Making Progress Cleaning Up Contaminated Properties

The Massachusetts Contingency Plan was significantly revised effective October 1, 1993 when a new, privatized approach was adopted. Since then, DEP has worked with private-sector Licensed Site Professionals (LSPs) to assess and cleanup sites. This page asks and answers questions about the progress of cleanups since 1993.

This information is current through Fiscal Year 2025.

Notifications - Summary

58,440  Releases Reported since 1984

• How many releases have been reported to DEP?
  Since 1984, more than 58,000 releases have been reported to the Department.
   
• What accounts for the most notifications: sudden releases (spills) or historic contamination?
  Two-hour notifications, primarily related to new spills, account for 57 percent of all the notifications received since 2011. The balance of notifications is split between: 120-Day notifications, generally associated with finding historic contamination at concentrations above Reportable Concentrations; and 72-Hour notifications, which include (among other conditions) leaking tanks, groundwater contamination near a public well or near/at a private well, and actual/potential impacts to indoor air.
   
• Are the numbers of spills increasing each year?
  No. There has been an overall decline of all three types of notifications (2-Hour, 72-Hour and 120-Day) over time.  This trend is consistent with better environmental management practices, upgrades in underground storage tanks, and a diminishing universe of undiscovered "historic" contamination. The notable increase in 72-Hour notifications in 1999 is attributable to the discovery of contamination related to leaking underground storage tanks driven by the federal deadline for the upgrade or replacement of underground storage tanks. 

Cleanup & Closures - Summary

45,332  Sites Closed Since 1993

• How many sites have been cleaned up since 1993?
  45,332 sites, averaging over 1400 per year. 
   
• How many sites have been cleaned for unrestricted use?
  A Permanent Solution with No Conditions has been achieved at 40,401 sites (or almost 90%), indicating that the site is suitable for unrestricted use. (This includes sites that have achieved Class A-1, A-2, and B-1 Response Action Outcomes – the closure categories that were in place prior to the 2014 regulatory changes.)
   
• How many sites have achieved temporary solutions?
  A Temporary Solution has been achieved at 956 (2%) of the sites cleaned up to date. (Temporary Solutions were referred to Class C RAOs prior to Spring 2014.)
   
• At how many of the sites with a Permanent Solution was a deed notice or restriction (i.e., an Activity and Use Limitation) used as part of the remedy?
  Between 1994 and 2025, 7% of Permanent Solutions included an Activity and Use Limitation (AUL) as part of the final remedy. 

Note:  FY2021: the number of sites closed with AULs did not increase significantly over past years, so the observed percentage increase may be due more to the drop in 2-hour notifications during the pandemic.  2-Hour notifications tend to be closed without AULs.  Time will tell if this is a trend.

• How long does the cleanup process take?
  Over 90% of the releases from FY95 to FY19 have achieved regulatory closures in less than six years from the time of notification. Over the past 15 years, this measure appears to have stabilized at approximately 93% (+/-).  For the purpose of the chart below sites with regulatory closure include those with the compliance status of: Permanent Solution with No Conditions, Permanent Solution with Conditions, Adequately Regulated, Downgradient Property Status, RTN Closed, Memorandum of Understanding (DEPMOU), Not a Disposal Site (DEPNDS), DEP No Further Action (DEPNFA), LSP No Further Action (LSPNFA), Pending Not a Disposal Site (PENNDS), Pending No Further Action (PENNFA), Special Project (SPECPR), Utility-related Abatement Measure (URAM), Waiver Completion Statement (WCSPRM).
   

The chart below shows the length of time to achieve a Permanent or Temporary Solution from the time of notification by notification type (2-Hour, 72-Hour or 120-Day). The time required to achieve a Permanent or Temporary Solution is less than 6 years in the vast majority of cases and for all notification types (2 Hour - 97%, 72 Hour - 91%, 120 Day - 92%).  Note that pre-FY1994 sites (Notification Category = "None") required significantly more time to achieve closure.

The chart below shows the current status of notifications made in FY2019.  The chart shows that for the majority of sites for which the notification was made either a Permanent Solution has been achieved or a Permanent/Temporary Solution is not required within 6 years.  (The most common reasons why a Permanent or Temporary Solution is not required is because the notification condition has been “linked” (i.e., response actions consolidated) under another notification and release tracking number.  Other reason include the site is considered Adequately Regulated, Downgradient Property Status has been achieved or a Utility-related Abatement Measure is being conducted.)

Immediate Response Actions

Immediate Response Actions (IRAs) are required to address any condition that triggers a 2-Hour or 72-Hour notification to the Department.  IRAs are expedited response actions that include at a minimum assessment, and where appropriate, actions to contain, isolate, or remove contamination from the environment that is the result of a release or address a threat of release.  IRAs require approval by the Department.  The chart below shows IRA approvals (both oral and written) by the Department by Fiscal Year (FY).

