Each federal facility site will have different contaminants of concern. Most can be found searching online for fact sheets associated with each site. Common contaminants associated with federal facilities include radiological contamination, solvents, fuels, asbestos, metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), per- and poly-fluoralkyl substances (PFAS), and munitions/explosives.

Sites such as the USDOE Savannah River Site are complex and include uranium, arsenic, mercury, cesium, radium, thorium, benzo(a)pyrene, cobalt, lead, chromium, and potassium. This site was used in the 1950s to produce basic materials used in the fabrication of nuclear weapons, including reactors, support facilities, chemical separation plants, heavy water extraction plant, nuclear fuel and target fabrication facility, and waste management facilities.

Contamination resulting from past ammunition manufacturing operations at the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant has been identified in groundwater, soil, sediment and surface water. Contaminants of concern include chlorinated solvents, explosives, metals, VOCs, SVOCs, PCBs, PAHs and lead. The primary contaminants of concern in the groundwater both on and off-site are VOCs. The contaminants in the soil on TCAAP primarily consist of VOCs and lead. The contaminated sites that are being addressed by the Army consist of ground and surface water, surface disposal areas, sediments, disposal pit/dry well, landfills, chemical disposal areas, firing ranges, small arms ranges, unexploded munitions/ordnance and burn areas.

Sources/operations for contaminants include:
– Diesel-powered electric generators
– Artillery ranges
– Chemical research and stockpiles
– Firefighting
– Pesticide application
– Batteries
– Aircraft and vehicle maintenance
– Diesel fuel storage tanks
– Metal surfaces covered with a waterproof coating containing PCBs to prevent corrosion
– Metal cleaning operations (concrete settling pits)

For more information, visit EPA’s Emerging Contaminants and Federal Facility Contaminants of Concern webpage.

Military Munitions and Unexploded Ordnances

Historically, millions of acres of former munitions ranges were transferred from the military to be used for other purposes. These properties can be either FUDS or BRAC sites. DoD is currently working with Tribes to further define the inventory of sites and acreage on Tribal lands that are potentially contaminated with military munitions and unexploded ordnances and to prioritize these sites for cleanup.

 To learn more about military munitions on Tribal lands, you can visit EPA’s Unexploded Ordnance Management Principals webpage.

EPA’s CERCLA and Federal Facilities webpage describes the application of CERCLA to Federal Facilities by summarizing the following CERCLA Sections:

• 120(a): General Application of CERCLA Authority to the Federal Government
• 120(b): Notice of Contamination That Affects Adjacent Property
• 120(c): Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket
• 120(d): Assessment and Evaluation of Federal Facilities on the Docket
• 120(e): Steps Required for Remedial Actions at Federal Facilities Listed on the NPL
• 120(f): State and Local Participation
• 120(g): Transfer of EPA’s Authority to Federal Agencies
• 120(h): Property Transferred by Federal Agencies
• 111(e)(3): Uses of the Fund for Federal Facilities
• 107: Natural Resources Damages
• 106: Order Authority for Natural Resource Damages, etc.

Section 126 of CERCLA requires that EPA afford Indian Tribes substantially the same treatment as a State with respect to certain provisions of CERCLA.

Native American Management System for Environmental Impacts (NAMSEI)

NAMSEI is an online system that allows tribal representatives, DoD, and the public to access, report, and share information on DoD-related issues of concern. It also tracks and maintains information on potential impacts to tribal lands and resources resulting from DoD activities. NAMSEI provides a historical record of site assessment results, presents a forum to report new suspected impacts, and receives online comments about assessments and project status updates. Additionally, the system supports program planning and funding decisions related to NALEMP.

Native American Lands Environmental Mitigation Program (NALEMP)

NALEMP was developed in 1996 by the Department of Defense (DoD) to address environmental issues from past DoD activities on Indian lands, including Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act conveyed lands and Native allotments. The program provides tangible stake to Tribes in project decision-making on matters important to them, develops tribal capacity regarding environmental remediation activities beyond the immediate project, and develops/fosters valuable partnerships between sovereign nations and DoD.

Funding, under NALEMP, is available for:

• Training & technical assistance to tribes
• Related administrative support
• The gathering of information
• Documenting of environmental damage
• System for prioritization of mitigation
• Cost to complete estimates for mitigation

NALEMP has typically funded the removal of hazardous materials on Native-owned lands, including:

• Abandoned drums, old equipment, and debris
• Unsafe buildings and structures
• Unexploded ordnance

The Department of Defences’s Native American Lands Environmental Mitigation Program details how NALEMP works and how it has helped tribes tackle environmental impacts on Native Lands.

Additionally, EPA’s Federal Facilities Restoration and Reuse Office (FFRRO) and the FFRRO Tribal Program Fact Sheet provides contacts, resources, and technical assistance available to tribes.

Tribal governments have distinct roles in cleanups of federal facilities under treaties with the U.S. government. Accordingly, EPA works in partnership with tribal governments, both at the facility level and at the national policy-making level. The framework for EPA tribal involvement is a tribal strategy that is designed to address the needs of—and mitigate impacts to—American Indian tribes, including Alaskan Native villages, living on or near federal facilities. It includes:

• Working with tribes on a government-to-government basis consistent with EPA’s trust responsibility to protect tribal health and environments.
• Involving tribes in the cleanup process through meaningful dialogue that respects the unique needs of each community.
• Developing partnerships that will enhance capacity and participation in the environmental decision-making process at federal facilities.

Based on various factors such as potential exposure to nearby human population, contamination of soil and groundwater, and other situations that may pose threats to public health, any federal facility can be listed on the National Priorities List (NPL). Depending on which category the site falls under will determine how the site will be assessed and cleaned up, as well as which type of funding Tribes can be eligible for. Section 120(c) of CERCLA requires EPA to establish a Docket which contains information reported to EPA by federal facilities that manage hazardous waste or from which hazardous waste substances, pollutants or contaminants have been or may be released.

As stated on the Department of Defense (DOD) Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) website, DoD primarily conducts environmental restoration activities in accordance with the CERCLA, also known as Superfund. The Department began cleaning up contamination in 1975 under the Installation Restoration Program (IRP). The IRP addresses contamination from a hazardous substance or pollutant or contaminant. In 2001, DoD established the Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) to address sites (referred to munitions response sites or MRSs) known or suspected to contain unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, or munitions constituents. Through the IRP and MMRP, DoD complies with environmental cleanup laws, such as CERCLA.

Under the DERP, DoD conducts cleanup at active installations, Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS), and Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) locations. The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Defense Logistics Agency manage the cleanup programs at their active installations and BRAC locations. The Army oversees the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ execution of the FUDS cleanup program. The Office of the Secretary of Defense, through the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment, Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health Directorate, manages and oversees the DERP and provides program guidance.

For more information on the types of cleanup activities that are eligible for the DERP, see pages 16-18 in DoD Manual 4715.20, “Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) Management,” March 9, 2012. For more information on the DERP, refer to the FY 2013 Department of Defense Environmental Programs Annual Report to Congress.

For more information visit Cleanups at Federal Facilities.

Contaminated Site Clean-up Information Trainings

FUDS Acronyms and Glossary

Federal Facilities Library

CERCLA and Federal Facilities

NALEMP Overview with Example Sites

Bristol Environmental Remediation Services, LLC – NALEMP Guidance & Implementation

Federal Facilities (FF) Academy

Federal Facilities Case Study: Adverse Environmental Impacts on the Ankau Saltchucks