Environmental Cleanup Programs
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental protection oversees a broad range of cleanup programs ranging from federal Superfund sites, RCRA Corrective Action Program, Pennsylvania's Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program (HSCA), Voluntary Cleanup to the market driven redevelopment of Brownfield sites.
Enforcement is a key part of the department's strategy to ensure the cleanup of the over 10,000 sites contaminated by hazardous substances.Multi-Site Remediation Agreements have been negotiated with electricity, natural gas, and petroleum producers and distributors to clean up over 5,000 sites. A multi-site agreement has also been negotiated with the Department of Defense covering over 1,000 sites.
Hazardous substances from spills and releases from Storage Tanks are one of the largest sources of soil and groundwater contamination. Regional office staff spend a significant amount of time ensuring the timely assessment, initial response and on-going monitoring of over 4,500 active storage tank cleanups. Storage tank owners and operators are required to make payments to the Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Fund (USTIF), which makes claim payments to eligible UST owners or operators for damages caused by a release from their UST.
The Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act was enacted in 1995 to encourage the Voluntary Cleanup of contaminated properties by establishing risk based cleanup standards and cleanup liability protection. On Dec. 18, 2007, the Governor signed Act 68, the Uniform Environmental Covenants Act (UECA), into law. Act 68 (House Bill 43) provides a standardized process for creating, documenting and assuring the enforceability of activity and use limitations on contaminated sites.
The Brownfield Action Team is responsible for expediting the remediation, reclamation, reuse and redevelopment of brownfields and abandoned mine lands. This team manages and coordinates funding for, high priority and reuse projects. The team coordinates both remediation program development activities and permitting procedures related to redevelopment projects through matrix management of both central and assistant regional office directors.
