[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 16, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-28293]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: November 16, 1994]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5106-7]
Draft Soil Screening Guidance
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of informational meeting on Draft Soil Screening
Guidance.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold an
informational meeting on December 1, 1994, to present a document
entitled ``Draft Soil Screening Guidance.'' This guidance is intended
to serve as a tool to expedite the evaluation of contaminated soils at
sites addressed under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund.
While the guidance is intended to be used as a screening tool to
determine if further study is warranted at a site, it does not
represent clean-up standards for a site. Such guidance is not intended
to have the force of a regulation and today's notice is not a proposed
rule. A subsequent Federal Register notice, forthcoming in several
weeks, will announce the availability of and seek public comment on
this draft guidance and a supporting Technical Background Document.
DATES: An Informational Meeting, open to the public, will be held on
December 1, 1994.
ADDRESSES: The Informational Meeting will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
(EST) at the Sheraton Washington Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road at
Connecticut Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Cooper, Remedial Operations and
Guidance Branch, Hazardous Site Control Division, Office of Emergency
and Remedial Response (5203G), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460, at (703) 603-8820, or the
RCRA/Superfund Hotline at (800) 424-9346 (in the Washington, DC
metropolitan area, (703) 412-9810). The Telecommunications Device for
the Deaf (TDD) Hotline number is (800) 553-7672 (in the Washington, DC
metropolitan area, (703) 412-3323).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responds to uncontrolled
releases of hazardous substances under the authority of the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
(CERCLA) of 1980. CERCLA or Superfund, as it is commonly known,
requires that the response to hazardous substances be performed in
accordance with regulations found in the National Oil and Hazardous
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan or NCP. The NCP process requires
that a remedial investigation be performed to identify the nature and
extent of contamination at National Priorities List (NPL) sites. From
sampling results, as well as site observations obtained in the field,
specific contaminants and exposure pathways of concern are identified
and used in a baseline risk assessment performed to determine whether
remedial action is warranted.1,2
Today's Federal Register notice announces an informational public
meeting to introduce a draft of a new tool called the ``Draft Soil
Screening Guidance.'' This guidance may reduce significantly the time
it takes to complete soil investigations and cleanup actions, as well
as improve the consistency of these actions across the nation. The
draft guidance has been written for remedial investigation/feasibility
study (RI/FS) work at Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites.
This guidance on developing soil screening values is expected to assist
site managers in quickly identifying contaminated soil of potential
concern and in screening out from further consideration those soils
that do not warrant additional study.
The Draft Soil Screening Guidance will present three methods which
may be used to develop risk based, soil screening level values. These
values are then compared to on-site soil contaminant levels. The
framework provides the three methods for developing soil screening
levels, but focuses on a simple, site-specific approach. Areas of a
site which fall below such levels may be screened out from further
assessment, while areas above the SSL values must undergo further
assessment. While the guidance is intended to be used as a screening
tool to determine if further study is warranted at a site, it does not
represent clean-up standards for a site. The formulae and most of the
exposure assumptions upon which the draft guidance is based have been
taken from the Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund1,2 and have
been widely accepted in the Superfund program for a number of years.
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\1\U.S. EPA. 1989. Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund:
Volume 1: Human Health Evaluation Manual, Part A, Interim Final.
EPA/540/1-89/002. Office of Emergency and Remedial Response,
Washington D. C. NTIS PB90-155581/CCE.
\2\U.S. EPA. 1991. Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund,
Volume 1: Human Health Evaluation Manual (Part B, Development of
Risk-Based Preliminary Remediation Goals). Publication 9285.7-01B.
Office of Emergency and Remedial Response, Washington, D.C. NTIS
PB92-963333.
Dated: November 9, 1994.
Elliott P. Laws,
Assistant Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-28293 Filed 11-15-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
