Implement a site management strategy to save money and achieve timely closure
Federal regulatory standards for remediation of contaminated groundwater have been technically impossible to meet within reasonable time frames and budgets. A site management strategy (SMS) defending alternate cleanup levels (ACLs) or technical impracticability (TI) waivers and characterizing risk, managing site data, and implementing a practical site remediation approach can be very effective in saving time and money at contaminated sites. The engineering and scientific communities have been looking for practical solutions to groundwater cleanup at Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) sites. Records of Decisions (RODs) and Corrective Measures Implementation Plans have historically specified cleanup standards for contaminated groundwater that are technically impossible to meet within reasonable time frames (such as drinking water standards). Restoration of drinking water standards was the cleanup goal for groundwater in 270 of approximately 300 Superfund RODs issued between 1987 and 1991. These statistics notwithstanding, very few sites contaminated with organic chemicals have been remediated to numerical groundwater standards.
- OSTI ID:
- 452015
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9611118--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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