General Information About Superfund & MTCA

The Federal Superfund and the Washington State Model Toxics Control Act Cleanup Regulations

The information below may direct you to resources to learn more about sites that are identified as ‘contaminated’ by the Superfund and sites that working under Washington Model Toxics Control Act regulations.

Federal Superfund

Who has authority to identify and clean up a site?

Superfund is the federal government's program to clean up the nation's uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. We're committed to ensuring that remaining National Priorities List hazardous waste sites are cleaned up to protect the environment and the health of all Americans.

Website: http://www.epa.gov/

Description of how identification of a Superfund site works.

At Superfund sites, various environmental media, like sediments, ground water, soil and air, have become contaminated. This contamination may lead to adverse effects on the health of people, animals, and plants at or near the sites. This website offers information about addressing contamination of sediments, ground water, soils, and air at Superfund sites.

Website: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/health/conmedia/index.htm

Looking at Risk

This page offers documents that describe EPA risk assessment protocols, including human health risks, ecological risk and additional information on risk management and risk communication

Website: http://www.epa.gov/oswer/riskassessment/risk_superfund.htm

List of common contaminants

This page contains links to Superfund contaminant-specific Web sites and information on common contaminants found at Superfund sites.

Website: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/health/contaminants/index.htm

What is the role and power of community involvement?

This page defines the process for Community involvement as the EPA sees it. Community involvement is the process of engaging in dialogue and collaboration with community members.

The goal of Superfund community involvement is to advocate and cleanups. Superfund community involvement staff will strive to:

• Keep the community well informed of ongoing and planned activities.
  
• Encourage and enable community members to get involved.
  
• Listen carefully to what the community is saying.
  
• Take the time needed to deal with community concerns.
  
• Change planned actions where community comments or concerns have merit.
  
• Explain to the community what EPA has done and why.
  

Website: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/community/index.htm

EPAs policies toward public involvement

This page contains links to EPA's policies and requirements. In 2003 EPA released its Public Involvement Policy, following three years of development, internal review and public discussion. The new Policy updates EPA's 1981 Public Participation Policy. The 1981 Policy evolved from EPA's 1979 regulations that included requirements for public participation.

Website: http://www.epa.gov/publicinvolvement/public/index.htm

Washington State Model Toxics Control Act

Model Toxics Control Act

The Washington State Department of Ecology website offers information about Toxic Cleanup and the Model Toxics Control Act.

Website: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/regs/reg_main.html