Environmental Cleanup at Navy Facilities Adaptive Site Management (2003) / Chapter Skim
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6. Nontechnical Issues Regarding the Use of Adaptive Site Management
6. Nontechnical Issues Regarding the Use of Adaptive Site Management
Pages 294-326
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From page 294... ...
, RCRA permit modifications, various other documents such as the CERCLA Explanation of Significant Differences, contingency RODs, five-year reviews, impracticability waivers, and optimization studies, among others can be encompassed by ASM. In addition to identifying significant regulatory and policy issues, the chapter also considers other relevant nontechnical issues including the role of the public and long-term stewardship (which is synonymous with long-term management in DoD guidance)
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From page 295... ...
Ecological risks or other site-specif~c factors may result in more stringent cleanup goals. ARARs, including drinking water standards, can be waived, for example, if among other reasons implementing the remedy would result in a greater risk to human health and the environment, compliance with the requirement is technically impracticable from an engineering perspective, or another remedial action would attain the performance equivalent of the federal or state requirement.
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From page 296... ...
Significant new information might include post-ROD, preimplementation sampling concerning the extent or degree of contamination or a risk assessment that indicates the remedial action is unacceptable or overly protective. Typically, minor or insignificant adjustments do not require public comments (EPA, 1999a)
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From page 297... ...
To fully embrace an ASM approach, DoD should adopt a policy of applying new technologies that might attain the original cleanup goals at Superfund sites that have received technical impracticability waivers or where cleanup is considered impracticable. This could serve to stimulate research, to minimize future operation and maintenance costs, and/or to reduce risks such that additional land uses would be permitted.
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From page 298... ...
298 Environmental Cleanup at Navy Facilities: Adaptive Site Management ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::: :::::::: ::::::::: :: :::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::: ::: :: ...................... ~ h i l l ti billy ~ C :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - - : ::::: ::::: :::::: ::::: :~: ::::: :::: ::: I:: ::: :::::: ::::: ::: ::::::: :::: :~: :::::: ::::: ::: :n :~: :::::::: ::: ::::: ::::::: ::: :::::: ~ nnIca 'mprac ma HI ~ ~ ~ em ~ a al ua :Ion w nem ~ nlev~ng gaunt water :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::: .
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From page 299... ...
Policy Barriers to Adaptive Site Management Despite the fact that the current DoD and EPA guidance encourages optimization and that ASM is inherently consistent with the CERCLA and RCRA frameworks, there are potential policy barriers to adopting ASM on a widespread basis. First, as discussed in Chapter 2, there is no specific requirement under CERCLA to reconsider remedies over time that are ineffective in reaching cleanup goals as long as they are protective of human health and the environment (EPA, 1993, 2001a)
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From page 300... ...
However, because EPA cannot bring a judicial enforcement action against a federal facility, the covenant-not-to-sue does not apply to military sites. In fact, a strong public policy argument can be made that federal facilities should take the lead in encouraging the development and application of innovative technologies to hazardous waste sites where the remedy is not reaching cleanup goals.
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From page 301... ...
brought together federal agencies, state, tribal, and local government representatives, and community activists to explore ways to improve public participation in the federal cleanup process. FFERDC found that "where a public involvement process is mandated by law, the public often perceives that the process is used to defend deci
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From page 302... ...
Just as regulatory oversight and technological review are necessary until a site is closed out, at properties where the selected remedy is designed to leave contamination in place, public participation should not only occur early and often, but as long as contamination remains onsite at levels above cleanup goals. The rationale is simple: if the public is required to be involved in selecting the remedy because it may affect their health and well-being, then the public must similarly be involved in any significant decision to change that remedy or
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From page 303... ...
Current Trends in Public Participation During Long-Term Stewardship Existing guidance on the latter stages of site cleanup states that there should be public involvement in updates to remedial actions, f~ve-year reviews, technical impracticability determinations, and the site closeout decision. The degree of public involvement in changing a remedy de
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From page 304... ...
EPA's technical impracticability guidance states that any alternative remedies must be selected using the existing CERCLA and RCRA remedy selection processes, which include public comments. Despite these specific calls for public involvement, public interest in the cleanup process tends to peak at certain times, such as when threats to public health are discovered or disclosed, or when facilities are scheduled for closure and transfer.
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From page 305... ...
This guidance specifically identifies five-year reviews, remedy performance evaluations, monitoring to evaluate natural attenuation, decisions to discontinue or decrease treatment systems, technical impracticability waivers, maintenance and
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From page 306... ...
Three approaches represent potential mechanisms for ensuring longterm public involvement; they may be used individually or in combination. First, once RABs determine that their remedy-selection work is done, they could schedule, with the support of both responsible parties and regulators, annual "reunions." Former board members and other members of the public could arrange to receive presentations on the status of long-term stewardship activities.
