Executive Summary
Background
Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act (CERCLA) (Public Law 96-510), commonly known as Superfund, in
1980. The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) (Public Law
99-499), which amended CERCLA in 1986, added Section 120 regarding the cleanup
of contaminated sites at Federal facilities.
Under Section 120(e)(5) of CERCLA, each department, agency, or instrumentality
of the Federal government responsible for compliance with Section 120 must
submit an annual report to Congress concerning its progress in implementing the
requirements of Section 120. The report must include information on the
progress in reaching Interagency Agreements (IAGs), conducting Remedial
Investigation and Feasibility Studies (RI/FSs), and performing remedial
actions. Federal agencies that own or operate facilities on the National
Priorities List (NPL) are required to begin an RI/FS for these facilities
within 6 months after being placed on the NPL. Remediation of these facilities
is addressed in an IAG between the Federal agency, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), and in some instances the state within which the
facility is located.
This report, prepared by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of
Environmental Management, is being submitted to Congress in accordance with
Section 120(e)(5) of CERCLA. It is DOE's Ninth Annual Report to Congress and
provides information on DOE's progress in implementing CERCLA Section 120 in
Fiscal Year 1995 (FY 95), i.e., from October 1, 1994, to September 30, 1995.
Current Status
There are 99 DOE facilities subject to CERCLA Section 120 and 23 DOE facilities
on the NPL. DOE's NPL facilities are presented by state on
Table ES-1
. Table ES-1 also includes information relating to when each facility was
placed on the NPL and the status of the IAG for the facility. No new facilities
were placed on the NPL in FY 95; however, the three facilities placed on the
NPL in FY 94 have not yet entered into IAGs. The other 20 facilities are
conducting remedial activities as specified in their IAGs.
Report Contents and Organization
This report provides the status of ongoing activities being performed in
support of CERCLA Section 120 at DOE facilities. This includes activities
conducted to reach IAGs and progress in conducting remedial actions.
Section I
describes Section 120 of CERCLA, the requirements of the Annual Report to
Congress, and the DOE facilities subject to Section 120 of CERCLA.
Section II
describes DOE's CERCLA compliance strategy and identifies the:
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DOE organizations responsible for CERCLA compliance,
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Legal context for DOE's remediation activities,
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Causes of environmental contamination at DOE facilities,
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DOE approach to environmental restoration, and
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DOE activities related to CERCLA 120 compliance.
Section III
provides a discussion of DOE's overall progress in reaching IAGs and responding
to public comments regarding proposed IAGs. It also identifies instances where
no IAG has been concluded. Section III further provides highlights on progress
in conducting RI/FSs, remedial actions, and response activities at NPL
facilities, and in performing cleanup activities at facilities not on the NPL.
Section IV
provides a detailed description of the status of each NPL facility subject to
CERCLA Section 120 on a state-by-state basis. Included in this section is a
description of the hazards presented, plans and schedules for initiating and
completing response actions, enforcement status (where appropriate), and an
explanation of any postponements or failure to complete a response action. This
section identifies DOE's FY 95 funding, appropriated FY 96 funding, and funding
requested in the President's Budget for FY 97 for environmental restoration at
each NPL facility.
Section V
provides a description of the remediation status of non-NPL facilities (by
state) subject to CERCLA Section 120 where 1995 CERCLA funding was more than $1
million.
Appendix A
is a list of the acronyms and abbreviations used in this report. Appendix B is
an alphabetical listing of the facilities discussed in this report by facility
name, showing the pages in the report on which their primary information is
discussed.
I. Introduction
Contents
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