EPA Adds 7 Superfund Sites to National Priorities List

US EPA today announced the addition of seven sites to its National Priorities List (NPL)—the list of sites designated for cleanup under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also called “Superfund.”

Read more: How Do Sites Get On or Off the Superfund List?

Meet the New Superfund Sites

The seven sites EPA added demonstrate the diverse range of industries potentially impacted by CERCLA and related hazardous substance remediation laws. They include:

• A lumber preservation site in Quincy, FL;
• The former site of a circuit board manufacturer and electroplating operation in Amesbury, MA, in operation from 1967 to 1987;
• A stretch of highway in Valley, NE;
• A performance plastics manufacturer in Hoosick Falls, NY;
• A battery recycler in Puerto Rico;
• The site of a former cleaning business in Memphis, TN; and
• A plume of contaminated ground water near Highway 18 in Kermit, TX.

See the announcement in the Federal Register here.

Who Cleans Up These Superfund Sites?

Once EPA adds a site to the National Priorities List (NPL), it is compared with other sites on the list to prioritize cleanup. EPA uses a Superfund Hazard Ranking System to evaluate exposure risks though four pathways: ground water, surface water, air, and soil.

The higher a site scores, the more quickly cleanup operations will be initiated. When EPA adds a new Superfund site to the NPL, the new listing may be placed above or below older sites in the queue, based on the hazard ranking score.

Cleanup work may be performed by EPA or State employees, or a third party who specializes in hazardous substance abatement and cleanup. All costs associated with the response to a Superfund site, from initial investigation through cleanup, can be assessed to any "responsible party" under CERCLA §107. These responsible parties may include the disposal site owners/operators, generators of hazardous substances disposed at the site, waste brokers, transporters, and others.

Tags: CERCLA, EPA, hazardous substances, HAZWOPER, Superfund