Remedy Resilience

Remedies at contaminated sites may be vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather events and other hazards. EPA's Superfund program developed an approach that raises awareness of these vulnerabilities as a standard operating practice in cleanup projects. The approach involves periodic screening of Superfund remedy vulnerabilities, prioritizing the Superfund program's steps to adapt to changing vulnerabilities, and identifying measures to assure the resilience of remedies at Superfund sites.

The information on this page shares information about strategies that can be used to evaluate and strengthen remedy resilience at Superfund sites. This information does not impose legally binding requirements on EPA, states, Tribes or the regulated community, and does not alter or supersede existing policy or guidance for the cleanup of contaminated sites. EPA, other federal, state, Tribal and local decision-makers retain discretion to implement resilience measures on a case-by-case basis.

Find resources on related pages that can help stakeholders:

• Conduct a vulnerability assessment.
• Evaluate applicable resilience measures.
• Build adaptive capacity.

General Information

Strategies for building site resilience within the Superfund program may apply to existing or planned remediation systems. Implementing the strategies must remain consistent with existing regulatory requirements for site cleanup, including requirements under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act.

There are several key terms in Superfund remedy resilience:

• Vulnerability: The degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of hazards, including extreme weather events and variability. Vulnerability is a function of the character, magnitude and rate of weather variation to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity and its adaptive capacity.
• Resilience: A capability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to and recover from significant multi-hazard threats with minimum damage to social well-being, the economy and the environment.
• Adaptation: Adjustment or preparation of natural or human systems to a new or changing environment which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.
• Adaptive Capacity: The ability of a system to adjust to a changing environment, to moderate potential damages, to take advantage of opportunities or to cope with the consequences.

Vulnerability Assessments

Superfund site remedies are inherently designed to maintain protectiveness under current conditions. However, site remedies must also ensure future protectiveness by anticipating future land use and environmental changes to protect human health and the environment over time. Vulnerability assessments may be needed for sites where screening identifies possible significant changes in future site conditions (such as temperatures, precipitation rates and sea level rise) and associated remedy protectiveness. EPA developed a place-based vulnerability assessment process to help cleanup project stakeholders:

• Consider key factors that influence development of a site-specific projection.
• Assess how changing conditions may affect remedy protectiveness.
• Identify adaptive actions needed to address remedy protectiveness vulnerabilities and ensure remedy resilience under future conditions.

Remedy Resilience Studies

EPA has done several studies to assess Superfund remedy resilience. In 2012 EPA conducted a preliminary vulnerability assessment of all NPL sites to identify those with remedies likely to experience significant exposure to changing site conditions due to the sites’ geographic or topographic locations and the types of remedies existing or anticipated. The assessment indicated that a significant number of the NPL sites were susceptible to flooding associated with sea level rise or floodplain proximity.

In 2018, EPA evaluated the status of remedies in place at 251 Superfund sites in EPA Regions 2, 4 and 6 that were exposed to tropical force winds or inundation associated with three major hurricane strikes during the preceding year. The evaluation indicated that the resilience redundancies built into the Superfund program and previously implemented at the sites were critical to successfully maintaining long-term protectiveness of remedies at all the sites, despite temporary suspension of remedial activities at certain sites during or after the hurricanes.

• Evaluation of Remedy Resilience at Superfund NPL and SAA Sites

Profiles of Superfund Site Adaptation

EPA is compiling site profiles that illustrate how adaptation adjustments were integrated into Superfund sites. Each profile describes assorted processes and tools that were used to design, operate and maintain remedies and associated infrastructure in practical and innovative ways addressing the site’s specific vulnerabilities.

• Site Adaptation Profile: Allen Harbor Landfill, Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center
• Site Adaptation Profile: American Cyanamid Co. 
• Site Adaptation Profile: Continental Steel Corp.
• Site Adaptation Profile: General Motors (Central Foundry Division) 
• Site Adaptation Profile: Iron Mountain Mine
• Site Adaptation Profile: Port Hadlock - Site 10 North End Landfill
• Site Adaptation Profile: Rocky Mountain Arsenal 
• Site Adaptation Profile: Solvents Recovery Service of New England, Inc. 
• Site Adaptation Profile: Wyckoff Co./Eagle Harbor