Key EPA Groundwater Guidance and Reports
The topics below link to lists of key EPA ground water guidance and selected other reports on ground water which are used frequently by Superfund Remedial Project Managers. The lists may be accessed by topic below, or download a PDF version of all lists (44 K, 20 pp, About PDF).
A link to an electronic copy of the document is indicated by an underlined Web address. EPA employees can order free paper copies of EPA documents through the EPA Superfund Docket Center at (202) 566-0276. Members of the public can order free paper copies of documents from EPA's National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) or (800) 490-9198. When free copies are not available, NSCEP will refer the requestor to the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) 
, which offers paper documents for a fee. NTIS can also be contacted by phone at (800) 553-NTIS.
- Alternate Concentration Limits (ACL's)
- Alternative Water Supplies
- ARARs (Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements)
- Brownfields
- Ground Water Task Force
- In-Situ Treatment / Innovative Technologies
- Monitored Natural Attenuation
- Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (NAPLS)
- Optimization of Pump and Treat Remedies
- Performance Evaluation / Close-Out
- Phased Approach
- Pump & Treat Remediation
- Reinjection of Ground Water for Remediation
- Remedy Selection / RODS
- Removal Action
- Site Assessment / Site Characterization
- Technical Impracticability
- Use Determinations
See also:
“Clarification of OSWER's 1995 Technical Impracticability Waiver Policy” September, 2011.
OSWER Directive 9355.5-32
Available on-line from OSWER [PDF 4 p. 764KB]
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide clarification to the 1995 Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) memorandum titled, Superfund Groundwater RODs: Implementing Change This Fiscal Year, July 31, 1995, (OSWER Directive 9335.3-03P) regarding the use of Technical Impracticability (TI) waivers at Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) sites with Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (DNAPL) contamination.
“Groundwater Road Map Recommended Process for Restoring Contaminated
Groundwater at Superfund Sites” July, 2011.
OSWER 9283.1-34
Available on-line from OSWER [PDF 31 p. 390KB]
This groundwater road map fact sheet focuses on groundwater response actions to restore all or part of an aquifer that are undertaken using the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended. This Directive summarizes some of the key recommended steps and factors to consider when selecting a groundwater restoration remedy; designing, constructing, and initiating the remedy, as appropriate, and documenting completion of the site response actions.
“Summary of Key Existing EPA CERCLA Policies for Groundwater Restoration” June 26, 2009
OSWER Directive 9283.1-33
Available on-line from OSWER [PDF 11 p. 2.5M]
This Directive provides a compilation of some key existing EPA groundwater policies to assist EPA Regions in making groundwater restoration decisions pursuant to CERCLA and the NCP. It addresses:
- Whether CERCLA remedial action is warranted
- Appropriate role of institutional controls (ICs)
- Groundwater classification and beneficial use policy
- Remedial action cleanup levels
- Groundwater point of compliance
"Handbook of Groundwater Protection and Cleanup Policies for RCRA Corrective Action," Updated April 2004.
OSWER/OSW publication EPA 530-R-04-030, 102 p.
Available on-line from OSWER. (HTML)
The handbook provides EPA guidance on many of the ground water topics listed above in a question and answer format. Although this document was developed for the RCRA Corrective Action program, it provides information useful to all cleanup programs. Many of the source documents cited in the handbook were developed for the Superfund program. The on-line version contains hot links to the referenced source documents.
Other information concerning the RCRA Corrective Action Program
(HTML)
This includes program guidance, rules & regulations, and other resources.
CLU-IN: EPA's Hazardous Waste Cleanup Information
This Web site provides a comprehensive source of on-line and downloadable information about site remediation and field analytical technologies, including those pertaining to ground water, developed by EPA's Technology Innovation Office. In addition, users may subscribe on-line to a list server that e-mails subscribers monthly announcements of recent documents, training, and conferences related to site assessment and remediation. The Web site is updated daily with information of value to technology users, developers, and providers. Also available from the EPA's Technical Support Project is Ground Water Forum Web Site which contains publications on various ground water issues developed by a network of EPA Remedial Project Managers, Corrective Action Staff, and On-Scene Coordinators together with EPA's research scientists.
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