Assessment and cleanup of inactive DOE sites: The effect of regulatory requirements

Regardless of whether the statutory requirements for assessment and cleanup f the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) inactive sites are derived from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) or from the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the basic processes prescribed by these acts are essentially equivalent. The purpose of this paper is to describe the overall process for carrying out assessment and cleanup and to highlight the formal, deliberate, step-by-step procedures imposed by the framework of regulatory requirements. In particular, the documentation requirements associated with and precedent to actual site assessment and cleanup work are described