Bureau of Land Management State Environmental Cleanup Action Plans

This PIM conveys instruction and guidance for development of the SECAP to comply with Federal law, Executive Order (EO) 14008 section 217, and the Department’s Environmental Compliance Memorandum (ECM) 10-7, Policy and Procedures for Prioritization of Contaminated Sites and, ECM 30-2, Locations of Concern and Comprehensive Inventory of Contaminated Sites. This IM will comport with Departmental guidance that encourages the Bureau to develop an overarching framework that incorporates all the BLM contaminated site cleanup efforts.  Implementing the approach outlined in this IM will promote consistency, transparency, efficiency of cleanup/restoration activities, and accountability. The framework will ensure a comprehensive document captures all the BLM environmental cleanup requirements, potential response efforts, priorities, and their estimated costs.

Administrative or Mission Related: Mission Related.

Policy/Action:  The BLM State Offices are directed to develop and annually update a SECAP for all contaminated sites within their state jurisdiction that includes site descriptions, status of cleanup efforts, regulatory requirements, hazards, cost data, community involvement, action schedules, and an overall cleanup/exit strategy for the life of each project including operation, maintenance, and long-term monitoring not to exceed 30 years. The SECAP will also include a list of specific AML physical safety features and LOC sites identified for action such as assessment, investigation, inventory and/or response over a rolling five-year period. The SECAP will also include the current AML/HMM 5-year plan spreadsheet which includes a site prioritization process. To facilitate consistency in scope, the attached guidance and template will be used when developing the SECAP (see attachment #1 the State Environmental Cleanup Action Plan Guidance which includes a template guide). State directors will annually validate the cleanup prioritization process, approve, and sign the SECAP, and submit to the Assistant Director for Resource and Planning (AD-200) for concurrence. Upon completion of all SECAPs, the AD-200 will provide a certification to the Director of the Department’s Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance that the comprehensive strategic framework and approach is consistent with ECM 10-7.

Pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental, Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Department and its bureaus have been delegated CERCLA authority to respond to the release or threatened release of hazardous substances on or from any facility under the jurisdiction, custody, or control of the Department, as set forth in Executive Order 12580 and 13016, as amended, and in the Department Manual Part 207, Chapter 7 (CERCLA Implementation) (207 DM 7), and Part 209, Chapter 4.1 (Delegations) (209 DM 4), as further delegated by bureau-specific delegations. In certain instances, the authority to conduct environmental response and cleanup actions has been delegated by the Secretary of the Interior to the BLM’s Director (See BLM Delegations of Authority Manual 1203). Additionally, this authority has been redelegated to BLM State directors for execution and oversight of CERCLA cleanup actions within their state/jurisdiction.  A list of other State and Federal statutes and regulations such as the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Federal Facility Compliance Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Clean Water Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, and Pollution Prevention Act, as cited in 518 Departmental Manual 2, are applicable to SECAP development.

The SECAP will represent the BLM State Office’s proposed strategy and comprehensive approach to investigate and respond to environmental cleanup requirements in areas under that State Office’s jurisdiction, custody, or control.

The AML/HMM State Office Program Lead (SOPL) and all other affected SOPLs (such as those programs/sub-activities addressed herein) must coordinate to develop the SECAP including meaningful participation at annual SECAP workshops to discuss, verify, and update site status such as proposed action phases, costs, priorities, and descriptions prior to incorporation of proposed actions into the annual Planning Target Allocation/Annual Work Plan (PTA/AWP) budget process. State and HQ program leads in other benefiting sub-activities such as Safety, Recreation, Engineering, Fire, Oil & Gas, Solid/Fluid Minerals, Realty, and Law Enforcement, with contaminated or potentially contaminated sites or areas otherwise adversely affected by a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance/waste, petroleum, pollutant or contaminant, as those terms are defined under Federal law shall be engaged in the development of the SECAP and coordinate remedial and funding efforts with the State AML/HMM SOPL and HQ230 to ensure a successful comprehensive planning approach that will be reflected and captured in the annual PTA/AWP budget process.

The SECAP should be updated and maintained annually to ensure compliance with budget and the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 and the Government Reform Act of 1994 (OMB Circular A-136, Financial Reporting Requirements). During the development/update of the annual SECAP, the BLM staff will consider current core priorities and bureau specific requirements, goals, and objectives such as risks to human health, welfare and/or the environment, legal obligations, and Secretarial and Mission Priorities. The SECAP will include cost to complete (CTC) estimates for a 30-year period, including long term monitoring and remedial action operation phases that are expected to continue indefinitely. The CTC estimates should be based on a 30-year period unless a closure plan or other regulatory document indicates otherwise. This 30-year CTC information requirement only applies to Environmental Disposal Liabilities (EDL) contaminated sites, whereas LOC and AML physical safety feature costs are only required for 5 years.

Once completed, the annual SECAPs embody the State Offices overarching strategic prioritization framework for cleanup, response, mitigation, and restoration actions planned for contaminated sites, PSFs, and LOCs for public lands administered by BLM at that point in time.

