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Title: Superfund reform: Environmental Protection Agency 30-day study and Department of Energy environmental restoration implications

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6678434

The US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Superfund program is approximately 12 years old. During this time, this program's cost and complexity have grown far beyond the scope originally planned when the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) was passed in 1980. During this time, EPA's implementation of the program has been delayed by litigation and conflicting expectations. As part of a continuing effort to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Superfund program, EPA Administrator William Reilly in 1991 requested that EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) address two issues as part of a 30-day assessment: what are EPA's options for accelerating the rate of cleanups at the nation's Superfund sites; and does the Superfund program use realistic assumptions when evaluating and managing the risks at a Superfund site This 30-Day Study was a follow-up to an earlier EPA study, A Management Review of the Superfund Program (otherwise known as the 90-Day Study),that addressed a variety of Superfund reform issues. The purpose of the 30-Day Study was to assess ways that EPA could obtain the greatest reduction of risk to human health and the environment in a cost-effective, expedited, and fair manner. This report will discuss recommendations from the 30-Day Study that are most relevant to the US Department of Energy (DOE), identify EPA's actions to implement these recommendations, assess how the recommendations may influence DOE's environmental restoration program, and identify DOE initiatives related to these recommendations.

Research Organization:
USDOE Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety, and Health, Washington, DC (United States). RCRA/CERCLA Div.
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
OSTI ID:
6678434
Report Number(s):
DOE/EH-0303; ON: DE93008167
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English