Corrective Action/State Sites Section
Supervisor: John Regan

Section Responsibilities/Contacts:

1. Oversight of long term remediations of hazardous waste contaminated sites. Site remediations are performed according to standards contained in the Department's Groundwater Protection Rules, Env-Wm 1403 and the Department's Risk Characterization and Management Policy.

2. Point of Entry Water Well Treatment Program. This program provides small scale "point-of-entry" treatment systems for drinking water wells that have been impacted by hazardous wastes or petroleum products. Systems are installed to remove drinking water contaminants before they reach the tap. Purchase, installation and maintenance costs may be covered by the Department and are subject to funding availability and site specific circumstances. Program contact: Tal Hubbard ,271-2014.

3. State Managed Emergency Removals Pilot Program. New Hampshire was one of two states recently awarded grants by the USEPA to implement, on a demonstration basis, state managed programs to respond to emergency situations where uncontrolled hazardous waste sites pose immediate threats to public health and the environment. Several sites have been identified where actions have either been initiated or planned to respond to immediate threats at uncontrolled sites. Program contact: John Regan, 271-3744.

4. Brownfields Program. This program encourages the redevelopment of contaminated properties through provisions that limit the legal liability of owners or prospective buyers who redevelop contaminated sites and who meet the program's eligibility criteria concerning liability for the release of contaminants. Program contact: H. Keith DuBois, P.G., Brownfields Coordinator, at (603) 271-2987 or Keith.DuBois@des.nh.gov.

5. Issuance of Permits under Groundwater Protection Rules. This section issues the following types of permits: Groundwater Management Permit, Groundwater Discharge Permit, Temporary Groundwater Discharge Permit, Groundwater Release Detection Permit,Temporary Surface Water Discharge Permi.

Groundwater Management Permits are required at locations where the Department's Ambient Groundwater Quality Standards are exceeded. These permits prescribe programs for periodic groundwater quality monitoring and reporting; provide for groundwater remediation either through active measures or natural attenuation; specify performance standards for remedies, and describe procedures for performing site investigations and implementing remedial action plans. Standards for groundwater quality are the Department's Ambient Groundwater Quality Criteria, listed in the Department's Groundwater Protection Rules, Env-Wm 1403. HWRB Program contact: Karlee Kenison , 271-6542; ORCB Program contact: Vacant.  

Temporary Groundwater Discharge Permitsare issued for up to four months in order to facilitate short-term site remediations by allowing for the discharge of non-domestic wastewater to the ground or to groundwater as long as the water quality of the discharge meets the Department's Ambient Groundwater Quality Standards. Program contact: Mitchell Locker (603 271-2858).

Groundwater Release Detection Permits are required at hazardous waste disposal facilities, lined solid waste disposal facilities, lined wastewater disposal facilities and facilities that process soils contaminated with petroleum products. Other types of facilities may be required to obtain this type of permit if they are located within a class GAA wellhead protection area. Groundwater release detection permits are issued as a preventative measure and are not required at sites where a Groundwater Management Permit is in effect. Program contact: Peter Beblowski,  271-2999. 

Temporary Surface Water Discharge Permits are issued for up to four months in order to facilitate short-term site remediations by allowing for the discharge of non-domestic wastewater to surface water as long as the water quality of the discharge meets the Department's Ambient Groundwater Quality Standards and does not cause a violation of the Department's Surface Water Quality Regulations. Program contact: Slava Karnauk, 271-0686.  

Groundwater Discharge Permits are required for a variety of land use activities including:

1. operating an unlined domestic wastewater lagoon;
2. operating an unlined septage lagoon;
3. land application of domestic wastewater;
4. land application of septage derived from domestic wastewater or registered nondomestic wastewater;
5. discharge to the ground of treated nondomestic wastewater containing regulated contaminants;
6. discharge of domestic wastewater from a subsurface disposal system when the system has a design flow of at least 20,000 gallons per day; and
7. discharge of domestic wastewater from subsurface disposal systems with aggregate design flows of a least 1,000 gallons per day for a single lot.

