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Round 3-1b: Establish New Remedy Selection Management Flags ("Rules-of-Thumb")



Reform Description
The goal of this initiative was to develop remedy selection guidance to promote cost-effectiveness and help flag potentially controversial cleanup decisions for senior management review. The guidance created key principles and expectations for the Superfund remedy selection process, which helps EPA ensure the reasonableness, predictability, and cost-effectiveness of its decisions.

EPA developed two products to guide the implementation of this reform (see Documents below).

The first product, "Rules-of-Thumb for Superfund Remedy Selection," is a guidance document that presents key principles and expectations that should be consulted during the Superfund remedy selection process. These rules-of-thumb correspond to three major policy areas in the Superfund remedy selection process: risk assessment and risk management; developing remedial alternatives; and ground water response actions.

The second product, "Consolidated Guide to Consultation Procedures for Superfund Response Decisions," describes management review procedures employed by EPA to ensure that national remedy selection policies and procedures (as outlined in the rules-of-thumb) are being implemented in a reasonable and appropriately consistent manner.

Both documents are completed and in use, and both are used as resource tools by EPA staff when remedy selection documents are reviewed for national consistency.

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Reform Status
check mark Implementation of this reform is complete.

EPA will continue using the rules-of-thumb guidance and the consolidated guide to improve the remedy selection process.

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Results
As a result of this reform, EPA:

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Documents
Title: Consolidated Guide to Consultation Procedures for Superfund Response Decisions
Date: May 1997
Document #: EPA 540-F-97-009, OSWER 9200.1-18FS, NTIS PB97-963216
Synopsis: This fact sheet describes management review procedures employed by EPA to ensure that national remedy selection policies and procedures (as outlined in the rules-of-thumb) are being implemented in a reasonable and consistent manner. NOTE: This document also applies to Reform 3-3b

Title: Rules-of-Thumb for Superfund Remedy Selection
Date: August 1997
Document #: EPA 540-R-97-013, OSWER 9355.0-69, NTIS PB97-963301
Synopsis: This guidance describes "rules-of-thumb," or key principles and expectations, interspersed with "best practices" based on program experience, that should be consulted during the Superfund remedy selection process. These remedy selection rules-of-thumb are organized into three major policy areas:
  1. Risk assessment and risk management;
  2. Remedial alternatives; and
  3. Ground water response actions.
The purpose of this guide is to briefly summarize key elements of various remedy selection guidance documents and policies in one publication. EPA believes that consistent application of national policy and guidance is important to ensuring the reasonableness, predictability, and cost-effectiveness of EPA decisions.

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Contacts
Bruce Means, U.S. EPA OSRTI
Mail Code: 5202G
U.S. EPA Headquarters
Ariel Rios
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460

Phone: (703) 603-8815
E-mail: means.bruce@epa.gov

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