EP 1110-1-18
24 Apr 00
b. CERCLA. CERCLA was enacted by Congress in 1980 and subsequently amended by
the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA). CERCLA authorizes
federal action to respond to the release or threatened release of hazardous substances into the
environment, or a release or threat of release of a pollutant or contaminant into the environment
that may present an imminent or substantial danger to the public health or welfare. The
CERCLA process is intended to ensure that contaminated sites are cleaned up in a timely
manner, cleanup objectives are reasonable and achievable, and the affected community
participates in selection of the removal measure(s), as appropriate for the site. All references to
CERCLA in this document refer to CERCLA as amended by SARA.
(1) NCP. The NCP, which was established in 1972 under the Clean Water Act and revised
in February 1990, designated DOD as the removal response authority for incidents involving
munitions. The NCP presents a procedural and organizational framework for preparing and
conducting response actions.
c. DERP.
(1) DERP was established by Congress in 1986 under Chapter 160 of SARA. DERP
directed the Secretary of Defense to "carry out a program of environmental restoration" at
facilities under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense.
(2) The three program goals of DERP, as stated in 10 U.S.C. 2701, are:
(a) Identification, investigation, research and development, and cleanup of contamination
from hazardous substances, pollutants, and contaminants.
(b) Correction of other environmental damage, such as the detection and disposal of
unexploded ordnance (UXO), which create an imminent and substantial endangerment to the
public health, its welfare or to the environment.
(c) Demolition and removal of unsafe buildings and structures, including buildings and
structures of the DOD at property formerly used by or under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of
Defense.
(3) DERP includes the FUDS program and the IRP. These programs are discussed in the
following paragraphs.
(a) FUDS Program. The objective of the DERP-FUDS program is to reduce, in a timely,
cost-effective manner, the risk to human health, safety and the environment of hazards which
have resulted from past DOD activities. The DERP-FUDS program is authorized under DERP
and CERCLA Section 104, in which the Secretary of Defense is authorized to conduct response
actions at sites that were contaminated while under the jurisdiction of the DOD or its predecessor
agencies. The Secretary of the Army, acting through USACE, serves as the DOD executive
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