Landfills -   The Corrective Action/State Sites Section of the HWRB is also responsible for overseeing site investigation and groundwater permitting requirements associated with closure of the unlined landfillsin the state. To date, approximately 200 unlined landfills (most of which are municipally-owned) have been identified, and the HWRB has developed a database to track the progress of each of the 200 sites through closure.

The closure process begins with a site investigation (the process outlined in the Department's Groundwater Protection Rules) to define the impact of the site on local groundwater and surface water quality. Also included are tasks designed to gather site-specific information to assess potential environmental and human health impacts unique to each site such as types of wastes historically disposed of on-site, sensitive receptors, and local groundwater users. At the conclusion of the site investigation process, each unlined landfill is expected to have a permanent water quality monitoring system in place. Typically, this will include several groundwater monitoring wells and surface water sampling stations. Site-specific data gathered during the site investigation process provide the basis for a closure design, which is unique to each site, and is intended to mitigate the environmental impacts associated with each site. At a minimum, the closure plan for an unlined landfill will typically involve an engineered capping system (compacted low-permeability soil, clay, or synthetic material), re-grading, engineered stormwater controls and development of a post-closure monitoring program to monitor the long-term performance of all closure system components. The water quality monitoring portion of the post-closure monitoring program is overseen by HWRB through issuance of the Groundwater Management Permit, which typically occurs following Department approval of the site investigation. The engineering design requirements and overall closure process is managed by the Solid Waste Compliance Section of WMD, who administer the NH Solid Waste Rules. Program Contact: Peter Beblowski,  271-2999.

Landfill and Solid Waste related links:

    EPA Office of Solid Waste, Nonhazardous Waste

    EPA Office of Solid Waste

    EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response

Superfund Sites Section
Supervisor: Richard Pease

In cooperation with EPA's Region 1 offices in Boston, the Department provides project management and oversight for long term remediations of hazardous waste contaminated sites that are included within EPA's Superfund program, sometimes referred to under the acronym CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act), the 1980 federal legislation that established a trust fund to pay for hazardous waste site remediation. This legislation provided the federal government with broad authority to compel parties responsible for contamination at the nation's worst abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites to either remediate the contamination or reimburse EPA for the costs of performing the remediation. In New Hampshire, EPA shares its Superfund program responsibilities for hazardous waste site remediation with the Department of Environmental Services. There are currently 20 Superfund sites in New Hampshire. A complete overview of New Hampshire's Superfund Program.
 

Additional Links to EPA Sites:

    Policy on the Issuance of Comfort/Status Letters - (11/8/96)

    Proposed National Priorities List (NPL) Sites

    Sites with Partial Deletions from the National Priorities List (NPL)

    Final National Priorities List (NPL)

    Sites Deleted from the National Priorities List (NPL)

    Construction Completions at National Priorities List (NPL) Sites

    Frequently Asked Questions
 

CERCLIS Pre-Remedial Program

In conjunction with the Superfund hazardous waste site remediation program, EPA established a program to identify sites throughout the country that may merit inclusion within the Superfund program. As part of this site screening program, EPA established a national hazardous waste site database referred to a CERCLIS (CERCLA Information System). Many hazardous waste sites in New Hampshire have been added to the CERCLIS database system.  It is unlikely that any of these sites currently on CERCLIS in New Hampshire will ever be elevated to Superfund status. Unfortunately, the CERCLIS designation has attached a stigma to many sites because of uncertainty about possible Superfund designation by EPA in the future. To remove unnecessary uncertainty over many of the CERCLIS sites in New Hampshire, the Department and EPA have jointly begun a program to remove sites from the CERCLIS database under the "Archive Letter" process, the Department requests that EPA remove low to moderate sites from CERCLIS where the Department is actively managing public health and environmental risks associated with the site. As part of the process, EPA issues the site owner an Archive Letter in which EPA effectively removes the site from the CERCLIS database and eliminates the site from further consideration under the Superfund program. Sites that receive Archive Letters are generally under active management under the Department's State Sites program. Program contact: John Splendore 271-5569.