:
  • Remedy Decisions
  • Search for Superfund Decision Documents
     
• Obligated approximately $210 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources to conduct and oversee:
  • Site assessments and investigations;
  • Selection and design of cleanup plans; and
  • Support for state, tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.
    • See: Finding Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)

Ensuring long-term protection

• Conducted 241 five-year reviews, including 35 reviews at federal facility sites, to ensure site remedies remain protective. Five-year reviews generally are required when hazardous substances remain on site above levels that permit unrestricted use and unlimited exposure. Five-year reviews provide an opportunity to evaluate the implementation and performance of a remedy to determine whether it adequately protects human health and the environment. See:
  • Five-Year Reviews
     
• EPA may delete a final National Priorities List site if it determines that no further response is required to protect human health or the environment. In FY 2016, EPA deleted two sites and a portion of one site from the NPL. See:
  • National Priorities List (NPL)
  • National Priorities List Deletion

Remaining committed to "polluter pays" principle

• In FY 2016, EPA obtained approximately $1 billion in commitments from potentially responsible parties to clean up Superfund sites, and EPA billed potentially responsible parties approximately $91.8 million in oversight costs associated with cleanup work at sites in FY 2016, the third highest amount of oversight ever billed in the program’s history.
   
• Additionally, potentially responsible parties agreed to reimburse $55.3 million of EPA’s past costs from cleanup work at Superfund sites. The amounts EPA recovered are either placed in site-specific special accounts for future cleanup work or deposited into the general Superfund Trust Fund to be used for sites where viable, liable parties either do not exist or lack the funds or capabilities needed to conduct the cleanup. See:
  • Finding Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)
  • Superfund Special Accounts

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Program Accomplishments

• On Feb. 3, 2016, EPA proposed a rulemaking that would add a screening mechanism to the Hazard Ranking System (HRS) to evaluate sites with subsurface intrusion contamination for placement on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy signed the rulemaking on December 7, 2016, and the rule was published in the Federal Register on January 9, 2017. 
  
  The HRS is the principal mechanism EPA uses to place uncontrolled waste sites on the NPL. It is a numerically based screening system that uses information from initial investigations to assess the relative potential of sites to pose a threat to human health or the environment.
  
  The most common form of subsurface intrusion is vapor intrusion, which occurs when there is a migration of vapor-forming chemicals from the subsurface into an overlying building. In extreme cases, the vapors may accumulate in dwellings or occupied buildings to levels that may pose near-term safety hazards from explosion or acute health effects.
  
  A 2010 Government Accountability Office report concluded that if these sites are not assessed and listed on the NPL as needed, there is potential that contaminated sites with unacceptable human exposure will not be acted upon. See:
  • Hazard Ranking System
  • Rulemaking for Subsurface Intrusion Contamination
  • National Priorities List (NPL)
  • Vapor Intrusion
     

• 

  On Aug. 5, 2015, EPA was conducting an investigation at the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado. During excavation, pressurized water began leaking above the mine tunnel, sending approximately three million gallons of water into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River. In response, EPA took a number of actions in FY 2016, including:
   
  • EPA added the Bonita Peak Mining District to the Superfund National Priorities List. Gold King Mine is one of 48 mining-related areas within the district. EPA adds sites to the NPL when contamination threatens public health and the environment. Adding a site to the National Priorities List is the most effective and comprehensive approach for investigating and cleaning up contamination. See:
    • Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund Site
       
  • As an added precaution when working at abandoned mines, EPA headquarters developed a consultation process between headquarters and EPA regional offices for removal and remedial activities at hardrock mining and mineral-processing sites with fluid hazards. The memo outlining the process shares the Agency’s expectations for work performed at these sites. See:
    • March 2016 Memo: Planning for Removal and Remedial Activities at Hardrock Mining and Mineral Processing Sites with Fluid Hazards
       
  • EPA has developed the draft “Planning for Response Actions at Abandoned Mines with Underground Workings: Best Practices for Preventing Sudden, Uncontrolled Fluid Mining Waste Releases” reference document, which is currently undergoing external peer review. EPA will revise the draft document to incorporate appropriate peer review comments and anticipates finalizing in spring 2017.
     
  • EPA developed an “Interim Checklist for Preventing Sudden, Uncontrolled Mining Waste Releases Prior to Conducting Response Actions at Mine Sites” to guide site teams when working at mine sites.
     
  • EPA released a report titled One Year After the Gold King Mine Incident: A Retrospective of EPA’s Efforts to Restore and Protect Impacted Communities (PDF)(23 pp, 4.4 MB, About PDF). The report provides an overview of EPA’s response to the incident and describes watershed conditions before and after.
     
  • EPA awarded more than $1.2 million to reimburse states, tribes and local governments for their response costs associated with the release. These funds include costs incurred for various activities, including field evaluations, water quality sampling, laboratory analyses, and personnel. See:
    •   Frequent Questions Related to Gold King Mine Response
       
• Participated in Agency-wide efforts to support EPA’s Making a Visible Difference in Communities by targeting Superfund work for environmentally overburdened, underserved and economically distressed areas. One such example is at the 35^th Avenue site, where EPA is addressing lead, arsenic and benzopyrene in soil. The site is in a mixed industrial and residential area of Birmingham, Alabama. To date, EPA has sampled over 1,100 of the approximately 2,000 residential properties within the site’s study area, and has begun cleanup at more than 160 properties. Learn more about all the efforts EPA undertook at this site. See:
  • Smart Growth: Making a Visible Difference in Communities
  • Making a Visible Difference: North Birmingham, AL (PDF)(2 pp, 1.2 MB)
     

• 

  EPA undertook extensive sampling and cleanup of lead-contaminated soil and indoor dust at the USS Lead site in East Chicago, Indiana. The site is divided into three zones:
   
  • From August through the first week of November, at the West Calumet Housing Complex (zone 1), EPA officials:
    • Surveyed homes to get access agreements to conduct indoor sampling;
    • Sampled around 270 homes to determine indoor lead levels; and
    • Temporarily relocated about 270 households to hotels and cleaned their homes.
       
  • In the zone 2 section of the Calumet neighborhood, EPA has sampled soil from 476 of 596 properties. EPA also excavated, backfilled and restored 17 properties during November 2016.
     
  • The zone 3 portion of Calumet contains 468 properties.
    • EPA received access agreements and sampled soil at 418 of them. After sampling, EPA notified the property owners of their results.
    • Soil in some of the sampled Zone 3 properties contains high levels of lead and arsenic. In October, EPA workers began cleanup of the 38 most contaminated properties under an agreement with the potentially responsible parties. EPA has completed excavation and replacement with clean fill and topsoil at these properties.
    • About 200 additional properties will be cleaned in spring 2017.
    • EPA also conducted indoor dust sampling, primarily at the properties identified with the most contaminated soil. Some of the sampled homes had lead and arsenic levels above safe levels. EPA began cleaning these homes in November to remove contaminated dust. EPA officials will continue to offer the same service to other zone 3 homes that have tainted dust. See:
      • USS Lead Superfund Site
         
• The Superfund Job Training Initiative (SuperJTI) is a job-readiness program that provides training and employment opportunities for people living in communities affected by Superfund sites. EPA’s goal is to help these communities develop job opportunities that remain long after a Superfund site has been cleaned up. In 2016, EPA conducted two SuperJTI projects — one for the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp. site in Columbus, Mississippi, and another for the North Ridge Estates site in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Thirty-four trainees completed the program and are ready to go to work. See:
  • Superfund Job Training Initiative (SuperJTI)
  • Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp. Superfund Site
  • North Ridge Estates Superfund Site

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Superfund Redevelopment Initiative Accomplishments

The Superfund Redevelopment Initiative ensures EPA and its partners have the tools to return Superfund sites to productive use. See:

• Superfund Redevelopment Initiative

Data EPA has collected at 458 of the 850 sites in reuse indicate these sites supported approximately 4,700 businesses in 2016. These businesses’ ongoing operations generate annual sales of $34 billion and employ more than 131,000 people who earned a combined income of $9.2 billion.

