Region 10 Cleanup: Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical Serving the people of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and 270 Native Tribes Recent Additions | Contact Us | Print Version Search: EPA Home > Region 10 > Cleanup Sites > Bunker Hill > The Box

Region 10 Homepage Region 10 Cleanup Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical What You Can Do Information Sources Fact Sheets In The News Maps & Photos Documents Partners Related Links Cleanup Work   Box   Basin   Spokane River   Completed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Frequently Asked Questions Superfund Frequently Asked Questions How and why does EPA “certify” areas? Basin Frequently Asked Questions How and why does EPA “certify” areas? Under Superfund, EPA “certifies” areas where Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs), have completed the cleanup work outlined in a Consent Decree. For example, in 1998, EPA certified the work done by the Upstream Mining Group in the City of Smelterville. Before an area can be certified, the government must inspect the area to ensure all work under the Consent Decree is complete. If the work has not been completed in accordance with the Consent Decree, EPA notifies the PRP of the actions needed for certification. Once all work is complete, EPA provides written notification of the certification to the PRP. Certifications can be granted for all or part of the area where cleanup occurred. It is important to understand that certification only applies to work specified in a Consent Decree. Certification does not necessarily mean that no additional work is needed in a particular area. For example, EPA may call for Five-Year Reviews to be conducted to make sure the cleanup remains effective. Or, in the case of the Union Pacific Railroad rails to trails work, additional work may be needed on or near the right-of-way as part of the overall Basin-wide cleanup. [ Main Cleanup | Brownfields ] [ Superfund | FOIA | Records Center ] Point of contact: Debra Sherbina E-Mail: sherbina.debra@epa.gov Phone Number: (206) 553-0247 Last Updated: 09/17/2007