Informational Meetings
for Responsible Parties
at Beede Superfund Site,
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region I
The
Beede Waste Oil Superfund
Site in Plaistow, NH includes
contaminated soil and
groundwater. According
to the Superfund Law,
any individual or entity
that sent waste to the
site, even if it sent
via a licensed hazardous
waste hauler, is responsible
for cleanup costs.When
EPA began work on Beede,
it identified 7,500 PRPs,
which included numerous
small gas stations, used
car dealerships, municipalities,
churches, schools, and
a handful of major corporations.
As EPA began sending out
information request letters,
the case team was overrun
with telephone calls and
requests for information.
Susan Podziba
& Associates created
mechanisms to support
EPA’s future negotiations
with PRPs. SP&A created
and staffed a hotline
for PRPs, which included
informational handbooks
for frequently asked questions
and a simplified, plain
English questionnaire.
Later SP&A,
in conjunction with Kate
Whitby, Esq., assisted
with strategies for offering
settlements to groups
of PRPs. For the de minimis
parties, those that sent
between 275 and 1000 gallons
of waste to the site,
EPA offered a cash out
settlement. SP&A designed
and facilitated the informational
meetings offered to PRPs
to explain the settlement
offer. More than 50% of
those in the de minimis
PRP group, accepted the
offer, a much greater
percentage than usual.