In 2016, Superfund identified 41 additional sites as having all long-term protections in place to meet Superfund’s Sitewide Ready for Anticipated Use measure, bringing the cumulative total to 793. The cleanup remedies for these sites are constructed and working properly and the sites have all the necessary institutional controls in place. Institutional controls are administrative and legal instruments that help minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination and protect the integrity of the remedy. See:

• Cleaning up Superfund Sites
• Institutional Controls

Superfund cleanups also allow for ecological and recreational reuse. At the end of FY 2016, 145 sites supported recreational uses, 127 sites support ecological uses, and 49 sites support both recreational and ecological uses.

In 2016, EPA began six new reuse projects under the Initiative and continued support on another five ongoing reuse projects.

Other noteworthy program accomplishments:

• As of September 2016, alternative energy facilities are located at 45 Superfund sites, providing an installed capacity of just over 260 megawatts. Nearly two-thirds of the installations are solar powered, while half of the installations have an installed capacity of 1 megawatt or more.
   
• A pilot study of 11 federal facility Superfund sites in reuse identified a total of 628 businesses that generated $5.5 billion in annual sales. The businesses provided 40,000 jobs and $3 billion in annual employment income. The properties, which are worth $2 billion, generate $9.5 million in total annual property tax.
   
• EPA developed the State Excellence in Supporting Reuse award in 2014 to recognize state partners whose work has led to lasting benefits that enhance community quality-of-life and ensure the long-term protectiveness of site remedies. See:
  • State Excellence in Supporting Reuse Award

The 2016 awardees are:

• The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has helped transition sites into hubs for alternative energy projects, economic revitalization, and sustainable public transportation. And it has maintained an active, supportive role working with key stakeholders to ensure the long-term protectiveness and beneficial reuse of these sites through institutional controls. Project highlights:
  • Billerica: Iron Horse Park Superfund Site
  • New Bedford: Sullivan’s Ledge Superfund Site
  • Norwood: Norwood PCBs Superfund Site
  • Woburn: Industri-Plex Superfund Site
  • Other sites in reuse in Massachusetts
     
• The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality worked closely with EPA and Waste Management of Oklahoma to support the first commercial joint-venture project for a renewable biogas and natural gas facility. This technology is setting a new standard for generating energy from landfill waste. Oklahoma DEQ also worked with EPA to develop a ready-for-reuse determination for the Eagle-Picher Henryetta site to support development of a much-needed rural health clinic. Project highlights:
  • Henryetta: Eagle-Picher Henryetta Superfund Site
  • Oklahoma City: Mosley Road Sanitary Landfill Superfund Site
  • Other sites in reuse in Oklahoma

These former and present Superfund sites are now thriving:

• EPA added the Gowanus Canal site in Brooklyn, New York, to the National Priorities List in 2010. In 2013, EPA finalized its plan to clean up contaminated sediment. The neighborhood surrounding the canal is already reaping benefits. In 2015, investments in real estate increased 32 percent, median rent increased 13 percent, and multifamily price-per-square foot increased 15 percent. New restaurants, boutique hotels and retail are opening in the neighborhood, including a Whole Foods Market, which opened in 2013. See:
  • Gowanus Canal Superfund Site
• In 2001, Kokomo, Indiana, used SRI pilot grant funds to evaluate reuse options for the Continental Steel Corp. site. This process generated the idea of a recreational facility. When remedy construction was nearing completion, the city unveiled the plan for a 60-acre recreational soccer facility. The Indiana Office of Tourism Development awarded the Kokomo-Howard County Convention and Visitors Bureau with a $50,000 grant to build a facility with concession stands, restrooms and storage for maintenance equipment. Construction plans include 30 full-size playing fields, a walking trail and vehicle parking. The first youth soccer match was held at the site in October 2015. See:
  • Continental Steel Corp. Superfund Site
     
• The Martin-Marietta, Sodyeco, Inc. site in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been transformed into the state’s first eco-industrial park. SRI supported the drafting of the site deletion notice, after which site developers were able to secure redevelopment resources and credits. The project is home to a biomass combined heat-and-power project, an algae-to-fuel pilot plant, a fuels and lubricants distributor, a wood-recycling facility, a composite walls contractor, and a composting operation. In 2016, the project team also implemented its environmental landscape plan, which included low-maintenance native grasses, wildlife plantings, energy crop demonstration stands and pollinator habitats. Reduced maintenance requirements provide an estimated $100,000 in annual cost savings, while significantly improving the site’s wildlife habitat. See:
  • Martin-Marietta, Sodyeco, Inc. Superfund Site
  • ReVenture Park
     
• SRI pilot grant funding from 2002 supported the realization of a community reuse vision at the Wyckoff Co./Eagle Harbor site in Bainbridge Island, Washington. A 2016 case study highlights the collaboration that resulted in the site’s cleanup and revitalization. This created a vibrant, unique waterfront park that includes a memorial recognizing the internment of local Japanese-American residents during World War II. The story of the site’s cleanup and redevelopment illustrates how community leadership, partnerships and coordination of remedy and reuse considerations can restore valuable community assets. See:
  • Wyckoff Co./Eagle Harbor Superfund Site
     
• The Superfund Redevelopment Initiative (SRI) supported EPA Region 6 on a ready-for-reuse determination for the Eagle-Picher Henryetta site in Henryetta, Oklahoma, in 2015. The municipality requested the determination to secure financing for a rural health clinic on the property. With the signed determination in hand, the East Central Oklahoma Family Center applied for a Health and Human Services grant. In May 2016, the Center won a $1 million grant to construct a building at the site. The new facility will provide primary, dental and behavioral healthcare services. See:
  • Eagle-Picher Henryetta Superfund Site
     
• Hattiesburg, Mississippi, won a $25,000 grant from the PetSafe Bark For Your Park program to build a dog park at the Davis Timber Company site. The grand opening took place on Feb. 6, 2016. The next phase of the park’s buildout will focus on adding an agility section, landscaping, shade sails, benches and other amenities. “From day one, the park has been a huge hit,” said Lamar County Administrator Jody Waits. See:
  • Davis Timber Company Superfund Site
     
• The Tucson International Airport Area site in Arizona is home to the Tucson Airport Remediation Project, which treats groundwater. In 2014, Tucson Water implemented an advanced oxidation process to remove 1,4-dioxane and other contaminants. The treatment system produces up to approximately 6.3 million gallons of drinking water per day that is added back to Tucson’s municipal water supply. In 2016, Tucson Water was recognized as a Utility of the Future Today, an award program supported by EPA, Water Environment Federation and other organizations in an effort “to form and motivate a community of like-minded, self-identified water utilities engaged in advancing resource efficiency and recovery, developing proactive relationships with stakeholders, and establishing resilient, sustainable, and livable communities.” See:
  • Tucson International Airport Area Superfund Site
     
• Restoration of two buildings provided about 12,000 square feet for redevelopment at the Kearsarge Metallurgical Corp. site in Conway, New Hampshire. Today, three businesses operate at the site – a towing company, a heating business, and a repair facility for farm equipment and diesel trucks. Site businesses employ about eight people, providing estimated annual employment income of nearly $327,000. The area also includes restored forested wetlands that provide ecological habitat along the northern bank of Pequawket Pond. See:
  • Kearsarge Metallurgical Corp. Superfund Site
     
• In June 2016, the Edison-Metuchen Community Dog Park officially opened to the public on the Chemical Insecticide Corp. site in Edison, New Jersey. See:
  • Chemical Insecticide Corp. Superfund Site
     
