SITE INFORMATION AND CORRESPONDENCE

Home Browse Search

ARARs and TBCs for Superfund Sites -2- 17 May 1991 (updated 10 October 1991) EPA defines to-be-considered material (TBCs) as "non-promulgated advisories or guidance issued by Federal or State government that are not legally binding and do not have the status of potential ARARs. However, as described below, in many circumstances TBCs will be considered along with ARARs as part of the site risk assessment and may be used in determining the necessary level of cleanup for protection of health or the environment." "EPA's approach to determining protectiveness involves risk assessment, considering both ARARs and to-be-considered material (TBCs)." EPA goes on to say, "cleanup goals for some substances may have to be based on non- promulgated criteria and advisories...rather than on ARARs because ARARs do not exist for those substances or because an ARAR alone would not be sufficiently protective in the given circumstances... In these situations, the cleanup requirements, in order to meet the cleanup goals, will not be based on ARARs alone but also on TBCs." As part of the scoping phase of the remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) process, government agencies are to identify ARARs (and should also identify TBCs) and provide a list to the responsible party. This memorandum identifies ARARs and TBCs that Regional Board staff should consider for any proposed remedial actions at sites subject to CERCLA. In April 1987, our office provided input to a Department of Health Services' list known as "California Standards, Requirements, Criteria,and Limitations for Hazardous Waste Cleanups Pursuant to Section 121(d)(2) of the Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act, June 1987" (copy attached). ARARs and TBCs provided in that list should be applied to CERCLA remedial actions within the Regional Board's area of jurisdiction; however, many of the li,:tings are of a general nature and would need to be expanded upon for a specific site cleanup. The following is a compilation of the ARARs and TBCs believed to be the most significant to the Regional Board for site cleanup activities. A brief description on how these ARARs and TBCs may be relevant is also provided. The list provided herein is not intended to be used as a final list of ARARs associated with requirements that this agency may apply to cleanup at a particular CERCLA site. Rather, this list is intended to highlight those ARARs and TBCs which could be important in determining interim and final actions at most sites. Since remedial actions at a site may not begin for a number of years, it is likely that these ARARs and TBCs will change with time. Regional Board staff must provide as complete a list as possible of ARARs and TBCs to guide the remedial investigation, feasibility study and, ultimately, the selection of remedial actions and cleanup levels for a specific site, when requested by the lead agency or by the responsible party. The NCP Specifies that ARARs are considered final at the time the final Record of Decision (ROD) is complete. EPA will not add ARARs after the ROD unless it determines that a change is necessary to protect public health.