The Site Restoration Unit and the Site Remediation Unit are responsible for administrating the State Cooperative Program, which was established within the Remedial Section in 1991 to address complex, higher priority contaminated sites that are not in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund Program. The State Cooperative Program provides the legal means by which KDHE works cooperatively with industry, municipalities, private citizens, and other parties potentially responsible for environmental contamination that threatens public health and the environment. The program provides professional and objective technical oversight of the environmental investigation and remedial activities at contaminated sites to provide quality assurance and quality control. This function is critical to ensure the safety and welfare of people in Kansas and to protect or remediate critical natural resources of the State, including surface water bodies and groundwater aquifers which serve as drinking water supplies.
State Cooperation Program Process
Participation within the program protects potentially responsible parties from potential Superfund listing and involvement with the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The State Cooperative Program is intended to complement the Voluntary Cleanup and Property Redevelopment Program (VCPRP), providing oversight for contaminated sites precluded from participation in the VCPRP by statute due to the presence of an imminent threat to human health or the environment.
For more information about the State Cooperative Program and the process involved, see the guidance document published by KDHE in July 2011, State Cooperative Program: Protecting Human Health on a Path to Restoration and Revitalization (PDF).