• Cooperation between EPA, the state of Minnesota, redevelopers and potentially responsible parties has been instrumental in the cleanup and reuse of the Naval Industrial Reserve Ordnance Plant and FMC Corp. (Fridley Plant) sites. In July 2016, developers held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Northern Stacks Industrial Park. Upon completion, the park will support commercial and industrial uses. Current site businesses employ 628 people and provide annual income of over $47 million. In 2016, site properties generated over $1.1 million in tax revenues and have an estimated property value of nearly $44 million. See:
  • Naval Industrial Reserve Ordnance Plant Superfund Site
  • FMC Corp. (Fridley Plant) Superfund Site
     
• In June 2016, Ameresco completed construction of a 67-acre, 18-megawatt, ground-mounted solar project at the Fort Detrick Area B Ground Water site in Fort Detrick, Maryland. This is a pilot installation for the Army’s Net Zero Energy initiative. Under this strategy, the Army aims to generate as much energy as it consumes by reducing energy usage and implementing renewable energy. Fort Detrick aims to produce as much energy as it consumes by 2020. See:
  • Fort Detrick Area B Ground Water Superfund Site

Fiscal Year 2015 Superfund Accomplishments Report

Prelude to FY 2015 Annual Accomplishment

The Superfund program's primary objective is to respond to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances and pollutants or contaminants to protect human health and the environment. Investments in Superfund cleanups have been shown to reduce the incidence of congenital abnormalities in infants by as much as 25 percent for those living within approximately a mile of a site. Cleanups involving lead-contaminated soil have contributed to documented reduced blood-lead levels in children.

Cleaning up contaminated sites also results in positive economic and social impacts for many communities. Superfund cleanups help convert vacant and underutilized land into productive resources; reduce blight, uncertainty, and other negative perceptions; and improve the aesthetics and general well-being in communities surrounding the sites. Superfund site cleanups also bring economic benefits to communities by facilitating job creation, increased property values and enhanced local tax bases. Independent research has documented the positive effect of cleanups: an analysis found that residential property values within 3 miles of Superfund sites increased 18.6-24.5 percent when sites were cleaned up and deleted from the National Priorities List (NPL).

EPA has collected data at 454 of the 850 sites in reuse. The data indicate that in 2015 these sites supported approximately 3,900 businesses with ongoing operations generating annual sales of $29 billion and employing more than 108,000 people, who earn a combined income of $7.8 billion.

On this page:

• Protecting communities' health and ecosystems
• Preparing land for productive reuse and contributing to local economies
• Obligating funds to perform construction and post-construction activities
• Funding new construction projects
• Cleaning up hazardous waste sites
• Safeguarding communities from imminent threats
• Preparing for future cleanup efforts
• Ensuring long-term protection
• Remaining committed to "polluter pays" principle
• Unfunded new construction projects

Protecting communities' health and ecosystems

• Increased the total number of National Priorities List (NPL) and Superfund Alternative Agreement (SAA) sites where EPA actions controlled a potential or actual exposure risk to humans by 10, bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,439 sites where exposure is under control. 
• Increased the total number of NPL and SAA sites where EPA actions controlled the migration of contaminated groundwater through engineered remedies or natural processes by 15, bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,138 sites where contaminated groundwater migration is under control. 

Preparing land for productive use

• Ensured 45 NPL and SAA sites had all long-term protections, including institutional controls, in place necessary for anticipated use, bringing the cumulative total of sites ready for anticipated use to 752.  
• Data EPA has collected at 454 of the 850 sites in reuse indicate these sites support approximately 3,900 businesses in 2015. These businesses’ ongoing operations generate annual sales of $29 billion and employ more than 108,000 people, who earned a combined income of $7.8 billion.

Obligating funds for construction and post-construction activities

• Obligated approximately $443 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party (PRP) settlement resources for construction and post-construction projects.

Funding new construction projects

• Started 59 new remedial construction projects, including 33 government-led projects and 26 PRP-led  projects, and continued to conduct or provide oversight at more than 380 remedial construction projects started in prior fiscal years. EPA was unable to fund new construction work at three NPL sites in FY2015. 

Cleaning up hazardous waste sites

• Completed all physical construction of the cleanup remedy at 14 sites across the country, including one SAA site.  As of the end of FY2015, 1,177 construction completions (CCs) have been achieved at NPL sites, and 5 CCs have been achieved at SAA sites.  
• Completed 104 remedial action projects. These construction projects are the essential building blocks to achieving overall site cleanup; their completion demonstrates progress in reducing site risks to human health and the environment.
• The Superfund program maintains an effort to continuously improve the efficiency and protectiveness of remedies selected to clean up sites. Through its optimization program, beginning in the late 1990s, teams of independent technical experts, at any phase of a site’s cleanup process, identify opportunities to improve remedy protectiveness, effectiveness and cost efficiency. Superfund conducts remedy optimization reviews of cleanup systems and characterization approaches in place or being considered. In FY 2015, Superfund supported 30 optimization projects at 30 sites (20 of which were initiated in 2015).

Safeguarding communities from imminent threats

• Completed or provided oversight at 278 removal actions to address immediate and substantial threats to communities.

Preparing for future cleanup efforts

• Completed 869 remedial site assessments, for a cumulative total of 93,901 remedial assessments.
• Placed 8 sites on the NPL, and proposed 13 sites to the NPL. At the end of FY2015, the NPL had 53 proposed sites and 1,714 final and deleted sites. EPA may delete a final NPL site if it determines no further response is required to protect a community’s health or environment. 
• Selected 24 cleanup remedies and amended 12 cleanup plans.
• Obligated approximately $208 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and PRP settlement resources to conduct and oversee:
  • Site assessments and investigations;
  • Selection and design of cleanup plans; and
  • Support for state, tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.

Ensuring long-term protection

• Conducted 271 five-year reviews, including 32 reviews at federal facility sites, to ensure site remedies remain protective.
• Deleted 6 sites from the NPL, and at 2 other sites, deleted a portion of the site from the NPL.

Remaining committed to "polluter pays" principle

• EPA obtained approximately $2 billion in commitments from responsible parties to clean up Superfund sites, the fourth highest site cleanup spending commitment amount during a fiscal year. EPA billed PRPs approximately $106.4 million in oversight costs associated with cleanup work at sites, the highest amount of oversight ever billed in the program’s history.
• Additionally, responsible parties agreed to reimburse $512.2 million of EPA’s past costs from cleanup work at Superfund sites, the highest cost recovery total since the Superfund program’s inception. The amounts EPA recovered are either placed in site-specific special accounts for future cleanup work or deposited into the Superfund general Trust Fund to be used for sites where viable, liable parties either do not exist or lack the funds or capabilities needed to conduct the cleanup. 
• A $1.9 billion settlement addressing fraudulent conveyance claims against Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Kerr McGee associated with the Tronox bankruptcy proceedings resulted in the largest bankruptcy-related award that EPA has received for environmental claims and liabilities. The award accounts for more than 70 percent of all cleanup and cost recovery dollars committed by responsible parties in FY 2015.

Unfunded new construction projects

• Fiscal Year 2015 sites with unfunded new construction project starts 

Fiscal Year 2014 Superfund National Accomplishments Summary

>Prelude to FY 2014 Annual Accomplishments

The Superfund program's primary objective is the protection of human health and the environment, but cleaning up contaminated sites also results in positive economic and social impacts for many communities. By eliminating or reducing real and perceived health and environmental risks associated with hazardous waste sites, Superfund cleanups help convert vacant and underutilized land into productive resources; reduce blight, uncertainty, and other negative perceptions; and improve the aesthetics and general well-being in communities surrounding the sites. Superfund site cleanups also bring economic benefits to communities by facilitating job creation, increased property values and enhanced local tax bases. Independent research has borne out the positive effect of cleanups: a peer-reviewed study found that residential property values within 3 miles of Superfund sites increased 18.6-24.5 percent when sites were cleaned up and deleted from the National Priorities List (NPL).

