Frequently Asked Questions
How can I find information about contaminated sites that are near my Tribal community?
EPA’s Search for Superfund SitesWhere You Live webpage includes links to search for: sites proposed to, currently on, and deleted from Superfund’s National Prioirites List as well as sites being addressed under the Superfund Alternative Approach; Superfund National Priorities List sites where you live; and all contaminated site cleanups in or near your community.
EPA’s FEDFacts: Information about the Federal Electronic Docket Facilities webpage also includes a searchable map that lists details about federal facility cleanups.
What is the difference between a Superfund site and a RCRA site?
The main difference between the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (Superfund) is that: RCRA is an approach to manage solid and hazardous waste at facilities that are currently in use while CERCLA is focused on the management and remediation of abandoned, non-operating sites with media contaminated with hazardous substance.
Unlike CERCLA, RCRA facilities’ owners and operators are known and are currently using, managing, or disposing of hazardous wastes. RCRA also regulates the transport of hazardous waste.
Learn more about each type of site at TLAC’s Contaminated Sites webpage.
What is the difference between and alternative Superfund site and a regular Superfund site?
The Superfund alternative (SA) approach uses the same investigation and cleanup process and standards that are used for sites listed on the NPL. The SA approach is an alternative to listing a site on the NPL; it is not an alternative to Superfund or the Superfund process.
The SA approach can potentially save the time and resources associated with listing a site on the NPL. As long as a PRP enters into an SA approach agreement with EPA, there is no need for EPA to list the site on the NPL (although the site qualifies for listing on the NPL). See EPA’s Superfund Alternative Approach webpage.
Contact us for Assistance at TLAC@nau.edu. You may also contact Todd Barnell, Tribal Waste and Response Assistance Program Project Director, directly at Todd.Barnell@nau.edu.
Responses to inquiries will include providing a clear understanding of the rationale for each response, thereby building Tribal awareness and institutional capacity in the applicable subject(s).