During the interim between annual SECAP updates, changes that occur such as the addition of newly discovered sites, time critical removal actions, emergency actions, leadership reprioritization, project phase changes, and budgetary priorities will be captured and recorded in the AML/HMM 5-year plan spreadsheet for inclusion into the next annual SECAP. The AML/HMM program’s 5-year plan spreadsheet will be included in the SECAP and updated during the workshop to include rolling 5-year cost estimates and other program changes needed to be considered during SECAP and PTA/AWP development.  The AML/HMM SOPL’s will continue to coordinate with (HQ-230) to maintain and update the 5-year plan spreadsheet.

To ensure that funding decisions are aligned with relevant Department and Bureau mission objectives and trust obligations during SECAP development all Bureau Programs that fund the cleanup and restoration of contaminated sites shall complete a ranking and prioritization process checklist/worksheet for each site. Examples of these checklists/worksheets can be found in the AML/HMM 5-year plan, attachment 1 of ECM 10-7, and appendix 1 of the BLM MS-3720 Abandoned Mine Land Program Policy Manual.

Timeframe:  State directors should submit the completed and approved SECAP by March 31 each year to provide the updated cleanup strategy prior to developing the annual PTA.

Budget Impact:  Program managers and project leads as part of their current responsibilities are to manage programs and plan for projects, which entails determining funding requirements and conducting actions towards cleaning up contaminated sites, including coordinating with internal and external stakeholders. Current management data systems do not provide the necessary detail nor provide headquarters clear fidelity to defend budget requirements and their purpose. An annual planning workshop will assist in bringing shared understanding and ensuring that leaders, program managers, and project leads are informed of project funding requirements and the cleanup strategy linked to their current role and responsibility.

Funding for SECAP development workshops and future update activities is provided through AML/HMM sub activity L1644. It is anticipated that future updates of the SECAP may require limited labor investment and contractor support by HQ and State Offices as the SECAP develops and evolves.

Background: Contaminated sites and AML physical safety hazards exist on public lands administered by the BLM due to past or current operations, spills, and unsanctioned activities. Such operations may result in unsafe conditions, damage to resources, and the release or threat of release of hazardous substances, hazardous waste, petroleum products, or other pollutant or contaminant, as those terms are defined under Federal law.

Many federal and state laws require federal agencies to identify and inventory contaminated sites and suspected areas where hazardous substance releases have occurred that are under their jurisdiction, custody, or control.  The SECAP will seek to capture and consolidate all potential environmental investigation and cleanup costs, phases/mitigative activities at contaminated sites, PSF and LOCs from all the BLM HQ and State Office programs into a comprehensive and consolidated plan for contaminated sites within each State Office.    

The AML/HMM program has the responsibility to plan and fund the implementation of response actions to address contamination at abandoned mines, landfills, and other sites where there is a release or threatened release of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, and solid and hazardous waste on public lands administered by the BLM.  Other bureau programs are expected to plan and fund cleanup of their unique and specific benefitting sub-activity contaminated site types (BLM Fund Code Handbook, H-1684-1). The AML/HMM sub-activity L1644 does not typically provide funding for other sub-activity cleanup responsibilities; however special cleanup funding may be requested and considered (based on priority and availability of funds) at the SECAP workshop. The following are some examples of cleanup activities (not a comprehensive list) of other benefitting sub-activities or any sub-activity driving or causing the action or event: 

• MLAP contaminated mining disturbances associated with post January 1, 1981, orphan, non-operational and abandoned mines, and contaminated non bonded or insufficiently bonded operational mines (sub-activity L1990 & L5320),  
• cleanup of contaminated oil and gas wells (sub-activity L1310),  
• cleanup and maintenance to improve public health and safety at recreational facilities, trails, and recreational shooting sites (sub-activity L1220),   
• abatement/maintenance activities to address facility asbestos and lead based paint that pose a threat to human health and safety associated with facility safety codes (sub-activity L1653),
• removal and cleanup of typical pollutants from airtanker bases and construction of retardant treatment facilities such as retention ponds, storm water trenches, drains, tanks, soils, and oil/water separator’s that are often discovered via Compliance Assessment, Safety, Health, and the Environment (CASHE) audit findings. Single engine air tanker (SEAT) bases and or Large Airtanker bases can use the CASHE funding request process identified in FA-IB-2019-014,
• numerous realty sub-activities associated with environmental site assessment documentation, mitigation and hazard assessment for disposal and acquisition activities (sub-activities examples include L1440 and L5854),
• law enforcement activities that identify and address environmental impacts via limited cleanup during initial response for investigation/evidentiary gathering at marijuana grows and drug labs (sub-activity L1630), Note: AML/HMM sub-activity L1644 coordinates with Law Enforcement on tactical approaches to identify, inventory, and fund subsequent cleanup phases at these illegal and unauthorized sites and,   
• CERCLA activities funded by the Department’s Central Hazardous Materials Fund (sub-activities include L2641 and L2642) for specific nominated and approved response actions. 