As of the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2014, data EPA has collected at 450 of the 850 sites in reuse indicate these sites support approximately 3,470 businesses with ongoing operations generating annual sales exceeding $31 billion and employing more than 89,000 people, who are earning a combined income of $6.0 billion.

EPA began reporting economic data related to Superfund redevelopment in 2011 in various documents and on the Internet (https://wcms.epa.gov/superfund-redevelopment-initiative/redevelopment-economics). However, the FY 2014 Accomplishments Summary is the first to contain economic data associated with reuse; the agency will include this information in future annual accomplishment summaries.

*Gamper-Rabindran, Shanti and Christopher Timmins. 2013. "Does cleanup of hazardous waste sites raise housing values? Evidence of spatially localized benefits,"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 65(3): 345-360,

On this page:

• Protecting communities' health and ecosystems
• Preparing land for productive reuse and contributing to local economies
• Obligating funds to perform construction and post-construction activities
• Funding new construction projects
• Cleaning up hazardous waste sites
• Safeguarding communities from imminent threats
• Preparing for future cleanup efforts
• Ensuring long-term protection
• Remaining committed to "polluter pays" principle
• Unfunded new construction projects

Protecting communities' health and ecosystems

• Increased the total number of National Priorities List (NPL) and Superfund Alternative Agreement (SAA) sites where EPA actions controlled a potential or actual exposure risk to humans by nine, bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,429 sites where exposure is under control.
• Increased the total number of NPL and SAA sites where EPA actions controlled the migration of contaminated groundwater through engineered remedies or natural processes by 11, bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,123 sites where contaminated groundwater migration is under control.

Preparing land for productive reuse and contributing to local economies

• Ensured 45 NPL and SAA sites had all long-term protections, including institutional controls, in place necessary for anticipated use, bringing the cumulative total of sites ready for anticipated use to 707.
• Data EPA has collected at 450 of the 850 sites in reuse indicate these sites support approximately 3,470 businesses. These businesses’ ongoing operations generate annual sales exceeding $31 billion and employ more than 89,000 people, who are earning a combined income of $6.0 billion.

Obligating funds to perform construction and post-construction activities

• Obligated approximately $367 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions and potentially responsible party (PRP) settlement resources for construction and post-construction projects.

Funding new construction projects

• Started 66 new remedial construction projects, including 38 government-funded projects and 28 PRP-funded projects, and continued to conduct or provide oversight at more than 413 remedial construction projects started in prior fiscal years. EPA was unable to proceed with new construction work at five NPL sites with projects ready to start construction in FY2014.

Cleaning up hazardous waste sites

• Completed all physical construction of the cleanup remedy at eight sites across the country for a total of 1,164 sites, or approximately 68 percent of NPL sites.
• Completed 115 remedial action projects. These projects are the essential building blocks to achieving overall site cleanup; their completion demonstrates progress in reducing site risks to human health and the environment.

Safeguarding communities from imminent threats

• Completed or provided oversight at 304 removal actions to address immediate and substantial threats to communities.

Preparing for future cleanup efforts

• Completed 794 remedial site assessments, for a cumulative total of 93,076 remedial assessments completed since the program’s inception in 1980.
• Placed 21 new sites on the NPL, and proposed 16 sites to the NPL. The NPL had, at the end of FY2014, 49 proposed sites and 1,706 final and deleted sites. EPA may delete a final NPL site if it determines that no further response is required to protect a community’s health or environment.
• Selected 24 cleanup remedies and amended 12 cleanup plans.
• Obligated more than $225 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and PRP settlement resources to conduct and oversee:
  • Site assessments and investigations;
  • Selection and design of cleanup plans; and
  • Support for state, tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.

Ensuring long-term protection

• Conducted 244 five-year reviews, including 42 reviews at federal facility sites, to ensure site remedies remain protective.
• Deleted 14 sites from the NPL, and at 4 other sites, deleted a portion of the site from the NPL.

Remaining committed to "polluter pays" principle

• EPA obtained more than $453.7 million commitments from responsible parties to clean up superfund sites and billed private parties for approximately $89 million in oversight costs. Additionally, responsible parties agreed to reimburse $57.7 million of EPA’s past costs from cleanup work at superfund sites.

Unfunded new construction projects

• Fiscal Year 2014 sites with unfunded new construction project starts

Disclaimer: These accomplishments represent a "snapshot in time" (as of 9/30/14) and future numbers may change based on data quality reviews, updates and corrections.

Fiscal Year 2013 Superfund National Accomplishments Summary

Prelude to FY 2013 Annual Accomplishments

The Superfund program is advancing EPA’s “Meeting the Challenge Ahead” themes championed by former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. Superfund cleanups Make a Visible Difference in Communities across the Country by protecting the human health and environments of thousands of U.S. communities affected by uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. Through our Superfund Redevelopment Initiative, we contribute to the economic vitality of those communities through job creation and the return of sites to productive use. With contaminated groundwater and sediment cleanups occurring at a majority of sites, Superfund is Protecting Water: A Precious, Limited Resource. Close coordination with state, tribal and local governments on cleanup activities, including the determination of site-specific future land use, is an ongoing hallmark of the Superfund program in keeping with the Launching [of] a New Era of State, Tribal and Local Partnerships. We will continue Taking Action on Toxics and Chemical Safety by applying the best available science when determining site-specific risk-based cleanup levels. We are Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality and Working toward a Sustainable Future through implementation of the Superfund Climate Change Adaption Action Plan and by encouraging the consideration of the ASTM International’s Standard Guide for Greener Cleanups as well as through continued implementation of the Superfund Green Remediation Strategy. Finally, we are Embracing EPA as a High Performing Organization by adopting the Superfund Program Review’s recommended actions, which seek to minimize the adverse consequences of recent budget cuts by identifying and implementing program efficiencies.

On this page:

• Protecting communities' health and ecosystems
• Obligating funds to perform construction and post-construction activities
• Safeguarding communities from imminent threats
• Funding new construction projects
• Cleaning up hazardous waste sites
• Preparing land for productive reuse and contributing to local economies
• Preparing for future cleanup efforts
• Ensuring long-term protection
• Remaining committed to "polluter pays" principle
• Unfunded new construction projects

Protecting communities' health and ecosystems

• Increased the total number of sites where EPA actions controlled a potential or actual exposure risk to humans by 13, bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,389 National Priorities List (NPL) sites where exposure is under control.
• Increased the total number of sites where EPA actions controlled the migration of contaminated groundwater through engineered remedies or natural processes by 18, bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,091 NPL sites where contaminated groundwater migration is under control.

Obligating funds to perform construction and post-construction activities

• Obligated more than $333 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions and potentially responsible party (PRP) settlement resources for construction and post-construction projects.

Safeguarding communities from imminent threats posed by hazardous substances

• Completed or provided oversight at 304 removal actions to address immediate and substantial threats to communities.

Funding new construction projects

• Started 58 new remedial construction projects, including 16 EPA-funded projects and 42 PRP funded projects, and continued to conduct or provide oversight at more than 400 remedial construction projects started in prior fiscal years. EPA was unable to proceed with new construction work at 22 NPL sites with projects ready to start construction in FY2013.

Cleaning up hazardous waste sites

• Completed all physical construction of the cleanup remedy at 14 sites across the country for a total of 1,156 sites, or approximately 69 percent of NPL sites.
• Completed 122 remedial action projects. These projects are the essential building blocks to achieving overall site cleanup; their completion demonstrates progress in reducing risks to human health and the environment at sites.

