EPA Completes Reviews at Seven Superfund Sites across New England, Fulfilling Statutory Obligation
BOSTON (November 12, 2026) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fulfilled its statutory obligation and completed required comprehensive site cleanup reviews, known as "five-year reviews," for seven Superfund sites on the National Priorities List across New England during the 2026 Fiscal Year.
As required by law, EPA conducts reviews at Superfund sites every five years after cleanup remedies have been implemented. This comprehensive review allows EPA to evaluate the performance of cleanup efforts and determines whether any further action is required to protect human health or the environment.
"Five-year reviews are an essential part of EPA's Superfund Program. During this process, the agency ensures that clean ups are working as intended, taxpayer dollars are delivering results, and communities are protected from environmental risks," said EPA New England Regional Administrator Mark Sanborn. "These reviews reflect the Agency's commitment to its statutory obligations and protecting New England communities."
The five-year review of each of these sites, which are available on EPA's website, concluded that the remedies continue to effectively protect human health and the environment and made additional recommendations for follow up actions, if required.
Completed Five-Year Reviews of Superfund sites in 2026:
Callahan Mine (Brooksville, Maine)
Coakley Landfill (Greenland and North Hampton, New Hampshire)
Durham Meadows (Durham, Connecticut)
Eastern Surplus (Meddybemps, Maine)
Savage Municipal Water Supply (Milford, New Hampshire)
Completed Five-Year Reviews of Federal Facility Superfund sites in 2026:
Fort Devens Sudbury Training Annex (Hudson, Stow, Maynard, and Sudbury, Massachusetts)
U.S. Army Materials Technology Laboratory (Watertown, Massachusetts)
Background
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, is a federal program established by Congress in 1980. Superfund investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled, or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country and endeavors to facilitate activities to return them to productive use. There are many phases of the Superfund cleanup process including considering future use and redevelopment at sites and conducting post cleanup monitoring of sites.
Throughout the process of designing and constructing a cleanup at a hazardous waste site, EPA's primary goal is to protect human health and the environment, the agency's core mission. At many sites, EPA continues to ensure it remains true to EPA's core mission, by requiring cleanup reviews every five years. It is important for EPA to regularly check on these sites to ensure the cleanup remedy is working properly. These reviews identify issues (if any) that may affect the protectiveness of the completed remedy and, if necessary, recommend action(s) necessary to address them.
For more information about EPA's Superfund program, visit www.epa.gov/superfund