On Thursday, September 16, 2011, EPA published in the Federal Register a final rule adding fifteen sites to the National Priorities List ("NPL") (76 Fed. Reg. 57702). Pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 ("CERCLA"), EPA is required to develop a list of priority sites to be used to focus EPA's investigation of known or suspected releases. The NPL fulfills that obligation and represents the list of what EPA has determined are sites that pose a risk to human health or the environment. Once a site is placed on the NPL it is eligible for financing of a remedial action through the Trust Fund established by CERCLA (otherwise known as the Superfund). However, generally, EPA looks first to potentially responsible parties to investigate and, if necessary, remediate contamination at one of these sites.
The new sites include former mining sites, manufacturing plants, a landfill, a refinery, and plumes of known contaminated groundwater. The new final sites are:
- Blue Ledge Mine, Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest, CA;
- New Idria Mercury Mine, Idria, CA;
- Armstrong World Industries, Macon, GA;
- Sandoval Zinc Company, Sandoval, IL;
- Gary Development Landfill, Gary, IN;
- Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp – Columbus, Columbus, MS;
- Red Panther Chemical Company, Clarksdale, MS;
- Horton Iron and Metal, Wilmington, NC;
- Garfield Ground Water Contamination, Garfield, NJ;
- Chevron Questa Mine, Questa, NM;
- New Cassel/Hicksville Ground Water Contamination, Hicksville, Hempstead, and North Hempstead, NY;
- North Ridge Estates, Klamath Falls, OR;
- US Finishing/Cone Mills, Greenville, SC;
- Alamo Contaminated Ground Water, Alamo, TN; and
- Falcon Refinery, Ingleside, TX.
In addition to the final rule adding the fifteen above sites to the NPL, EPA announced in a proposed rule (76 Fed. Reg. 57702) that it was proposing another eleven sites be added to the NPL. The proposed sites include former manufacturing facilities, waste treatment facilities, a dry cleaner, and known contaminated surface and groundwater.
Since the creation of the NPL, 1,652 sites have been listed, 351 of which have since been cleaned up and deleted from the list. There are currently 62 sites proposed for listing on the NPL.