Program Goals & Results
By the year 2020, EPA and the authorized states plan to have largely completed the work of implementing final remedies at all facilities requiring Corrective Action. (See Goal 3 of the Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery's 2020 Vision for more details.) While working toward the 2020 goal, EPA decided to ensure that sites presenting the greatest risk to human health and the environment are dealt with first. Accordingly, program goals through 2008 focused on two Environmental Indicators (EIs) designed to stabilize the program's most threatening sites:
- The Human Exposures EI ensures that people near a particular site are not exposed to unacceptable levels of contaminants.
- The Groundwater EI ensures that contaminated groundwater does not spread and further contaminate groundwater resources.
The EIs have now been satisfied at most of the highest-priority Corrective Action sites. (See Historical Record of the 2005 & 2008 Corrective Action Baselines). As a result, the program has expanded its focus to include implementing more permanent solutions at Corrective Action sites, as measured by Final Remedy Construction.
Three GPRA goals for 2011 apply to the full 2020 Corrective Action Universe:
- 65% Human Exposures Under Control
- 55% Migration of Contaminated Groundwater Under Control
- 32% Final Remedy Construction