Preparing land for productive reuse and contributing to local economies

• Ensured 56 NPL sites had all long-term protections, including institutional controls, in place necessary for anticipated use, bringing the cumulative total of sites ready for anticipated use to 662 (470,000 acres).
• Provided job training at two superfund sites through EPA’s Superfund Job Training Initiative (SuperJTI), an environmental remediation job readiness program providing job training to citizens living in communities affected by superfund sites. SuperJTI graduates have the technical skills to work on a broad range of projects in environmental remediation and construction as well as the cleanup of superfund sites. EPA’s goal is to help communities develop job opportunities and partnerships, which remain long after a superfund site is cleaned up.

Preparing for future cleanup efforts

• Completed 772 remedial site assessments, for a cumulative total of 92,282 remedial assessments completed since the program’s inception in 1980. Placed nine new sites on the NPL, and proposed nine sites to the NPL. The NPL had, at the end of FY2013, 54 proposed sites and 1,685 final and deleted sites; EPA may delete a final NPL site if it determines that no further response is required to protect a community’s health or environment.
• Selected 61 cleanup remedies, amended 14 cleanup plans, and issued 36 explanations of significant differences.
• Obligated more than $210 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and PRP settlement resources to conduct and oversee:
  • Site assessments and investigations;
  • Selection and design of cleanup plans; and
  • Support for state, tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.

Ensuring long-term protection

• Conducted 233 five-year reviews, including 30 reviews at federal facility sites, to ensure site remedies remain protective.
• Deleted 7 sites from the NPL, and at two other sites, deleted a portion of the site from the NPL

Remaining committed to "polluter pays" principle

• Secured private party commitments of nearly $1.6 billion in FY2013 to fund cleanup work. Of this amount, EPA obtained commitments from responsible parties to invest an estimated $1.2 billion in superfund site studies and cleanups; responsible parties agreed to reimburse the Agency for more than $292 million spent cleaning up superfund sites; and EPA billed private parties for approximately $93 million in oversight costs.

Unfunded New Construction Projects

• Fiscal Year 2013 sites with unfunded new construction project starts

Fiscal Year 2012 Superfund National Accomplishments

On this page:

• Protecting communities' health and ecosystems
• Obligating funds to perform construction and post-construction activities
• Safeguarding communities from imminent threats
• Funding new construction projects
• Cleaning up hazardous waste sites
• Preparing land for productive reuse and contributing to local economies
• Preparing for future cleanup efforts
• Ensuring long-term protection
• Remaining committed to "polluter pays" principle
• Unfunded new construction projects

Protecting communities' health and ecosystems

• Increased the total number of sites where EPA actions controlled a potential or actual exposure risk to humans by 13, bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,361 National Priorities List (NPL) sites where exposure is under control.
• Increased the total number of sites where EPA actions controlled the migration of contaminated ground water through engineered remedies or natural processes by 18, bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,069 NPL sites where contaminated groundwater migration is under control.

Obligating funds to perform construction and post-construction activities

• Obligated nearly $389 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party (PRP) settlement resources for conducting on-the-ground work to clean up contaminated sites.
• Obligated more than $240 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions and PRP settlement resources to conduct and oversee:
  • Site assessments and investigations;
  • Selection and design of cleanup plans; and
  • Support for state, tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.

Safeguarding communities from imminent threats posed by hazardous substances

• Completed or provided oversight at 428 removal actions to address immediate and substantial threats to communities.

Funding new construction projects

• EPA's superfund remedial program started 46 new remedial construction projects, including 12 EPA funded projects and 34 PRP-funded projects. At the same time, EPA continued to conduct or provide oversight at more than 400 remedial construction projects started in prior fiscal years. EPA was unable to proceed with new construction work at 21 NPL sites which had projects that were ready to start construction in FY2012. (NOTE: these totals do not include actions taken by other federal agencies.)

Cleaning up hazardous waste sites

• Completed all physical construction of the cleanup remedy at 22 sites across the country for a total of 1,142 sites, or approximately 68 percent of the sites on the NPL.
• Completed 142 remedial action projects. These projects are the essential building blocks to achieving overall site cleanup; their completion demonstrates incremental progress in reducing risks to human health and the environment at sites.

Preparing land for productive reuse and contributing to local economies

• Ensured 66 NPL sites had all long-term protections, including institutional controls, in place necessary for anticipated use, bringing the cumulative total of sites ready for anticipated use to 606 (151,000 acres). In addition, EPA determined that nearly 1.3 million acres of land had all long-term protections in place to protect people from the effects of site-related contamination.
• Created jobs. At the superfund cleanup of the Hudson River in New York, dredging created approximately 500 jobs while creating additional economic benefits for the area.
• Provided job training at four superfund sites through EPA’s Superfund Job Training Initiative (SuperJTI), an environmental remediation job readiness program that provides job training to citizens living in communities affected by Superfund sites. SuperJTI graduates have the technical skills to work on a broad range of projects in environmental remediation and construction as well as the cleanup of Superfund sites. EPA’s goal is to help communities develop job opportunities and partnerships, which remain long after a Superfund site is cleaned up.

Preparing for future cleanup efforts

• Completed 1,151 remedial site assessments, for a cumulative total of 91,067 remedial assessments completed since the program’s inception in 1980. Placed 24 new sites on the NPL, and proposed 18 sites to the NPL. The NPL had, at the end of FY2012, 54 proposed sites and 1,676 final and deleted sites; EPA may delete a final NPL site if it determines that no further response is required to protect human health or the environment.

Ensuring long-term protection

• Conducted 230 five-year reviews, including 39 reviews at Federal facility sites. EPA conducts these reviews to ensure that remedies remain protective at NPL sites.
• Deleted 11 sites from the NPL and at 2 other sites, deleted a portion of the site from the NPL.

Remaining committed to "polluter pays" principle

• Secured private party commitments of nearly $900 million in FY2012 to fund cleanup work. Of this amount, EPA obtained commitments from responsible parties to invest an estimated $657 million for site study and clean up of Superfund sites; responsible parties agreed to reimburse the Agency for more than $172 million spent cleaning up Superfund sites; and EPA billed private parties for approximately $67 million in oversight costs.

Unfunded new construction projects

• Fiscal Year 2012 sites with unfunded new construction projects starts

Disclaimer: These accomplishments represent a "snapshot in time" (as of 9/30/12) and future numbers may change based on data quality reviews, updates and corrections

Fiscal Year 2011 Superfund National Accomplishments Summary

On this page:

• Protecting communities' health and ecosystems
• Obligating funds to perform construction and post-construction activities
• Safeguarding communities from imminent threats
• Funding new construction projects
• Cleaning up hazardous waste sites
• Preparing land for productive reuse and contributing to local economies
• Preparing for future cleanup efforts
• Ensuring long-term protection
• Remaining committed to "polluter pays" principle

Protecting communities' health and ecosystems

• Increased by 10 the total number of sites where EPA actions have controlled a potential or actual exposure risk to humans, meeting the annual target of 10 and bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,348 National Priorities List (NPL) sites where exposure is under control.
• Increased by 21 the total number of sites where EPA actions have controlled the migration of contaminated ground water through engineered remedies or natural processes, exceeding the target of 15 for the year and bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,051 NPL sites where contaminated groundwater migration is under control.

Obligating funds to perform construction and post-construction activities

• EPA obligated nearly $535 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources to conduct or oversee new and ongoing construction and post-construction projects.

Safeguarding communities from imminent threats posed by hazardous substances

• EPA completed 405 removal actions to address immediate and substantial threats to communities.

Funding new construction projects

• In FY2011, EPA's superfund remedial program started 70 new construction projects. The 70 projects include 25 fund financed projects and 45 PRP financed projects. At the same time, the program continued over 500 projects initiated in earlier fiscal years. EPA was unable to proceed with new construction work at four projects which were ready to initiate construction in FY2011.