Audits

61,009  Number of Audits conducted by MassDEP since FY2000

Since FY2000 MassDEP has conducted over 61,000 audits of response action submittals to evaluate and ensure compliance of those submittals and the associated response actions with the Massachusetts Contingency Plan.  MassDEP conducts three different types of audits, which are referred to as Level 1 (Technical Screening Audit), Level 2 (Audit Inspection), and Level 3 (Comprehensive Audit).  (Link to Audits Page) The majority of all audits conducted by MassDEP over time (86%) have been Level 1 Audits.  The chart below shows the number of audits completed by fiscal year and the type of audit.

Notifications - Year-by-Year Data

Fiscal Year	2-Hour	72-Hour	120-Day	"None"	Total
1985	0	0	0	21	21
1986	0	0	0	194	194
1987	0	0	0	1221	1221
1988	0	0	0	399	399
1989	0	0	0	1295	1295
1990	0	0	0	1162	1162
1991	0	0	0	623	623
1992	0	0	0	505	505
1993	0	0	0	551	551
1994	1052	711	226	945	2934
1995	1076	681	469	0	2226
1996	986	535	661	0	2182
1997	1033	542	614	0	2189
1998	967	630	663	0	2260
1999	974	894	730	0	2598
2000	1003	465	734	0	2202
2001	1137	413	665	0	2215
2002	992	438	573	0	2003
2003	1021	336	577	0	1934
2004	1028	306	521	0	1855
2005	975	335	529	0	1839
2006	931	386	515	0	1832
2007	883	287	557	0	1727
2008	678	293	495	0	1466
2009	745	251	436	0	1432
2010	717	236	348	0	1301
2011	734	218	378	0	1330
2012	687	252	407	0	1347
2013	665	183	385	0	1233
2014	619	224	389	0	1232
2015	660	200	391	0	1251
2016	670	199	374	0	1243
2017	693	213	410	0	1316
2018	813	202	358	0	1373
2019	806	135	321	0	1262
2020	706	141	376	0	1223
2021	617	122	331	0	1070
2022	713	147	358	0	1218
2023	656	138	304	0	1098
2024	689	102	224	0	1015
2025	701	129	233	0	1063
Total-to-Date:	26647	10365	14608	6820	58440

Cleanup & Closures - Year-by-Year Data

Fiscal Yeara	PSNCb	PSCb	TMPSb	Grand Total
1994	609	12	1	622
1995	1903	82	8	1993
1996	1619	108	9	1736
1997	1956	177	12	2145
1998	1754	202	23	1979
1999	1778	138	21	1937
2000	1633	129	28	1820
2001	1713	119	22	1854
2002	1634	96	21	1751
2003	1590	120	24	1734
2004	1637	115	29	1781
2005	1555	93	29	1677
2006	1605	114	32	1751
2007	1497	90	34	1621
2008	1284	102	24	1410
2009	1319	87	37	1443
2010	1199	106	48	1353
2011	1056	116	44	1216
2012	1216	85	32	1333
2013	1042	79	33	1154
2014	1003	99	31	1133
2015	913	147	32	1092
2016	925	164	30	1119
2017	966	195	30	1191
2018	1047	167	43	1257
2019	965	146	42	1153
2020	935	160	33	1128
2021	794	160	40	994
2022	826	134	36	996
2023	806	156	43	1005
2024	822	148	37	1007
2025	770	129	48	947
Grand Total	40401	3975	956	45332

For a complete explanation of the terms and acronyms used here, see the document, "Understanding the Waste Site/Release Look Up Search Results" below.

^a Prior to June 20, 2014, the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP) used different Response Action Outcome (RAO) classes to identify Permanent and Temporary Solutions. After the June 2014 MCP amendments, RAO classes were recategorized into types of Permanent or Temporary Solutions in accordance with the transition provisions at 310 CMR 40.1055 (see below).

310 CMR 40.1055 Transition Provisions

• (1) As of June 20, 2014, all Class A-1, A-2 and B-1 Response Action Outcomes submitted to the Department prior to June 20, 2014 shall be Permanent Solutions with No Conditions.
• (2) As of June 20, 2014, all Class A-3, A-4, B-2 and B-3 Response Action Outcomes submitted to the Department prior to June 20, 2014 shall be Permanent Solutions with Conditions.
• (3) As of June 20, 2014, all Class C-1 Response Action Outcomes submitted to the Department prior to June 20, 2014 shall be Temporary Solutions as described in 310 CMR 40.1050(1)(e)1.
• (4) As of June 20, 2014, all Class C-2 Response Action Outcomes submitted to the Department prior to June 20, 2014 shall be Temporary Solution as described in 310 CMR 40.1050(1)(e)2.

^b

• PSNC - Permanent Solution with No Conditions
• PSC - Permanent Solution with Conditions
• TMPS - Temporary Solution

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