The
Mega
Site
Issue
Bruce
Means
Office
of
Emergency
and
Remedial
Response
June
19,
2001
NACEPT
Mega
Site
Definition

NPL
Sites
with
cleanup
costs
of
$
50
M
or
more;


Total
removal
and
remedial
action;


Funded
by
EPA
or
PRP

112
sites
in
1999
Mega
Sites
in
2002
121
M
egasite
s
a
n
d
1
6
P
oten
tial
M
egasites
D
ata
as
o
f
June
7
,
2002
Trends
in
NPL
Listing
1982­
1985
1986­
1989
1990­
1993
1994­
1997
1998­
2001
Fiscal
Year
of
Final
NPL
Listing
0
5
10
15
Percentage
of
Final
Listings
Megasites
as
a
Percentage
of
Final
Listings
Source:
CERCLIS
and
SNAP
databases,
M
arch
25,
2002
Mega
Sites
by
Activity
Type
121
Proposed,
Final
or
Deleted
NPL
Sites
Manufacturing
42.1%

Mining
7.4%

Multiple
5.8%

Other
1.7%

Recycling
6.6%

Waste
Management
27.3%
Groundwater
Plumes
9.1%
June
11,
2002
"
Multiple"
refers
to
sites
where
more
than
one
activity
caused
the
site
to
be
placed
on
the
NPL.

"
Other"
includes
military/
ordnance
prodcution,
dry
cleaners,
transportation,
retail
and
storage
sites.
NPL
Site
Activity
Type
Total
NPL
Universe
Megasite
Universe
0
20
40
60
80
100
Site
Type
as
Percentage
of
Listings
Groundwater
Plumes
Mining
Multiple
Recycling
Other
Waste
Management
Manufacturing
How
Do
Megasites
Compare
to
Other
NPL
Sites?

Source:
CERCLIS
and
SNAP
databases,
May
1,
2002.

"
Multiple"
refers
to
sites
where
more
than
one
activity
caused
the
site
to
be
placed
on
the
NPL.

"
Other"
includes
military/
ordnance
production,
dry
cleaners,
transportation,
retail
and
storage
sites.
Cost
of
Sediment
Cleanups
For
sediment
costs
only,
data
from
108
sites
with
decisions
as
of
2001
74
11
5
3
1
1
2
1
1
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
<
10
10
­
19
20
­
29
30
­
39
50
­
59
70
­
79
80
­
89
90
­
99
>
100
Cost
($
M)

Percent
of
Sites
Cost
of
Sediment
Cleanups
Cost
of
sediment
cleanup
for
sites
with
sediment
costs
<
$
10
M
(
draft
data
for
70
sites
as
of
2001)

0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
<
1
1
­
1.9
2
­
2,9
3
­
3.0
4
­
4.9
5
­
5.9
6
­
6.9
7
­
7.9
8
­
8.9
9
­
9.9
Sediment
Cost
in
Millions
Percent
of
Sites
(

n
=

70)
What
Makes
Mega
Sites
Different?


Cost?


Site
complexity?


Cleanup
methods?


Geographic
area?
Mega
Sites
Cost
More
$
18
$
132
$
9
$
75
Non­
Mega
Sites
Mega
Sites
$
0
$
20
$
40
$
60
$
80
$
100
$
120
$
140
Millions
Average
Total
(

Actual
plus
Projected)

Costs
Per
Site
Construction
Complete
Not
Construction
Complete
A
v
e
ra
g
e
A
c
tu
a
l
a
n
d
P
ro
je
c
te
d
C
o
s
ts
fo
r
N
o
n
­
F
e
d
e
ra
l
F
a
c
i
l
ity
F
u
n
d
L
e
a
d
N
P
L
S
i
t
e
s
Preliminary
analysis
of
average
cleanup
cost
Site
Complexity
Varies

History,
knowledge,
number
and
intensity
of
the
polluting
sources);


Nature
and
extent
of
contamination;


Proximity
of
populations
/
species;


Current
use
of
resources

Complexity
of
geology
/
hydrology
Cleanup
Methods
Depend...


On
site
vs.
Off
site

Treatment
vs.
containment

Capacity
of
waste
management
facilities

Community
concerns
(
local
vs.
regional)
Large
Geographic
Areas

Extensive
study
areas

Multiple
communities

Miles
of
streams
or
rivers

Broadly
dispersed
contaminants
(
via
activities,
air,
water,
re­
use
of
tailings)


Knowledge,
management
of
multiple
sources
Cost
Control
Initiatives

Major
enforcement
reforms

Streamlining
reforms

Cost
control
reforms:


National
Remedy
Review
Board

Remedy
Updates
The
Mega
Site
Issue

Eighty
percent
of
resources
for
ongoing
construction
projects
to
go
to
less
than
20%
of
the
projects
with
funding
need.
Questions
for
the
Committee

Are
there
characteristics
of
mega
sites
that
indicate
the
need
for
a
unique
or
supplemental
decision
process
for
NPL
listing?
Are
there
alternatives
to
placing
mega
sites
on
the
NPL?


Are
there
better
ways
of
managing
mega
site
cleanup
costs
under
Superfund?


What
other
options
for
cleanup
of
mega
sites
exist
in
Federal,
State
or
other
programs?


Are
there
more
meaningful
/
appropriate
descriptors
(
other
than
"
cost")
that
can
help
us
better
analyze
cleanup
program
or
resource
management
options?