Cleaning up hazardous waste sites

• Completed all physical construction to cleanup 22 sites across the country for a total of 1,120 sites, or approximately 68 percent of the sites on the NPL. The 22 sites that achieved the construction completion milestone in FY2011 included five sites that received funds from the Recovery Act and two sites that featured pilot projects to accelerate cleanup under the Integrated Cleanup Initiative (ICI).
• Completed 132 remedial action projects, exceeding the target of 103 completions in the first year of this new program measure. This measure is intended to show incremental progress at sites in order to augment reporting on the site-wide construction completion measure.

Preparing land for productive reuse and contributing to local economies

• EPA ensured 65 NPL sites had all long-term protections, including institutional controls, in place necessary for anticipated use, bringing the cumulative total of sites ready for anticipated use to 540. In addition, at the end of FY2011, EPA had determined that over 1.4 million acres of land are protective for people and more than 468,000 acres are ready for anticipated use.
• EPA’s Superfund Job Training Initiative (SuperJTI) is an environmental remediation job readiness program that provides free job training to citizens living in communities affected by superfund sites. EPA’s goal is to help communities develop job opportunities and partnerships that remain long after a superfund site is cleaned up. Over the past two years, the SuperJTI program has trained 128 people for job placement at Superfund sites.

Preparing for future cleanup efforts

• Completed 1,020 remedial site assessments, for a cumulative total of 89,916 remedial assessments completed since the program’s inception. Placed 25 new sites on the NPL, and proposed 35 sites to the NPL. The NPL had, at the end of FY2011, 62 proposed sites and 1,652 final and deleted sites.
• Selected 92 cleanup remedies at 72 sites; amended 22 cleanup plans; and issued 43 explanations of significant differences at 42 sites.
• Obligated more than $288 million in appropriated and Recovery Act funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources to conduct and oversee:
  • Site assessments and investigations;
  • Selection and design of cleanup plans; and
  • Support for state, tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.

Ensuring long-term protection

• Conducted 210 five-year reviews, including 34 reviews at federal facility sites. These reviews are conducted to ensure that remedies remain protective at NPL sites.
• Deleted 7 sites from the NPL and at 3 other sites, deleted a portion of the site from the NPL.

Remaining committed to "polluter pays" principle

• EPA secured private party commitments of more than $3.3 billion in FY2011 to fund cleanup work. Of this amount, potentially responsible parties agreed to conduct more than $3 billion in future response work (the highest annual amount in the history of the program), and to reimburse EPA for $298.6 million in past costs. EPA billed private parties $74 million for oversight costs.

Fiscal Year 2010 Superfund National Accomplishments Summary

Protecting human health and the environment remains superfund’s top priority

• Increased by 18 the total number of sites where EPA actions have controlled a potential or actual exposure risk to humans, exceeding the annual target of 10 and bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,338 National Priorities List (NPL) sites where exposure is under control.
• Increased by 18 the total number of sites where EPA actions have controlled the migration of contaminated ground water through engineered remedies or natural processes, exceeding the target of 15 for the year and bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,030 NPL sites where contaminated groundwater migration is under control.

Superfund prepares land for return to productive use

• EPA ensured 66 NPL sites had all long-term protections, including institutional controls, in place necessary for anticipated use, bringing the cumulative total of sites ready for anticipated use to 475. In addition, at the end of FY2010, EPA had determined that nearly 1.3 million acres of land are protective for people and more than 455,800 acres are ready for anticipated use.

EPA's Superfund program obligated nearly $443 million to perform construction and post-construction activities

• EPA obligated nearly $443 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources for construction and post-construction projects.

Superfund addresses imminent threats posed by hazardous substances and oil releases

• EPA conducted 391 removal actions to address immediate and substantial threats to communities.

EPA funded new construction

• EPA obligated $106 million for 18 new construction projects at 17 NPL sites; these represent all of the projects ready to proceed with new construction in FY2010.

Superfund has completed construction at more than 1,000 sites

• Completed all construction phases of cleanup at 18 sites across the country for a total of 1,098 or approximately 67.5 percent of the sites on the NPL. The 18 sites that achieved the construction completion milestone in FY2010 included three that received funds from the Recovery Act, as well as the largest naval base in the country (Norfolk Naval Base).

The Superfund remedial program prepared for future cleanup efforts

• Completed 365 final assessment decisions, for a cumulative total of 40,884 out of 44,595 sites.
• Placed 20 new sites on the NPL, and proposed 8 sites to the NPL. The NPL had, at the end of FY 2010, 61 proposed sites and 1,627 final and deleted sites.
• Obligated more than $288 million in appropriated and Recovery Act funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources to conduct and oversee:
  • Site assessments and investigations;
  • Selection and design of cleanup plans; and
  • Support for state, tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.
• Selected 92 cleanup remedies at 60 sites; amended 24 cleanup plans at 24 sites; and issued 59 explanations of significant differences at 53 sites.

Superfund ensures the long-term protection of human health and the environment after construction is complete

• Conducted 261 five-year reviews, including 30 reviews at federal facility sites. These reviews are conducted to ensure that remedies remain protective at NPL sites.
• Deleted seven sites from the NPL and at five other sites, deleted a portion of the site from the NPL.

Superfund remains committed to the "polluter pays" principle

• EPA secured private party commitments of nearly $1.6 billion in FY2010 to fund cleanup work. Of this amount, potentially responsible parties agreed to conduct $1.4 billion in future response work, and to reimburse EPA for $154 million in past costs. EPA billed private parties $82 million for oversight costs.

Disclaimer: These data represent a "snapshot in time" and future numbers may change based on data quality reviews, updates, and corrections.

Fiscal Year 2009 Superfund National Accomplishments Summary

Prelude to FY 2009 Annual Accomplishments

Superfund continues to make progress in its cleanup program that is summarized below. The challenges, though, have evolved since the Superfund program began in the 1980s. Communities are not only focused on getting sites cleaned up, but also want to have an active role in putting sites back to productive use. In addition, large complex sites demand a larger portion of EPA’s Superfund resources today than was the case in the earlier years of the program. In order to address these challenges, EPA in 2010 launched the Integrated Cleanup Initiative. This Initiative represents a commitment to improve program performance and provide communities with the accountability and transparency they have demanded for years in the cleanup of contaminated sites. As a first step, EPA has developed a new publicly reported performance measure, an increase in completion of Superfund remedial action projects. This new measure will provide greater accountability and transparency of the detailed actions necessary to bring site cleanups to completion and ultimately reuse. EPA will be working closely with the states, tribal nations, local communities and other stakeholders as we move forward with the Integrated Cleanup Initiative.

Protecting human health and the environment remains superfund’s top priority

• Increased by 11 the total number of sites where EPA actions have controlled a potential or actual exposure risk to humans, exceeding the annual target of 10 and bringing the program’s cumulative total to 1,320 National Priorities List (NPL) sites where exposure is under control.
• Increased by 16 the total number of sites where EPA actions have controlled the migration of contaminated ground water through engineered remedies or natural processes, exceeding the target of 15 for the year and bringing the program’s cumulative total to 1,012 NPL sites where contaminated groundwater migration is under control.

Superfund prepares land for return to productive use

• EPA ensured 66 NPL sites have all long-term protections, including institutional controls, in place necessary for anticipated use, bringing the cumulative total of sites ready for anticipated reuse to 409. In addition, at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, EPA had determined that more than 1.25 million acres of land are protective for people and over 450,000 acres are ready for anticipated use.

