Mission
The Superfund Site Discovery and Assessment Program identifies
and ranks sites for remediation under the state and federal
Superfund programs. TCEQ personnel conduct assessments to identify
sites that may immediately and substantially endanger public health
and safety or the environment due to a release or threatened
release of hazardous substances.
SSDAP Rules
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State Superfund Program
Under this program, TCEQ personnel identity and evaluate sites
for eligibility for the state Superfund registry. The two main
requirements that must be met before a site can be evaluated
are:
- documented hazardous substances on-site
- site abandoned or inactive with documented attempts to resolve
the release or threatened release through enforcement or voluntary
cleanup remedies.
See the evaluation process flowchart
available in PDF. (Help with PDF.)
State Superfund Ranking
If a site is determined eligible for evaluation under the state
Superfund program, then the relative priority for action is
investigated by preparing a
Hazard Ranking System (HRS) 
package (40 CFR 300, Appendix A). The HRS is a scoring system
developed by the EPA that is used to evaluate potential threats to
human health and the environment from hazardous waste sites. The
HRS presents a score from 0 to 100, based on the actual or
potential release of hazardous substances that will affect human
health or the environment from a site. Preparing an HRS package is
a comprehensive information gathering and assessment process. It is
undertaken to procure the necessary information needed to document
a site score.
Sites that receive an HRS score of 5.0 or greater may be
eligible for listing in the sate Superfund registry as state
Superfund sites. However, a site that receives an HRS score of 28.5
or greater is also eligible for consideration on the National
Priorities List as a federal Superfund site. Sites with an HRS
score of 28.5 or greater, that the EPA has determined are
not of NPL caliber may then be proposed to the state
Superfund registry.
The state
Superfund registry, established by the 69th Texas Legislature
in 1985 and administered by the TCEQ, lists those abandoned or
inactive sites that have serious contamination but do not qualify
for the federal program, and therefore are cleaned up under the
state program. The state must comply with federal guidelines in
administering the state Superfund program, but EPA approval of
state Superfund actions is not required.
Immediate Removals
During the state site assessment process, an immediate
removal determination is made on each site to determine if
there exists a release or threatened release of a hazardous
substance where immediate action is appropriate to protect human
health and the environment.
An immediate removal is a short-term response intended to
stabilize a site or stop ongoing releases and prevent harm to human
health and the environment during the site ranking process.
Immediate removals can include fencing an area to restrict
access, over-packing a leaking drum, or removing hazardous
substances. Once a site is proposed and listed on the state Superfund
registry, a comprehensive remedial investigation and
feasibility study is conducted by the TCEQ Superfund staff to
determine the full extent and nature of the contamination and
select the final remedy for cleanup.
Search for Potentially Responsible Parties
Persons who are responsible for hazardous-substance releases are
liable for cleanup and restitution costs. State funds from the Hazardous Waste
Remediation Fee Fund may be used to finance initial response
actions, followed by recovery of costs from responsible parties
During the Superfund ranking process a search for potentially
responsible parties is initiated for each site to identify all such
parties associated with the site and determine their relationship.
All information obtained is compiled to develop the history of the
site and to eventually identify the PRPs.
PRPs as defined by state code may include current and former
landowners and facility operators, and persons who were involved in
the transport, storage, processing, or disposal of hazardous
substances at the site, or any person who suffers, allows, or
permits a spill or discharge of hazardous substances.
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Federal Superfund Program
The federal Superfund program helps states facilitate the costly
cleanup of some of the most contaminated sites. There are 44 Texas
sites currently on the National Priority List, which identifies
sites with priority needs and places them in the federal Superfund
program.
The federal Superfund process begins with site discovery or
notification to the EPA of possible releases of hazardous
substances. Sites are discovered by various parties, including
citizens, state agencies, and EPA regional offices.
Once discovered, sites are entered into the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information
System (CERCLIS),
the
EPA’s computerized inventory of potential hazardous substance
release sites. The EPA then evaluates the potential for a release
of hazardous substances from the site during two investigative
steps, called the preliminary assessment and the screening site
inspection.
Information collected during the preliminary assessment and the
screening site inspection is used to calculate a hazard ranking
score. Sites with an HRS score of 28.50 or greater are eligible for
listing on the National
Priorities List and
require the preparation of an HRS scoring package.
Preliminary Assessment
The preliminary assessment is a limited-scope investigation
performed on every CERCLIS site. PA investigations collect readily
available information about a site and its surrounding area. The PA
is designed to distinguish, based on limited data, between sites
that pose little or no threat to human health and the environment
and sites that may pose a threat and require further investigation.
The PA also identifies sites requiring assessment for possible emergency
response actions. If the PA results in a
recommendation for further investigation, a screening site
inspection is performed. The EPA publication Guidance for
Performing Preliminary Assessments Under CERCLA, September 1991
(NTIS)
PB92-963303, EPA 9345.0-01A) provides more information on
conducting PAs.
Screening Site Inspection
The screening site inspection identifies sites that have a high
probability of qualifying for the NPL
and
provides the data needed for HRS
scoring and documentation. Investigators typically collect
environmental and waste samples to determine what hazardous
substances are present at a site, and if so are they being released
to the environment and have they reached nearby targets. The SSI
can be conducted in one stage or two. The first stage tests
hypotheses developed during the preliminary assessment and can
yield information sufficient to prepare the HRS scoring package. If
further information is necessary to document an HRS score, an
expanded SSI is conducted. The EPA publication Guidance for
Performing Site Inspections Under CERCLA; Interim Final,
September 1992, (NTIS
PB92-963375, EPA 9345.1-05) includes more information on conducting
SIs.
State PA/SI Program
Under the authority of the Comprehensive Environmental Response
Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 and the 1986
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), the EPA Region
6 has enlisted the TCEQ’s Superfund Site Discovery and
Assessment Program to conduct preliminary assessments, screening
site inspections, early potentially responsible party searches and
hazard ranking score documentation records for the EPA records
under a state PA/SI program through a multi-site cooperative
agreement. However, each site is screened by SSDAP before being
accepted for the state PA/SI assessment so that only those sites
that have the highest likelihood of progressing towards a NPL
proposal are selected.
E-mail Superfund
if you have any questions.
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