DSMOA-CERCLA and GREEN PARCEL

About the Program

Responsibilities established by law

The Department of Defense (DoD) and State/Territorial Memorandum of Agreement (DSMOA) Program works closely with DoD on environmental restoration and clean-up work in Guam. The program was created by the Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act of 1986.
Under the DSMOA Program, Guam EPA has regulatory oversight of the Navy and Air Force’s environmental restoration efforts to ensure compliance with local and federal laws and regulations.

Elements of the DSMOA-CERCLA Program

The program oversees three DoD programs:

• Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC): A clean-up program to ensure the environmental suitability of properties for transfer to GovGuam.
• Installation Restoration Program: The main DoD environmental restoration program which covers on-base actions, such as the Orote landfill at COMNAVMAR and CB landfill clean-up at Finegayan.
• Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS): U.S. Army Corps of Engineers program to clean up military sites that are no longer owned by the U.S. Government.
• Superfund:A clean-up program under the federal government to clean up the nation’s uncontrolled hazardous waste sites listed under the National Priorities List (NPL).
  Andersen Air Force Base is under the NPL and listed as a Superfund site.

More information about the DSMOA Programs’ successes can be found in the program’s Final Report.

Guam Green Parcel Program

Visit our Green Parcel Page to learn what the program can do for you.

The Green Parcel Program is funded through the federal Brownfields Program. This Program was created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help communities deal with environmental contamination that may be presenting an obstacle to redevelopment. The program focuses on sites where either real or perceived contamination by hazardous substances or petroleum products from past site uses serves to limit reinvestment or development interest.
Guam EPA began working with Green Parcels in 2006 through federal grant funding from U.S. EPA, Region IX. During the past five years, the Agency has worked with the Guam Economic Development and Commerce Authority, the Port Authority of Guam, the Guam International Airport Authority and the Department of Parks and Recreation. It is the Program’s goal to identify and evaluate the risks posed by these properties, and find solutions so that reuse and redevelopment is possible.

2022 Listing of Green Parcels in Guam

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MAP

128a SURVEY & INVENTORY of Brownfield Property on Guam

For more information click on the Guam Environmental Protection Agency Brownsfield Grant Fact Sheet.

128a Public Record Requirement – FY22 Brownfield Site Status – As of January 2022

Hazardous and Petroleum Assessment

Federal funding is received to perform environmental assessments of properties for the presence of petroleum and hazardous substances.

Pacific Basin Environmental Screening Levels (PBESLs)

The PBESLs provide a link between site investigations and response actions. These levels help provide guidance for any entity working on a response action to clean up or address hazards posed by the presence, or perceived presence, of contaminated soil or groundwater.

The PBESLs give numbers and levels to help guide cleanups. This gives every cleanup a baseline level of concentrations to achieve. This assists with the decision making process in terms of the type of action that needs to happen to reach the cleanup goals.

These levels are outlined in numerous documents below, and are also accessible through the easy-to-use PBESL surfer. For more information about how to use PBESL please contact Guam EPA at 300-4751/52 or contact Green Parcels.

Board Resolution

The Guam EPA Board of Directors adopted the Pacific Basic Environmental Screening Levels for use in Guam on Thursday, April 17, 2014. Read the resolution here.

Guidance Documents for PBESLs

The technical reports and updates below can be used to expedite the identification of potential environmental hazards at sites. This includes sites that may have contaminated soil or groundwater.

• Pacific Basin Environmental Hazards at Sites with Contaminated Soil and Groundwater – User Guide (Volume 1) – 190 pages
• Evaluation of Environmental Hazards at Sites with Contaminated Soil and Groundwater – Background documentation for the development of Tier 1 Environmental Action Levels (Appendix 1) – 256 pages
• Screening for Environmental Hazards at Sites with Contaminated Soil and Groundwater – Background documentation for the development of Tier 1 environmental action levels (Volume 2, Appendices 2 – 8) – 500 pages
• Use of laboratory batch tests guidance – update to Nov. 2006 memo – 25 pages
• Updates to 2009 ESL document – 8 pages

PBESL Surfer

The ESL surfer is a searchable version of the technical documents above. The surfer makes it easy to figure out what cleanup levels apply and it also includes a glossary, a summary of information on the chemical selected and an overview of options. Please note that every site is managed by the site manager and he/she has the ability to determine final clean-up numbers based on site specific conditions. Guam utilizes the highly vulnerable aquifer as part of the criteria used on the Surfer. The surfer is a Microsoft Excel document.

• PBESL Surfer

More helpful tools to use the PBESLs

• Vapor Unit Conversions
• Table A-1, Soil Screening Levels
• Batch Test Leaching Model
• Tier 2 soil direct-exposure action levels

Guam State Response Program

Guam EPA received funding from USEPA, Region IX to develop the Guam Environment Assessment & Remediation (GEAR) Program. The purpose of this program will be to establish a program that prevents and addresses hazardous substance releases in a manner consistent with existing policy of non-degradation whenever it is necessary, feasible and cost-effective. The basic elements of this program are:

• Timely survey and inventory of potential Brownfield sites;
• Oversight and enforcement authorities and other legal mechanisms and resources;
• Mechanisms and resources to provide meaningful opportunities for public participation;
• Mechanisms for approval of a cleanup plan including verification and certification that
  cleanup is complete;
• Establish and maintain Public Record.

Program Staff and Contact Information

External Links about DSMOA and Brownfields

• U.S. EPA Base Closure and Property Transfer site
• U.S. EPA Brownfields Program