What is the relationship between the DEC and EPA on NPL sites?
Generally, the EPA is the lead agency responsible for the remediation of most of the NPL sites in New York State. The DEC acts in a support agency capacity for these sites. The NPL sites are an important part of New York’s Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Remedial Program, since they are generally the most seriously contaminated sites and require a more complex and costly cleanup. DEC takes its support role very seriously in order to ensure that these sites are properly remediated. Federal grants cover the administrative costs incurred by DEC in its support agency role. New York State, through the 1986 Environmental Quality Bond Act (EQBA), pays 10% of the remedial action (construction) costs of sites remediated under the Federal Superfund. In some cases, EPA delegates lead responsibility for remediation of an NPL site in New York to DEC under a cooperative agreement.
