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EPA, Air Force, Florida sign Cleanup Agreement for Tyndall Air Force Base

Release Date: 09/20/2013
Contact Information: James Pinkney, (404) 562-9183 (Direct), (404) 562-8400 (Main) pinkney.james@epa.gov

(ATLANTA – September 20, 2013) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the United States Air Force, and the Florida Department Environmental Protection signed a federal facility agreement (FFA) today that will provide the framework and accountability necessary to continue cleanup and to protect the community and the environment at Tyndall Air Force Base, located in the Florida Panhandle.

With the signing of the agreement, the three agencies have committed to work closely together to align project goals, facilitate the exchange of information, ensure public participation for the benefit of all parties involved, and select remedies that address past contamination.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, requires federal agencies to investigate and clean up contamination at their facilities.
When such facilities are on the National Priorities List (NPL), CERCLA requires that the EPA and the federal facility enter into an interagency agreement to govern the cleanup. As in this case, states can be parties to the agreement as well.

The FFA provides the mechanism for the Air Force to ensure that contamination at Tyndall is cleaned to state and federal standards which are protective of human health and the environment and to complete the CERCLA process in an expeditious and cost effective manner.

“We are very pleased to have reached this milestone,” said Stan Meiburg, Acting Regional Administrator for the EPA’s Southeast Region. “The agreement speaks to the commitment of the EPA, the Department of the Air Force, and the State of Florida to ensure protection of human health and the environment at Tyndall Air Force Base,” Meiburg added.

The agreement is comparable to those at other federal facility NPL sites and is consistent with the Fort Eustis, Virginia agreement which the EPA and the Department of Defense agreed in 2009 to be the model for the remaining federal facility agreements.

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