EPA CLEANING UP NEW ENGLAND

Bryan OlsonChief, Superfund Remedial Cleanup ProgramOffice of Site Remediation & RestorationUS EPA – REGION 1

ACEC-NH Environmental Breakfast January 15, 2014

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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)

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.

Superfund Progress in New England

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 ongoingBeede Waste Oil (Plaistow)South Municipal Well (Peterborough)

• Waterline construction completed Beede Waste Oil (Plaistow)Mottolo Pig Farm (Raymond)

• Upcoming RODsChlor-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 OlsonBranch Chief, Superfund Remedial Cleanup BranchU.S. EPA, Region 1olson.bryan@epa.gov

For more information: http://www.epa.gov/region1/cleanup/index.html