Site Restoration Unit

The Site Restoration Unit is responsible for the Long Term Monitoring and Analysis Program, Presumptive Land Remedy Program, and Bankruptcies, and along with the State Response Unit administers sites under the State Cooperative Program.

Sites within the Long Term Monitoring and Analysis Program are revisited on a semi-annual, annual, or biannual basis in order to track changes in contaminant levels or quality. Some are sites to which a remedial action has already been applied, and long-term monitoring is used to determine how effective that action had been in reducing contamination and preserving human health and the environment. Other sites are lower priority sites that pose no immediate danger to human health and the environment, and long-term monitoring is used to check for increases or decreases in contaminant concentrations, to define the direction or size of a contaminant plume, and/or to monitor the natural attenuation of a contaminant.

Sites remain in the Long-Term Monitoring and Analysis Program until a site is determined to be no longer of concern, or is transferred to another program for more immediate action.

The Presumptive Land Remedy Sites Program was initiated in order to apply lessons learned at contaminated sites to newly-identified sites that share similar characteristics. This is particularly useful when the Bureau launches an initiative to investigate former sites from a particular industrial sector, such as zinc smelters, former petroleum refineries, or manufactured gas plants.

These sites will typically share a history, contaminant profiles, and will respond to very similar remedial strategies. Applying the Bureau's previous experience from similar sites allows the appropriate corrective action to take place in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Bankruptcies

For some environmental sites the responsible party has entered bankruptcy. In these cases, BER must move quickly in order to ensure appropriate actions are taken within the time frame specified by the bankruptcy process.