What are Environmental Indicators (EIs)?

In 1998, the EPA established two cleanup goals for the RCRA corrective action program, called Environmental Indicators (EIs). These two goals are intended to ensure that people and groundwater resources are safe, and to measure cleanup of contaminated sites in environmental terms, rather than administrative steps. The two Environmental Indicators are "Human Health Exposures Under Control" and "Migration of Contaminated Ground Water Under Control." The definition of "Current Human Exposures Under Control" is that there are no unacceptable human exposures to contamination. The definition of "Migration of Contaminated Ground Water Under Control" is that migration of contaminated groundwater has been stabilized. When the Environmental Indicators are evaluated for a site, a facility receives either a "Yes" or a "No" for each indicator. If the EI evaluation results in a site receiving a "YES" (YE) for either one of the indicators, then the site is considered to have human health exposures or migration of contaminated groundwater under control. Sites that initially receive a "NO" (NO) on either one of their environmental indicators must bring the releases under control with containment, limitations to site access or use, and/or stabilization measures. If there is insufficient data to award a "Yes" or "No" , then the site is marked "Incomplete" (IN). The EI evaluations are completed based on site conditions at a point in time and may be updated periodically. The EIs also consider conditions across an entire site. It should be noted that environmental indicators are not a substitute for achieving final cleanup at a site. They are intermediate goals only. Additional assessment and/or remediation work is generally required at a site to reach a final cleanup.

The EPA has established two EI goals:

A table summarizing the EI evaluations for the 34 high-priority facilities in South Carolina can be found below. The table lists the name of the facility, the county in which it is located, and the status of the two environmental indicators. There is a link from the facility name to a copy of the Environmental Indicator Evaluations for the particular facility. The EI Evaluations are in portable document format (pdf) and require the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them.

State of South Carolina Environmental Indicator Summary

Facility
County
Human Exposures Under Control (CA725)
Migration of Contaminated Groundwater Under Control (CA750)
Albemarle
Orangeburg
Bayer
Berkeley
Blackman Uhler
Spartanburg
Carolina Plating
Greenville
Celanese Acetate
York
Charleston Air Force Base
Charleston
Charleston Naval Complex
Charleston
Eliskim
Anderson
ESAB
Florence
Fort Jackson
Richland
Gaston Copper Lexington YE YE
Giant Cement
Dorchester
Hollingsworth Saco Lowell
Pickens
Koppers - Florence
Florence
Marine Corps Air Station
Beaufort
Marine Corps Recruit Depot
Beaufort
Milliken - Dewey Plant
Spartanburg
Myrtle Beach Air Force Base
Horry
Naval Weapons Station
Berkeley
Owens Corning
Anderson
Petro-Chem (Thermalkem)
York
Phibro-Tech
Sumter
Rhodia
Charleston
Roy Metals
Greenville
Safety Kleen - Lexington
Lexington
Safety Kleen - Pinewood
Sumter
Safety Kleen - Roebuck
Spartanburg
Savannah River Site
Aiken
Shaw Air Force Base
Sumter
Siemens
Spartanburg
SMI Steel
Richland
Southern Wood Piedmont
Spartanburg
T&S Brass
Spartanburg
Wolverine Brass
Horry

Environmental Indicator Guidance

The Department uses the U.S. EPA Environmental Indicator Guidance Package to evaluate facilities for the two RCRA Corrective Action Environmental Indicators. The "Current Human Exposures Under Control" has a code of CA725, while the "Migration of Contaminated Groundwater Under Control" has a code of CA750.

The U.S. EPA EI Guidance Package is comprised of the following two components:

  1. An Introductory Memo (PDF, 71K), which is used to summarize the facility that is being evaluated, the conclusions of the evaluation, and any steps that may be necessary to bring the facility under control with respect to human exposures and/or migration of contaminated groundwater.
  2. Two Attachments to the Introductory Memo, Attachment 1 CA725 (PDF, 36 K), and Attachment 2 CA750 (PDF, 24 K), contain the detailed basis for the conclusions presented in the Introductory Memo. In addition, there is a one-page flow diagram (PDF, 8K) which outlines the questions covered in the guidance.

For more information about Environmental Indicators in South Carolina please contact Richard Haynes , Director, Waste Management Division.

For more information on Environmental Indicators, please visit these sites:

Online Environmental Indicator Training Slides:

For more information please contact the Bureau of Land & Waste Management at (803) 896-4000.