EPA funded new construction

• EPA’s superfund program obligated more than $1.1 billion:
  • Nearly $965 million in appropriated and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources were directed toward construction and post-construction projects. Of these funds, EPA obligated $247 million for 26 new construction projects at 26 NPL sites; these represent all of the projects ready to proceed with new construction in FY2009.
  • More than $139 million were used to conduct more than 368 emergency response and removal actions to address immediate and substantial threats to communities.

Superfund is working on hundreds of construction projects

• Completed all construction projects at 20 sites across the country for a cumulative total of 1,080 NPL sites with cleanup construction completed or approximately 67 percent of the sites on the NPL. At the end of FY2009, 316 other sites had construction activity underway.

The Superfund remedial program prepared for future cleanup efforts

• Completed 400 final assessment decisions, for a cumulative total of 40,558 out of 44,359 sites.
• Placed 20 new sites on the NPL, and proposed 23 sites to the NPL. The NPL had, at the end of FY2009, 66 proposed sites and 1,607 final and deleted sites.
• Obligated more than $288 million in appropriated and Recovery Act funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources to conduct and oversee:
  • Site assessments and investigations;
  • Selection and design of cleanup plans; and
  • Support for state, tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.
• Selected 101 cleanup remedies at 72 sites; amended 23 cleanup plans at 23 sites; and issued 52 explanations of significant differences at 48 sites. 

Superfund ensures the long-term protection of human health and the environment after construction is complete

• Conducted 231 five-year reviews, including 38 reviews at federal facility sites. These reviews are conducted to ensure that remedies remain protective at NPL sites.
• Deleted eight sites from the NPL and at three other sites, deleted a portion of the site from the NPL.

Superfund remains committed to the "polluter pays" principle

• EPA secured private party commitments of nearly $2.4 billion in FY2009 to fund cleanup work. Of this amount, potentially responsible parties agreed to conduct $1.99 billion in future response work, and to reimburse EPA for $371 million in past costs. EPA billed private parties $79 million for oversight costs.

Superfund faces constraints

• Under a mature superfund program, sites with large, complex, and costly cleanups tend to dominate construction funding allocations.  In FY2009, nearly 52 percent of superfund obligations for construction and post-construction activities went to 12 sites out of 185 sites receiving non-Recovery Act obligations for such activities.

Disclaimer: These data represent a "snapshot in time" and future numbers may change based on data quality reviews, updates, and corrections.

Fiscal Year 2008 Superfund National Accomplishments Summary

Protecting human health and the environment remains superfund's top priority

• Controlled all identified unacceptable human exposures at a net total of 24 sites, exceeding the annual target of 10 and bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,306 sites under control.
• Controlled the migration of contaminated ground water through engineered remedies or natural processes at a net total of 20 sites, exceeding the target of 15 for the year and bringing the program's cumulative total to 997 sites under control.

Superfund prepares land for return to productive use

• EPA ensured 85 sites have all long-term protections in place necessary for anticipated reuse, bringing the cumulative total of sites ready for anticipated reuse to 343.

EPA's superfund program obligated nearly $599 million to perform construction and post-construction activities and to conduct and oversee emergency response actions

• Obligated nearly $462 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources for construction and post-construction projects.
• Obligated nearly $137 million to conduct more than 372 emergency response and removal actions to address immediate and substantial threats to communities.

EPA funded new construction

• Obligated more than $55 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources for 16 new construction projects ranked by the National Risk-Based Priority Panel at 15 National Priorities List (NPL) sites.

Superfund is working on hundreds of construction projects

• Conducted or oversaw 681 ongoing construction projects (by EPA, potentially responsible parties, and federal facilities) at 423 sites.
• Completed construction phase of cleanup at 30 sites across the country for a total of 1,060 or approximately 67 percent of the sites on the NPL.

The Superfund remedial program prepared for future cleanup efforts

• Completed 415 final assessment decisions, for a cumulative total of 40,187.
• Listed 18 new sites on the NPL, and proposed 17 sites to the NPL.
• Obligated more than $218 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources to conduct and oversee:
  • Site assessments and investigations;
  • Selection and design of cleanup plans; and
  • Support for state, tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.
• Selected 97 cleanup plans at 73 sites; amended 8 cleanup plans; and issued 42 explanations of significant differences at 39 sites.

Superfund ensures the protection of human health and the environment after construction is complete

• Conducted 221 five-year reviews, including 26 reviews at federal facility sites. These reviews are conducted to ensure that protective measures for waste that has been secured on-site remain intact.
• Deleted nine sites from the NPL and at 3 other sites, deleted a portion of the site from the NPL.

Superfund remains committed to the "polluter pays" principle

• EPA secured private party commitments of nearly $1.9 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 to fund cleanup work. Of this amount, potentially responsible parties agreed to conduct $1.575 billion in future response work, and to reimburse EPA for $232 million in past costs. EPA billed private parties $75.5 million for oversight costs.

Superfund faces constraints

• In FY2008, nearly 57 percent of superfund obligations for construction and post-construction activities went to 17 sites.
• Due to funding needs for ongoing construction work, all new projects ready for construction funding were not funded. EPA funded 16 new construction projects and 10 new projects were not funded.

Sites Receiving or Not Receiving FY 2008 New Construction Funding

Disclaimer: These data represent a "snapshot in time" and future numbers may change based on data quality reviews, updates, and corrections.

Fiscal Year 2007 Superfund National Accomplishments Summary

Protecting human health and the environment remains Superfund's top priority:

• Controlled all identified unacceptable human exposures at a net total of 13 additional sites, exceeding the annual target of 10 and bringing the program's cumulative total to 1,282 sites under control.
• Controlled the migration of contaminated groundwater through engineered remedies of natural processes at a net total of 19 additional sites, exceeding the target of 10 for the year and bringing the program's cumulative total to 977 sites under control.

EPA's superfund program obligated $520.7 million to perform construction and post-construction activities and to conduct and oversee emergency response actions:

• Obligated more than $380 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources for construction and post-construction projects.
• Obligated $140.7 million to conduct 351 emergency response and removal actions to address immediate and substantial threats to communities.

EPA funded new construction:

• Obligated more than $82 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources for 19 new construction projects ranked by the National Risk-Based Priority Panel at 19 National Priorities List (NPL) sites. This represents all new construction projects that were ready for funding in FY2007.

Superfund is working on hundreds of construction projects:

• Conducted or oversaw 631 ongoing construction projects (by EPA, potentially responsible parties, and federal facilities) at 409 sites.
• Completed construction phase of cleanup at 24 sites across the country for a total of 1,030 or 66 percent of the sites on the NPL.
  • Site assessments and investigations
  • Selection and design of cleanup plans
  • Support for State, Tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.

The superfund remedial program prepared for future cleanup efforts:

• Listed 12 new sites on the NPL, and proposed 17 sites to the NPL.
• Completed 395 Final Assessment Decisions, for a cumulative total of 39,766.
• Obligated more than $199 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources to conduct and oversee:
  • Site assessments and investigations;
  • Selection and design of cleanup plans; and
  • Support for state, tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.
• Selected final cleanup plans at 26 sites. These additional plans bring the cumulative total of sites with final cleanup plans to approximately 75 percent of 1,569 NPL sites.

Superfund ensures the protection of human health and the environment after construction is complete:

• Conducted 203 Five-Year Reviews, including 34 reviews at 32 federal facilities sites. These reviews are conducted to ensure that protective measures for waste that has been secured on-site remain intact.
• Deleted 7 sites, including 1 federal facility, and partially deleted 3 sites from the NPL.

Superfund committed to the "polluter pays" principle:

• EPA secured private party funding commitments of more than $1 billion in FY2007. Of this amount, potentially responsible parties agreed to conduct more than $688 million in future response work, and to reimburse EPA for $252 million in past costs. EPA billed private parties $62 million for oversight costs.

