RCRA Corrective Action 2020 Goals Closeout

On this page: 

• Background
• 2020 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action Goals Results
• Moving Forward: 2030 Vision and Goals

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Background

The current Corrective Action Program has been driven by aspirational goals that were focused on meeting certain cleanup measures by the year 2020. These ambitious goals were to meet three important milestones at 95 percent of facilities:

• Human Exposures Under Control.
• Migration of Contaminated Groundwater Under Control.
•  Remedy Construction.

Progress is measured first and foremost by protecting public health through controlling human exposure to contamination. The next steps, including controlling the migration of contaminated groundwater and having cleanup technologies constructed and operational, are also important to achieve long-term protection.

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2020 RCRA Corrective Action Goals Results

EPA and states oversaw facilities’ investigations and cleanups and:

• Completed determinations that 95 percent of facilities ensured that communities were not exposed to unacceptable levels of contaminants.
• Completed determinations that 91 percent of facilities ensured that contaminated groundwater was not spreading and further contaminating groundwater resources.
• Ensured that 74 percent of facilities completed construction of the final remedy and made sure it was designed to achieve long-term protection of human health and the environment.

These are major achievements and reflect impressive performance in terms of the effectiveness and speed of the Corrective Action cleanup program. However, EPA knows the work is far from finished. For facilities that have not met these milestones, EPA and the states are actively working to protect the health of the nearby community and environment. 

The 2020 goals demonstrate progress toward achieving the ultimate goal of completing cleanups that are protective for communities and support economic use and redevelopment. This goal can take time to achieve, so measuring and showing interim progress is important. The results also reflect that reaching the remedy construction milestone, which involves detailed site assessment, technical evaluation and selection of remedy options, and community engagement, is particularly challenging; the Corrective Action cleanup program still has much work ahead.

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