Frequently Asked Questions
The Questions
The Answers
What
is the Superfund?
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation
and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 (42 U.S.C.s/s 9601 et seq) provides a federal
"Superfund" to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites
as well as accidents, spills and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants
into the environment. The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986
(42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) reauthorized CERCLA to continue cleanup activities around
the country.
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What is the National Priorities List (NPL)?
The National Priorities List is a published list of contaminated sites which are
eligible for extensive, long-term cleanup action under the Superfund program.
It is required that the NPL be maintained and revised at least annually. As of
3/6/98, New Jersey had 105 active sites on the NPL, two sites proposed for inclusion,
two sites proposed for deletion and twelve sites deleted from the NPL. You can
browse the New Jersey Superfund Sites on the NPL.
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Where does the money for cleaning up Superfund sites
come from?
The Superfund Trust Fund was set up to pay for the cleanup
of sites. The money comes mainly from taxes on the chemical and petrochemical
industries. The Trust Fund is used primarily when those companies or people responsible
for contamination at Superfund sites cannot be found, or cannot perform or pay
for the cleanup work. USEPA and NJDEP can expend public monies to complete the
required site work and seek treble damages from the responsible party. The possibility
of having to pay three times the state's cleanup costs has been and continues
to be a significant incentive for responsible parties to clean up their own sites.
More than a billion dollars from the Superfund program has been funneled to New
Jersey sites since the early 1980s. During the remedial process at publicly funded
Superfund sites, USEPA usually provides 100 percent of the funding for investigation
and design work. USEPA normally provides 90 percent of the funding for Remedial
Action work, with NJDEP paying for the remaining 10 percent. NJDEP usually pays
100 percent of the long-term operation and maintenance costs at a site.
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How can I find out the status of a Superfund site cleanup?
Summary reports describing the status of remedial work at Superfund sites
in New Jersey are available from NJDEP and USEPA. One of those agencies is designated
as the lead for each Superfund site, you can check the New Jersey
Superfund Sites on the National Priorities List to determine which one. The
lead agency maintains direct oversight of the work on the site and has the most
current and detailed information about the status of cleanup. You can reach NJDEP
and USEPA at the following locations:
NJDEP Site Remediation Program
Bureau
of Community Relations
609-984-3081 or 1-800-253-5647
USEPA -
Region II (NY, NJ, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands)
Community Relations Office
212-637-3675
http://www.epa.gov/region2/
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What's involved in cleaning up a Superfund site?
The Superfund process begins when a site is discovered. After the site
is screened and assessed, a decision is made as to whether the site warrants Early
Action, Long-Term Action, or both. Early Actions are taken at sites that may pose
immediate threats to people or the environment. Long-Term Actions are taken at
sites that require extensive cleanup. Built into that process are several phases.
First, a detailed study of the site is done to identify the cause and extent
of contamination at the site, the possible threats to the environment and the
people nearby, and the options for cleaning up the site. Next, a Proposed Plan
is developed and presented to citizens and to local and state officials for comment.
The Proposed Plan describes the various cleanup options under consideration and
identifies the option USEPA and NJDEP prefer. After a public meeting and comment
period, the public's concerns are addressed and a Record of Decision is published.
This document describes how the agency plans to cleanup the site.
The cleanup
method is then designed to address the unique conditions at the site where it
will be used. That is followed by the remedial action or construction phase. That
could involve confinement, dredging, neutralization, recycling, removal, reuse,
storage or treatment of hazardous substances. It may take a long time to return
a site to the way it was before it was contaminated, or to at least make it safe
for people living around the site.
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How many Superfund sites are there in New Jersey and
are they the only contaminated sites in the state?
As of March 6,
1998, New Jersey had 105 active sites on the National Priorities
List, two sites proposed for inclusion, two sites proposed for deletion and
twelve sites deleted from the NPL. Superfund sites are usually the more complex
sites where multiple media (soil, ground water...) are affected and a threat to
public health may exist. Remedial work at most Superfund sites is typically a
long-term, multi-year project.
The September 1997 edition of the
Known Contaminated Sites in New Jersey
report lists close to 9,000 sites where
contamination of soil or ground water is confirmed and where remediation is either
underway or pending. The remediation of sites identified in this report represents
a wide variety of activities, ranging from relatively simple "cut and scrape"
cleanups to highly complex remediations.
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Can we have a representative from DEP give a
presentation to our group about the Superfund program and contaminated sites?
If you are interested in having a representative from the Site Remediation
Program give a presentation on contaminated sites or another aspect of the program,
please contact SRP's Bureau of Community Relations at 609/984-3081. If you are interested in other types of environmental programs,
please contact DEP's Office of Communications at 609/292-3225.
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[End of the Superfund FAQ]
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Contacts
NJDEP Site Remediation Program
Bureau of Community Relations
609-984-3081 or 1-800-253-5647
USEPA - Region II (NY, NJ, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands)
Community Relations Office
212-637-3675
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