What is CERCLA?
CERCLA is the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act. The purpose of CERCLA is that they clean up uncontrolled and abandoned hazardous waste sites as well as accidents, spills and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants into the environment. CERCLA provides attention to superfund sites that would cause any harm to human health, animals and the environment. CERCLA has the capability of finding and investigating the people or the company who created these hazardous sites and go about lawful actions to get the site cleaned up. Through this act the federal government can assess where hazardous waste may or have been released as well as clean up the sites so that the release of hazardous waste is not released again. Once these hazardous sites are determined there are two response types that were created to cleanup
- Removal actions
- Remedial actions
Steps of Superfund Cleanup
There are 9 steps to the superfund cleanup process:
Preliminary Assessment/ Site Inspection (Site Assessment)
Preliminary Assessment/ Site Inspection (Site Assessment)
- The preliminary assessment involves gathering historical and other available information about site conditions to evaluate whether the site poses a threat to human health and the environment and if further investigation is needed.
- The NPL is a list of the most serious sites identified for long term cleanup. There are three methods to being placed on the NPL, sites receiving a Hazard Ranking Score of 28.50 or greater, Each state and territory may designate one site to be added on the NPL, The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) issues a public and health advisory, and other requirements are met the site may be placed on the NPL.
- The RI/FS phase of the process determines the nature and extent of the contamination at the site, test whether certain technologies rare capable of treating the contamination, evaluate the cost and performance of equipment and technology to clean up the site.
- The ROD explains which cleanup alternatives will be used at the NPL sites. Information that will be included will be site history, site description, site characteristics, community participation, enforcement activities, past and present activities, contaminated media, contaminants present on site, response and actions taken and what type of services will be used to cleanup the site.
- This phase of this process includes preparing for and doing the bulk cleanup of the site. EPA develops the final design for the cleanup.
- All physical construction required for the cleanup of the entire site has been completed (final cleanup steps may not have been achieved)
- This phase of the process ensures that the superfund cleanups provide for the long term protection of human health and the environment. The EPA activities during the phase will include operating and monitoring long term cleanup technologies in working order, regularly reviewing the site to be sure that the cleanup continues to be effective. If the site is still showing signs of contamination restrictions must be enforced to minimize health exposure.
- When a site cleanup has not been completed and all goals have been achieved, EPA publishes a notice to be taken off the NPL list.
- Once sites have been cleanup up, EPA works with communities to return the site back to its productive state.
CERCLA Provisions
There are two major provisions of CERCLA which are:
1. Enforcement
1. Enforcement
- The EPA has three options when confronting a situation that requires remedial action.
- The EPA can conduct the response and then seek to recompensation from the Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs),
- The EPA can force the PRP to conduct the response themselves, or
- The EPA can enter in a settlement with the PRPs to perform all or a portion of the work.
- The second provision discusses the financial side of the cleanup. The goal is to have the PRP pay all of the cost, but in some cases there are no PRPs or where the cleanup must be done quickly after the release. The goal is for the costs to be recovered later through the cost-recovery actions.
The History of CERCLA
1976: Congress establishes the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA)
- Controls over hazardous waste from recovery to disposal.
- Addresses hazardous waste dumping sites through removal and remedial actions.
- CERCLA creates a Trust Fund for financing emergency response cleanups.
- NCP sets procedures that must be followed by the EPA for emergency response and cleanups.
- Using HRS screening, the EPA classifies 406 sites as the nations priorities for cleanup under superfund.
- Amendements to prevent contamination of hazardous chemicals leaking into underground drinking water.
- Federal agencies are required to comply with CERCLA in the same manner as non-governmental entities.
- Federal agencies must identify contamination that may affect adjacent properties as well as compile information and enter into the Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket. Must also conduct preliminary investigations and remedial investigation.
- Strengthened CERCLA's enforcement provisions, encouraged voluntary settlement for litigation, stressed importance of permanent remedies and innovative treatment technologies, etc.
- Revises HRS in accordance with SARA to ensure accurate assessment of the degree of risk to human and environmental health.
- Provides communities with tools and information to turn cleaned superfund sites into assets like parks, wetlands, residential areas, etc.
- Expanded EPA's Brown-fields Program, boosted funding for assessment and cleanup of brownfield, enhanced roles for state and tribal response programs, and clarified superfund liability.
- President Obama signed into this law which included &7.22 billion for projects and programs administered by the EPA
- $600 million cleanup for superfund sites
CERCLA Today
CERCLA has 1,331 sites on the NPL list. As of September 9th, 2021 they added 13 proposed sites, 4 new sites and withdrew one site off of their list. The current sites with location added, withdrawn and proposed are listed below.
As of October 1st, 2021 proposed NPL sites have been added to the list. 48 of them non federal, 3 being federal making a total of 51 sites. NPL sites have been added and deleted, a total of 1,322 sites are on the NPL list while 447 have been deleted from the list.
Withdrew from NPL list:
As of October 1st, 2021 proposed NPL sites have been added to the list. 48 of them non federal, 3 being federal making a total of 51 sites. NPL sites have been added and deleted, a total of 1,322 sites are on the NPL list while 447 have been deleted from the list.
Withdrew from NPL list:
- Bossier city, Louisiana (Highway 71/72 refinery)
- Atlanta, Georgia (Westside lead)
- Goshen, Indiana (North 5th street groundwater contamination)
- Boston/Milton, Massachusetts (Lower Neponset River)
- Sparrows Point, Maryland (Bear Creek Sediments)
- Jackson, Michigan (Michner Plating- Mechanic street)
- Minneapolis, Minnesota (Southeast Hennepin Area Ground water and Vapor)
- Brooklyn, New York (Meeker Avenue Plume)
- Cascade locks, Oregon (Bradford Island)
- Guánica, Puerto Rico (Ochoa Fertilizer Co)
- Society hill, South Carolina (Galey and Lord Plant)
- Cordova, Tennessee (National Fireworks)
- Unity, Wisconsin (Unity Auto Mart)
- Paden City, West Virginia (Paden City Groundwater)
- Billings, Montana (Billings PCE)
- Franklinville, New Jersey (Pioneer Metal Finishing Inc)
- Odessa, Texas (Northwest Odessa Groundwater)