The AML/HMM program continues to be responsible for guidance and policy for both physical and environmental impacts of legacy abandoned mines, and the prevention, mitigation, and remediation of the effects of hazardous substance releases and other toxic dangers on public lands administered by the BLM.  The AML/HMM program also promotes public health and safety by mitigating AML physical safety hazards and ensuring oversight and compliance for response actions at all contaminated sites on public lands administered by BLM.

The AML/HMM program maintains tools such as the program’s 5-year plan spreadsheet, and the Abandoned Mine and Site Clean-up Module (AMSCM) and EDL databases, to identify, rank, and prioritize current and future year work in compliance with Federal law and Department policy. The SECAPs glean data from these tools to develop a comprehensive strategy for all contaminated sites on lands administered by the BLM. The 5-year plan spreadsheet is limited in that it does not provide the site-specific detail, cost to complete numbers, or overall comprehensive, and long-term strategy for all contaminated sites funded by other BLM sub-activities and other Federal agencies that the SECAP will provide.

The 5-year plan spreadsheet serves the AML/HMM program as described here:

• Identifies those sub activities that the AML/HMM program plans to fund over a five-year period.

• The plan is a spreadsheet developed and updated routinely by each state office, consolidated nationally, and is used to identify requirements, funding priorities, schedule work activities, and capture cost estimates.
• The plan includes labor and operational needs, remedial phases for contaminated sites, AML physical safety activities, support needed for realty transaction due care assessments, corresponding financial needs for each cleanup action, and a prioritization scheme for AML/HMM features and sites.
• The plan captures AML/HMM program activities not typically included in the SECAP such as funding support of CASHE audits, maintaining the AMSCM and EDL databases at the National Operations Center (NOC), training development and delivery at the National Training Center, environmental compliance, sustainability, and other   program activities identified in the BLM Fund Code Handbook.
• The plan can identify and capture cleanup phases, cost, and priority for projects funded by other sources such as the DOI CHF, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Restoration of Abandoned Mine Sites (RAMS), USACE Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS), Department of Energy DRUM sites, and other BLM sub-activity contaminated/polluted sites.
• Finally, in contrast to the annual SECAP, the 5-year plan captures sundry changes such as newly discovered sites, emergency releases, and budgetary changes that occurred after the annual SECAP update.

 The AMSCM is the BLM’s inventory database and information system for physical safety mining features, locations of concern, and all contaminated/polluted sites on BLM public lands administered by the BLM and includes mixed ownership sites on adjacent lands. The database is managed by the NOC. The EDL is part of the financial reporting process. It is defined as, “An anticipated future outflow or other sacrifice of resources where, based on the results of due care, further study or cleanup is warranted due to past or current operations that have contaminated Department assets. All confirmed contaminated sites are required to be entered into the EDL database in accordance with DOI Environmental and Disposal Liabilities Handbook v4.0 (March 2020).

The SECAPs are more than a simple inventory or spreadsheet of individual sites, associated schedules, and funding requirements. SECAPs provide a multi-year comprehensive planning tool for State directors, SOPLs, and project managers to understand site specific history, programmatic trends, environmental cleanup requirements, cost to completion estimates, and documents the strategic development of decision points leading to site closure. Furthermore, the creation of the SECAPs aligns with the objectives set forth in Executive Order 14008 section 217 to reduce toxic substances, prevent environmental harm/damage, and ensure fair treatment and the meaningful involvement of environmental justice and disadvantaged communities/stakeholders during the response planning, prioritization, and cleanup process.  By implementing the approach outlined in this PIM document, the BLM will lengthen its stride to improve our strategy, promote consistency, transparency, and accountability within the bureau and its Programs that fund the cleanup and restoration of contaminated sites, as well as ensure that funding decisions are aligned with relevant Department and Bureau mission objectives and trust obligations.

Finally, the SECAPs demonstrate the BLM’s commitment to environmental cleanup and improving communication and coordination of our cleanup strategy with stakeholders, regulators, States, Tribes, and the public.

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: The following guidance documents are scheduled to be updated and will include requirements for the SECAP:

• BLM MS-3720 Abandoned Mine Land Program Policy Manual (Rel. 3-341)
• BLM Handbook H-3720 AML Program Policy Handbook (Rel. 3-331)
• BLM MS-1703 Hazard Management and Resource Restoration Manual (Rel. 1-1720)

Instruction Memorandums Affected: None

Coordination:  This document was coordinated with the BLM AML/HMM SOPLs, National Operations Center, State Directors, National Training Center, and all sub-activity programs identified herein.

Contact:  For questions regarding this PIM, please contact Dee W. Lloyd, Hazardous Materials Management National Program Lead, dlloyd@blm.gov, 202-805-2496.

Signed by:                                           Authenticated by: 

Brian St. George                                 Robert M. Williams

Acting, Assistant Director                  Division of Regulatory Affairs and Directives,(HQ630)

   Resources and Planning 

1 Attachment 

      1 - BLM State Environmental Cleanup Action Plan Guidance & Template (29 pp)