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EPA/OLEM RIN: 2050-AG67 Publication ID: Spring 2017 
Title: Addition of Subsurface Component to the Hazard Ranking System (HRS) 
Abstract: The Hazard Ranking System (HRS), required by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Recovery Act (CERCLA) is the primary mechanism used by the EPA to assess the relative threat associated with actual or potential releases of hazardous substances. The National Priorities List (NPL) is intended primarily to guide the EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation. The HRS includes four scoring pathways - ground water, surface water, air and soil exposure. Subsurface intrusion has been identified as posing significant threats to human health and the environment that should be considered when evaluating sites for the NPL. Subsurface intrusion occurs when contaminants are released, enter the subsurface environment and move into occupied structures (e.g., residences, workplaces and other buildings) as a gas, vapor or liquid. Over the past decade the EPA and state environmental programs have learned significantly more information regarding the risk that this pathway poses to human health. In a May 2010 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that if vapor intrusion sites are not assessed and, if needed, listed on the NPL, some seriously contaminated hazardous waste sites with unacceptable human exposure may not otherwise be cleaned up. Thus, the EPA has added a new screening component to the HRS that allows sites with vapor intrusion contamination to be evaluated for placement on the NPL. This addition enables the HRS to directly consider the human exposure to contaminants that enter building structures through the subsurface environment. 
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)  Priority: Other Significant 
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Completed Actions 
Major: No  Unfunded Mandates: No 
CFR Citation: 40 CFR 300   
Legal Authority: 42 U.S.C. 9601   
Legal Deadline:
Action Source Description Date
None       
Timetable:
Action Date FR Cite
Notice  01/31/2011  76 FR 5370   
NPRM  02/29/2016  81 FR 10371   
NPRM Comment Period End  04/29/2016 
Final Rule  01/09/2017  82 FR 2760   
Final Rule Effective  05/22/2017 
Additional Information: Docket #:EPA-HQ-SFUND-2010-1086
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No  Government Levels Affected: Federal, Local, State, Tribal 
Small Entities Affected: No  Federalism: No 
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No 
RIN Information URL: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/   Public Comment URL: http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=EPA-HQ-SFUND-2010-1086  
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No 
Agency Contact:
Terry Jeng
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Land and Emergency Management
5204P, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20460
Phone:703 603-8852
Email: jeng.terry@epa.gov

Brenda Cook
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Land and Emergency Management
USEPA REGION 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, 6SF,
Dallas, TX 75202
Phone:214 665-7436
Fax:214 665-6660
Email: cook.brenda@epa.gov