Introduction

There are nine different stages to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) or Superfund cleanup process. The cleanup process can be very long and expensive to remove persistent hazardous contamination. Despite this, the process is necessary to tackle threats to public health and the environment. This Fact File gives a detailed look at the Superfund cleanup process and at each of the stages. 

Background

In 1980, Congress established CERCLA, in response to rising concerns over the health and environmental risks posed by hazardous waste sites. CERCLA is informally called Superfund. Superfund forces the parties responsible for the contamination to perform cleanups or reimburse the government for cleanup work led by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). When there is no viable responsible party, Superfund gives EPA the funds and authority to clean up contaminated sites.

Site Assessment

The preliminary assessment (PA) is the first stage of the cleanup process. It involves getting historical information regarding site conditions to see whether a site poses a threat to human health and the environment and/or whether more investigation is warranted. The PA also helps pinpoint sites that could need immediate or short-term response actions. The investigation of the site tests air, water, and soil to determine what hazardous substances are there and whether they are being released to the environment. EPA then uses this information to evaluate site risks via the Hazard Ranking System (HRS). Sites that score at or above a set level of 28.5 qualify for cleanup. 

NPL Site Listing Process

The National Priorities List (NPL) has the most serious sites identified for long-term cleanup. The Hazard Ranking System (HRS) is the main method used to place sites on the NPL. When EPA proposes to add a site to the NPL, they release a public notice in the Federal Register. Interested members of the community can comment on the proposal. After a site is added to the NPL, EPA must conduct community interviews and develop a Community Involvement Plan (CIP). EPA must also create and uphold an information repository and administrative record and inform the public of the availability of these document archives.

Site Characterization

The Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) stage or Site Characterization stage does the following:

• Determines the nature and extent of contamination at the site,
• Tests whether certain technologies can treat the contamination, and
• Evaluates the cost and performance of technologies that could be used to clean up the site.

Remedy Decisions

The Record of Decision (ROD) phase or Remedy Decisions details which cleanup alternatives will be used at NPL sites. It has information on:

• Site history,
• Site description,
• Site characteristics,
• Community participation,
• Enforcement activities,
• Former and current activities,
• Contaminated media,
• Contaminants present,
• Description of the response actions to be taken, and
• Remedy selected for cleanup.

This ROD document is available to the public.

Remedial Design/Remedial Action (RD/RA)

This phase of the process includes preparing for and doing the bulk of the cleanup at the site. For example, the cleanup method may involve building wells to inject chemicals or organisms into the soil that will break down the contamination. EPA develops the final design for the cleanup. Throughout this phase, EPA community involvement staff will keep community members advised about the progress of the cleanup though periodic public events, newsletters, fact sheets, and presentations to civic groups, schools, and local leaders. Think of RA phase like building a house. Individuals responsible for the cleanup get all the materials needed and follow the plans that were developed during the RD phase. During the RA phase, construction equipment will be operating onsite to conduct the cleanup.

Construction Completion

This phase indicates that all physical construction needed for the cleanup of the whole site has finished. Keep in mind that final cleanup levels may not have been achieved though. For instance, a groundwater treatment system may have been built but it could need to operate for multiple years to remove all the contaminants from the groundwater. The process of cleaning up a hazardous waste site uses energy, water, and other natural resources. It therefore creates an environmental footprint of its own in the process. Actions like using renewable energy to power site operations and lowering air emissions by discouraging construction truck engine idling help to offset this larger footprint.

Post-Construction Completion

This phase of the process ensures that Superfund cleanups provide long-term protection of human health and the environment. Activities during this phase include:

• Operating and preserving long-term cleanup technologies in working order,
• Frequently reviewing the site to be sure that the cleanup continues to be effective, and
• Enforcing any essential restrictions to lessen the potential for human exposure to contamination.

EPA must also conduct a review of the site cleanup every five years. This Five-Year Review may include:

• Examining site data;
• Inspecting the site;
• Taking new samples; and
• Talking with affected residents about site conditions, problems, or concerns.

EPA must notify the community and other interested parties when a Five-Year Review will be conducted at the site.

Deletion from the NPL

When all site cleanup has been completed and all cleanup goals have been achieved, EPA publishes a notice of its intention to delete the site from the NPL in the Federal Register. They notify the community of its availability for comment. EPA then accepts comments from the public on the information presented in the notice and issues a Responsiveness Summary to formally respond to public comments received. If, after the formal comment period, the site still qualifies for deletion, EPA publishes a formal deletion notice in the Federal Register. They then place a final deletion report in the Information Repository for the site.

Site Reuse/Redevelopment

Once sites have been cleaned up, EPA works with communities to help to return these sites to productive uses. These uses can be industrial or commercial, such as factories and shopping malls. Some sites can be used for:

• Housing,
• Public works facilities,
• Transportation, and
• Other community infrastructure.

Some sites can be for recreational facilities, such as golf courses, parks, and ball fields; or for ecological resources, such as wildlife preserves and wetlands. Regardless of what use is suitable for a site, the community benefits from restoring the site to productivity, because the property can once again add to the economic, social, and ecological value of the community.

Applicable Laws & Regulations

40 CFR 300 – National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan

40 CFR 303 – Citizen Awards for Information on Criminal Violations Under Superfund

40 CFR 304 – Arbitration Procedures for Small Superfund Cost Recovery Claims

40 CFR 305 – Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Administrative Hearing Procedures for Claims Against the Superfund

Related Definitions

“Natural resource” means land, fish, wildlife, biota, air, water, ground water, drinking water supplies, and other such resources belonging to, managed by, held in trust by, or otherwise controlled by the United States, any state or local government, any foreign government, any Indian tribe, or, if such resources are subject to a trust restriction on alienation, any member of an Indian tribe.

“Release” means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing into the environment (including the abandonment or discarding of barrels, containers, and other closed receptacles containing any hazardous substance or pollutant or contaminant).

Key to Remember

Keep in mind that Superfund sites are discovered when the presence of hazardous waste is known to EPA. Contaminants on these sites are often reported by residents, local, state, tribal or federal agencies, or businesses. Hazardous wastes can also be occasionally found by EPA during investigations into complaints. 

Real World Example

There are many success stories when it comes to Superfund site cleanups. One of these include the Jacksonville Ash Superfund Alternative Site. The cleanup has included excavating municipal incinerator ash soil contaminated with lead, arsenic, PAHs, and dioxin at two former incinerator sites and an ash dump site. Currently, roughly 1,500 residential, public, and commercial properties have been cleaned in three environmental justice neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Florida. As of 2022, there is residential, retail, and mixed-use private sector developments returning remediated land to valuable use. MaliVai Washington Tennis Center at Emmett Reed Park and the Animal Care and Protective Services Facility in Forest Park Redevelopment now operate on the site of remediated City-owned properties. There is over 15 years of collaboration to remove contaminates from this site.