![[logo] US EPA](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081106105945im_/http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Engineering Performance Standards (EPS)
|
Engineering Performance Standards (EPS) Information Basics Documents
|
Engineering performance standards are technical requirements to help ensure that the cleanup meets the objectives for protecting people's health and the environment set forth in the ROD (Record of Decision) and does not cause adverse health or environmental impacts. The ROD requires the development of the following engineering performance standards:
- Dredging-related resuspension
- Dredging residuals
- Dredging productivity
The engineering performance standards were developed to provide public accountability and assurances that the dredging will be protective of people's health and the environment. These standards will be used to measure the progress of the dredging and its effect on the river system. They will ensure that:
- action levels established in the resuspension standard protect people's health and the river ecosystem, and maintain the total amount of PCBs in the river during dredging operations at a level similar to the existing baseline range,
- PCB amounts and concentrations allowed by the resuspension standard are set at levels that do not cause additional serious long-term impacts on PCB levels in fish in the river,
- removal of PCB-contaminated sediments with an anticipated residual of approximately 1 ppm prior to backfilling is achievable on an area-wide average basis, and
- the cleanup can be accomplished in six years without compromising the other engineering performance standards.
In May 2003, EPA released the Draft Engineering
Performance Standards - Public Review Copy document to the public
for review and comment. It presented the draft engineering performance
standards and, for each performance standard, it discussed the major ways
performance is measured, the techniques used to assess performance, the
supporting analyses for the recommendations (including case studies),
and some of the major interactions among the performance standards. The
Draft Engineering Performance Standards - Public Review Copy document
was revised based on public comment and became what is referred to as
the Draft Engineering Performance Standards - Peer Review Copy document.
In October 2003 EPA submitted the Draft
Engineering Performance Standards – Peer Review Copy document
for peer review. It contains the draft engineering performance standards
that were peer reviewed by a panel of independent experts. A summary of
the changes from the May 2003 Public Review Copy document can be found
in the fact sheet, 
Summary of Changes from May 2003 EPS-Public Review
Copy (released Octoer 2003).
Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG), an EPA contractor, established a
peer review panel to independently
review and ensure that the engineering performance standards for the Hudson
River PCBs site cleanup are technically adequate, properly documented,
and satisfy quality requirements. A peer review workshop was held on January
27 - 29, 2004 in Saratoga Springs, NY to provide a forum for the peer
reviewers to discuss the proposed standards for dredging-related resuspension,
dredging residuals and dredging productivity. The workshop was open to
the public and the panel heard from stakeholders who participated as observers.
At the end of the workshop, the peer reviewers developed a written
summary of their conclusions and recommendations.
The Report on the Peer Review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Draft Engineering Performance Standards—Peer Review Copy” for the Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site was prepared as a general record of discussion for the January 27–29, 2004 peer review meeting in Saratoga Springs, New York. It captures the main points of scheduled presentations, highlights discussions among the peer reviewers, and documents observer comments provided at the peer review meeting.
The results from the first season of dredging (Phase 1) will be used to evaluate the project’s progress compared to the assumptions in the ROD in order to determine whether there are any necessary adjustments to the dredging operations in the succeeding phase (Phase 2) or to the standards. The report evaluating the dredging with respect to the Phase 1 standards also will be peer reviewed. EPA will use the peer reviewers’ recommendations to help determine whether the dredging plan is feasible in achieving the human health and environmental protection objectives of the February 2002 Record of Decision for the Hudson River PCBs site.
Performance Standards Finalized for Hudson River Cleanup
On April 20, 2004, EPA released its final engineering performance standards, which were developed to ensure that the dredging of the Hudson River is done safely and on schedule. The engineering performance standards regulate three aspects of the dredging along a 40-mile stretch of the Upper Hudson: dredging-related resuspension of sediments from the river bottom, residual levels of PCBs after dredging occurs, and the productivity of the dredging work.
Nine independent peer reviewers with various affiliations and from relevant scientific disciplines thoroughly discussed and evaluated the draft engineering performance standards in January 2004. Peer reviewers answered 15 questions that addressed the proposed resuspension, residuals, and productivity standards, as well as issues that pertain to all three standards. The draft standards were subsequently revised based on public and peer review comments.
Concurrent with the release of the final engineering performance standards,
EPA also released its
Response to Peer Review Comments. In
this document, EPA either describes how the peer reviewers’ comments
were incorporated or provides the technical rationale for not incorporating
a comment. The Response to Peer Review Comments contains a summary of
the changes made to the October 2003
draft standards.
For information about this page, contact: kluesner.dave@epa.gov