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From page 307... ...
On the other hand, if remedies in operation reach a point of diminishing returns without reaching cleanup goals, then the public should have the opportunity to review proposals to shut down those remedies and to recommend new strategies designed to achieve the original cleanup goals. Where remedies include long-term containment or treatment operations, the public should be provided with quantitative data that will allow them to evaluate remedial decisions being proposed by the responsible parties and regulatory agencies.
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From page 308... ...
Residual contamination is expected to remain at these sites such that unrestricted use of soil, groundwater, and surface water will not be permitted. As a consequence, containment technologies, institutional controls, and physical controls must be maintained as long as the potential risk remains in order to protect human health and the environment.
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From page 309... ...
Basic Elements of Long-Term Stewardship Long-term stewardship requires stewards, operations, information systems, research, public participation, and public education all of which should be laid out in advance in a long-term stewardship plan (Oak Ridge, 199S, 1999; Probst and McGovern, 1998; Bauer and Probst, 2000; NRC, 2000~. Stewards those responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing the activities necessary to maintain the remedy should be selected based on the following criteria: appropriate technical expertise so that the remedy can be properly operated, maintained, monitored, evaluated, and modified to ensure protectiveness, knowledge of developing technologies so that a change to the remedy can be evaluated, ability to enforce land use controls, · institutional longevity in order to be in existence as long as the remedy is needed, property ownership (e.g., federal government, local government, or private sector)
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From page 310... ...
are described in a decision document, which is the major opportunity for public involvement (see Figure 1-1~. Members of the public who live around restoration sites need assurance that the remedial actions are operated in a manner that maintains effectiveness over a very long time period.
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From page 311... ...
Box 6-2 contains a discussion of funding options for long-term stewardship. In order to ensure the long-term institutional management of contaminated sites, the Navy should perform all of the basic elements of long-term stewardship as a matter of policy.
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From page 312... ...
Limitations of Land Use Controls The rationale for MDP4 is to focus PRPs on eventual site closeout rather than on the indefinite maintenance of land use controls. In the case of contaminants such as recalcitrant organic compounds, heavy metals, and radionuclides, land use controls may be required for hundreds or thousands of years.
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From page 313... ...
Nontechnical Issues 313 DoD can develop a consistent approach to estimating the annual and lifecycle cost of maintaining such controls and to evaluating their performance (Protest and McGovern, 1998; NEPI, 1999~. Research should be conducted on where and under what conditions land use controls are successful or unsuccessful.
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From page 314... ...
is the remedy functioning as intended, (2) are the exposure assumptions, toxicity data, cleanup levels, and remedial action objectives still valid, and (3)
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From page 315... ...
. As a result, the five-year review may become a virtually perpetual requirement for sites where containment is the remedy or where the soil and groundwater cleanup goals are not met by the original remedial action.
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From page 316... ...
Indeed, Resources for the Future (Protest and Konisky, 2001) reviewed 99 completed nonfederal remedial actions and found that at 48 percent of the sites, statements concerning the protectiveness of the remedy were insufficiently substantiated or were questionable because the remedies were not fully in place, were not functioning as intended, or were not likely to achieve remedial objectives.
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From page 317... ...
The current practice at most sites (once the magnitude of site contamination, exposure, and potential risk have been characterized' and forecasts have been provided for how these might change under alternative technologies and management strategies) is to determine what the short-term costs of various different remedies will be to achieve the site cleanup goal.
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From page 318... ...
There also is the economic benefit in preventing or significantly minimizing potential future legal liability. The Navy, in conjunction with other federal agencies, should develop a life-cycle cost estimating technique that reflects the timeframes for which long-term stewardship will be needed, the indirect costs, and methods and procedures for appropriate discounting in computations of net present value for these applications.
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From page 319... ...
The responsible federal agency should solicit public involvement during each of the four management decision periods of ASM. Changes to the remedy, the remedial goals, and future land use should be issued only after consideration of public comments, particularly the proposed easing of remedial objectives or suggestions that remedies be "turned off' before reaching established objectives.
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From page 320... ...
Because of changing conditions or the development of new technologies, there may be opportunities to achieve remedial goals for less money or in less time or achieve more aggressive remedial goals for the same money and time. Thus, it may be possible to replace land use controls with treatment remedies that will achieve unrestricted use and lead to site closeout.
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From page 321... ...
1999. Public participation and the environment: do we know what works?
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From page 322... ...
1993. Interim report of the Federal Facilities Environmental Dialogue Committee, The Keystone Center, February.
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From page 323... ...
2002. Comments on the Weldon Spring site remedial action project second five-year review, August 2001.
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2001. Guidance for optimizing remedial action operation (RAO)
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From page 325... ...
U.S. Army restoration advisory board and technical assistance for public participation guidance.
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