EPA CLEANING UP NEW ENGLAND Bryan Olson Chief, Superfund Remedial Cleanup Program Office of Site Remediation & Restoration US EPA – REGION 1 ACEC-NH Environmental Breakfast January 15, 2014
EPA Administrator’s Priorities Making a Visible Difference in Communities across the Country Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality Taking Action on Toxics and Chemical Safety Protecting Water: A Precious, Limited Resource Launching a New Era of State, Tribal and Local Partnerships Embracing EPA as a High Performing Organization Working Toward a Sustainable Future
EPA R1 Cleanup Programs Brownfields and Land Revitalization Emergency Response and Removal RCRA Corrective Action Underground Storage Tank Program Superfund Remedial Cleanups Former Lawrence Metals, Chelsea, MA
Brownfields & Land Revitalization New England has robust State and EPA Brownfields and Superfund Redevelopment Programs Contributing factors EPA-NE commitment to operating a “customer-focused “ Brownfields Program Strong EPA and State partnerships Well-developed state voluntary cleanup programs High property values, limited available space, and large number of sites due to early industrial heritage Source: Evaluation of the Brownfields Program, EPA, 2012
Brownfields & Land Revitalization All New England states have benefited significantly from EPA Brownfields funding Brownfields helps to leverage public and private resources Approximately $1.7 billion of investment leveraged to date at EPA-supported Brownfields sites in New England (as reported by grantees) Example: Former Essex Mill Property Superfund NPL Site Redevelopment
Emergency Response and Removals Program Evaluate approximately 800 oil and chemical release notifications per year. Respond to about 24 spills or ESF10 activations per year, average about 4 FTE. Conduct 12 removals, about $8-9M per year, leveraging an additional ~ $4M of partnering agency cleanup funds or in-kind services. Perform oil facility plan reviews and inspections [Facility Response Plans (FRP) and Spill (SPCC) plans]. Perform Government Initiated Unannounced Exercises (GUIEs) in accordance with the National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP). EPA Command Tent
Examples of Recent Removal Activity in NH Strontium 90 (Wolfeboro) Removed strontium contaminated soil. (FY13) Granite State Plating (Rochester) Plating chemicals in a box truck and building removed. (FY12) UNH Campus Ministry (Durham) Naturally-occurring anthrax released from African drums. (FY10) Granite State Plating (plating waste)
Superfund Progress in New England 87% of New England Superfund Sites have cleanup underway or have been completed. The Superfund program has spent over $2 billion on New England NPL sites. EPA has spent over $364 million on non-NPL sites in New England. Responsible Party contributions to site investigation and cleanup in New England exceed $3.3 billion.
NPL Pipeline in New England Recent additions to the NPL Collins & Aikman, Farmington, NH (December 2013) Creese & Cooke, Danvers, MA (May 2013) Walton & Lonsbury, Attleboro, MA (May 2013) Leeds Metals, Leeds, ME (September 2012) Currently proposed to the NPL Keddy Mills, Windham, ME (December 2013) Future sites Additional sites in Region 1 will be considered for future inclusion.
New Hampshire NPL Sites Overview 22 Final or Proposed NPL sites in New Hampshire 86% of NH’s 22 Superfund sites have cleanup underway or have been completed. ~1/2 of the NPL sites are Fund/State lead and ~1/2 are PRP lead State of NH has full O&M/financial responsibility at ~ 5 sites Expect to propose delisting the first NH site this year (Town Garage in Londonderry) Pease Air Force Base- a cleanup and redevelopment success story Beede Waste Oil, Plaistow, NH
New Hampshire NPL Site Activity Significant remedial design and construction work ongoing Beede Waste Oil (Plaistow) South Municipal Well (Peterborough) Waterline construction completed Beede Waste Oil (Plaistow) Mottolo Pig Farm (Raymond) Upcoming RODs Chlor-Alkali (Berlin) Savage Municipal Water Supply Well (Milford) Significant Community Involvement
Areas of Focus Groundwater restoration 5 year review process changes Renewable Energy and Greener Remediation Emerging contaminants Institutional Controls Climate Change/Adaptation Planning
Budget ?
Bryan Olson Branch Chief, Superfund Remedial Cleanup Branch U. S Bryan Olson Branch Chief, Superfund Remedial Cleanup Branch U.S. EPA, Region 1 olson.bryan@epa.gov For more information: http://www.epa.gov/region1/cleanup/index.html