California Water Boards' Annual Performance Report - Fiscal Year  2018-19 

CLEAN UP: GROUNDWATER

GROUP:
MILITARY SITES - DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PROGRAM



MESSAGE:
Human health exposure has been controlled for in 43% of cases statewide.

MEASURE:
NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF CASES WITH HUMAN HEALTH EXPOSURE CONTROLLED



KEY STATISTICS FOR FY  2018-19 
Number of Cases With Health Exposure Controlled: 937 
Number of Cases With Health Exposure NOT Controlled or Undetermined: 1,254 

 

MEASUREMENTS  - Data last updated on: 10-08-2019 (11:45 am)

Region Total Number of Cases (Active and Inactive) Cases With Human Health Exposure Control-led Cases Where Human Health Exposure is NOT Control-led Cases Pending Determi-nation Percent of Cases Where Exposure is Control-led
1 50 0 0 50 0%
2 390 325 1 64 83%
3 98 45 4 48 46%
4 131 51 4 76 39%
5 267 187 17 63 70%
6 878 179 15 684 20%
7 48 18 2 28 38%
8 60 40 0 16 67%
9 274 92 18 164 34%
TOTAL 2,196 937 61 1,193 43%
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WHAT THE MEASURE IS SHOWING

This performance measure seeks to assess how well the Water Boards are doing at protecting human health at cleanup cases. For 43% of Active and Inactive military sites we can determine that the human health exposure is controlled either because the source of the contamination has been identified, the extent and magnitude of soil and groundwater contamination is defined, or because a human health risk assessment has been performed. In order to consider a case to be controlling human health exposure, appropriate remedial actions, such as cleanup or risk management measures, must be implemented. Although the number and percentage of cases where human health exposure is not controlled is small (3 percent), the number of cases pending determination is relatively high (at 50 percent).

WHY THIS MEASURE IS IMPORTANT

The ultimate goal of the cleanup programs is to protect beneficial uses of water quality by reducing or minimizing the exposure to harmful chemicals to humans from contaminated sites. The "Cases with Human Health Exposure Controlled" column displays a count of all open Water Board-lead cases and shared-lead cases where human health exposure has been evaluated as of the end of the fiscal year (FY). The process of cleaning and remediating of the impacts of pollution may take several years, and may be completed in different phases. During the period that a case remains active, work will be done to investigate the nature and extent of the contamination, determine appropriate cleanup goals and construct/implement actions to effect cleanup (remediation). This performance measure is intended to show how well the Water Boards are doing at controlling the human health exposure to pollution from contaminated sites.

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS

  • Data source: GEOTRACKER. Period July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 .
  • Unit of Measure: Number of cases where human health is controlled.
  • Data Definitions: Active Cases: The number of cases overseen by Regional Boards that had an Open status as of June 30, 2019 . Inactive Cases: Include cases where there is no funding or resources available to work on the case. Cases With Human Health Exposure Controlled: human health exposure is controlled either because the source of the contamination has been identified, the extent and magnitude of soil and groundwater contamination is defined or that human health risk assessment has been performed. Cases Where Human Health Exposure is Not Controlled: An unacceptable human health risk is determined to be present. Cases Pending Determination: Include cases for which there is insufficient data to determine that human health exposure is controlled and those cases for which no data has been entered in the databases.
  • References:
    Information on the Water Boards' Department of Defense Program
    Public Reports and Data

GLOSSARY:

Military Sites - Department of Defense Program
Decades of defense activities have degraded water quality on and around federally-owned facilities. Working with other agencies, the Regional Boards are involved with remedial investigation and cleanup actions. Agreements with the Department of Defense provide for accelerated cleanups at military bases and other Defense sites scheduled for closure and reuse. Site investigation and cleanup procedures are consistent with State laws and regulations as well as applicable provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) which guides the federal Superfund program.

Number of cleanup cases with human health exposure conrolled
Means a count of all open Water Board-lead cases and Shared-lead cases where human health exposure has been evaluated as of the end of the Fiscal Year.

Active Remediation
Active remediation comprises the phase(s) of work where the actual construction or implementation of activities to accomplish cleanup at a site occurs.

Case Closure
A site cleanup qualifies to receive a "No Further Action" (closure) letter once the owner or operator meets all appropriate corrective action requirements. After this occurs, the county agency or regional board will inform the responsible party in writing that no further work is required.

Number of cleanup cases groundwater contaminant migration under control
Means a count of all open Water Board-lead cases and Shared-lead cases where groundwater contaminant migration has been evaluated as of the end of the Fiscal Year.