Superfund faces constraints:

• In FY2007, nearly 44 percent of Superfund obligations for construction and post-construction activities went to 11 sites.

Sites Receiving FY 2007 New Construction Funding

Disclaimer: These data represent a "snapshot in time" and future numbers may change based on data quality reviews, updates, corrections and changes to report select logic.

Fiscal Year 2006 Superfund National Accomplishments Summary

• Obligated $390 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources for construction and post-construction projects.
• Obligated $140.9 million to conduct or provide oversight for 294 emergency response and removal actions to address immediate and substantial threats to communities.

EPA funded new construction

• Obligated nearly $45 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources for 18 new construction projects ranked by the National Risk-Based Priority Panel at 16 National Priorities List sites.

Superfund is working on hundreds of construction projects

• Conducted or oversaw 653 ongoing construction projects (by EPA, potentially responsible parties, and Federal facilities) at 414 sites. Federal facilities accounted for 216 of these ongoing projects.
• Completed construction phase of cleanup at 40 sites across the country for a total of 1,006 or 64 percent of the sites on the NPL.

The Superfund remedial program prepared for future cleanup efforts

• Listed 11 new sites on the NPL, and proposed 10 sites for the NPL.
• Completed 518 Final Assessment Decisions, for a cumulative total of 39,288.
• Obligated nearly $219 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources to conduct and oversee:
  • Site assessments and investigations
  • Selection and design of cleanup plans
  • Support for state, tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.

Superfund ensures the protection of human health and the environment after construction is complete

• Conducted 184 Five-Year Reviews, including 26 Reviews at federal facilities sites. These reviews are conducted to ensure that remedies remain protective of human health and the environment.
• Deleted 7 sites and partially deleted 3 sites from the NPL, including one federal facility site.

Superfund is committed to an enforcement first policy

• EPA secured private party funding commitments of more than $550 million in Fiscal Year 2006. Of this amount, potentially responsible parties agreed to conduct $391 million in future response work, and reimburse EPA for $164 million in past costs.

Superfund faces constraints

• In FY2006, 45 percent of superfund obligations for construction and post-construction activities went to 14 sites.
• Due to funding needs for ongoing construction work, all new projects ready for construction funding were not funded. EPA funded 18 new construction projects and 6 new projects were not funded.

Sites Receiving or Not Receiving FY 2006 New Construction Funding

Disclaimer: These data represent a "snapshot in time" and future numbers may change based on data quality reviews, updates, corrections and changes to report select logic.

Fiscal Year 2005 Superfund National Accomplishments Summary

EPA's Superfund Program obligated $524 million to perform construction and post-construction activities and to conduct and oversee emergency response actions.

• Obligated $404 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources for construction and post-construction projects.
• Obligated $120 million to conduct more than 400 emergency response and removal actions to address immediate and substantial threats to communities.

EPA funded new construction

• Obligated nearly $70 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources for 17 new construction projects ranked by the National Risk-Based Priority Panel at 15 National Priorities List sites.

Superfund is working on hundreds of construction projects

• Conducted or oversaw 665 ongoing construction projects (by EPA, potentially responsible parties, and federal facilities) at 422 sites. Federal facilities accounted for 220 of these ongoing projects.
• Completed construction phase of cleanup at 40 sites across the country for a total of 966 or 62 percent of the sites on the NPL.

The Superfund remedial program prepared for future cleanup efforts

• Listed 18 new sites on the NPL, and proposed 12 sites for the NPL.
• Obligated more than $214 million in appropriated funds, state cost-share contributions, and potentially responsible party settlement resources to conduct and oversee:
  • Site assessments and investigations
  • Selection and design of cleanup plans
  • Support for state, tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.
• Selected final cleanup plans at 39 sites, including five federal facilities sites. This brings the cumulative total of sites with final cleanup plans to approximately 67 percent of 1547 NPL sites.

Superfund ensures the protection of human health and the environment after construction is complete

• Conducted 247 Five-Year Reviews, including 27 reviews at federal facilities sites. These reviews are conducted to ensure that protective measures for waste that has been secured on-site remain intact.
• Deleted 18 sites, including one federal facility, and partially deleted five sites from the NPL.

Superfund actively promotes community involvement

• In 2005, EPA participated on 131 active Restoration Advisory Boards (RABs) and Site Specific Advisory Boards (SSABs) at Department of Defense or Department of Energy facilities, respectively, on the NPL. RABs and SSABs provide a forum for concerned stakeholders and community members to provide input on DoD's and DOE's environmental activities at individual facilities.
• Underscoring EPA's commitment to the "polluter pays" principle, the Agency secured private party funding commitments of more than $1.1 billion in Fiscal Year 2005. Of this amount, potentially responsible parties agreed to conduct more than $857 million in future response work, and to reimburse EPA for $248 million in past costs.

Superfund faces constraints

• In Fiscal Year 2005, 50 percent of superfund obligations for construction and post-construction activities went to 11 sites.
• Due to EPA's priority to fund ongoing work, less funding was available for new construction projects, and EPA did not have enough resources to fund 9 new construction projects evaluated by the National Priority Panel and that were ready for construction.

Sites Receiving or Not Receiving FY 2005 New Construction Funding

¹ Cost data are from CERCLIS as of 10/17/2005

Disclaimer: These data represent a "snapshot in time" and future numbers may change based on data quality reviews, updates, corrections and changes to report select logic.

Fiscal Year 2004 Superfund National Accomplishments Summary

The superfund program spent $507 million to perform construction and post-construction activities and to conduct and oversee emergency response actions.¹

• $367 million for construction and post-construction projects.
• $140 million to conduct 385 emergency response and removal actions to address immediate and substantial threats to communities.

EPA funded new construction:

• EPA obligated $104 million of appropriated funds, state cost share, and Potentially Responsible Party settlement resources for 27 new construction projects.

Superfund accomplishments include:

• EPA secured $680 million in cleanup commitments and cost recoveries from the parties responsible for toxic waste sites.
• Conducted 678 long-term ongoing cleanup projects at 428 sites (includes EPA lead sites, Potentially Responsible Party lead sites, and federal facility sites)
• Completed work at 40 sites across the country for a total of 926 or 61 percent of the NPL

The superfund program prepared for future cleanup efforts:

• Listed 11 new sites on the NPL, and proposed 26 sites for listing.
• The superfund program spent $228 million to conduct and oversee:
  • Site assessments and investigations
  • Selection and design of cleanup plans
  • Support for state, tribal, community involvement activities, and other activities.
• Selected final cleanup plans at 30 sites. This brings the cumulative total of sites with final cleanup plans to approximately 66 percent of the 1,529 NPL sites.

Constraints on the Superfund Program

• As the Superfund program matures, the size, complexity and cost of sites that are currently under or ready to begin construction continues to grow. In Fiscal Year 2004, over 52 percent of the superfund obligations for long-term, on-going cleanup work were committed to just nine sites.
• Because of these challenges, 19 sites that were ready for construction were not funded.

In Fiscal Year 2004, the Superfund program used its resources to address cleanup priorities that protect human health and the environment.² The program leveraged additional resources to assist with its funding needs.

• Through management of superfund contract spending, $77 million was de-obligated and used for long-term construction, site investigations, remedy selection, emergency removals and other activities.
• $130 million from Potentially Responsible Party settlements ($109 million) and state cost share ($21 million) were used for construction and post-construction work.

FY 2004 New Construction Fact Sheets

¹ All financial data is from Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Information System, as of November 5, 2004.
² Activities were conducted through both the Superfund remedial and removal programs, with resources taken from Congressional appropriations, de-obligations, private party settlements, and State cost shares.

Disclaimer: These data represent a "snapshot in time" and future numbers may change based on data quality reviews, updates, corrections and changes to report select logic.