Introduction to the Hazard Ranking System (HRS)

This course is for those with limited exposure to the HRS and those needing a refresher prior to performing an HRS site evaluation. This course will provide an introduction to the HRS by presenting overviews of its role in the Superfund program and site assessment process and its structure. This training will also provide overviews of the HRS factor categories (Likelihood of Release/Exposure, Waste Characteristics, Targets), including their general structure and the concepts and processes involved in scoring. This session is designed for Environmental professionals that conduct HRS evaluations as part of EPA site assessment in evaluating sites for the National Priorities List (NPL). The live session will include a 1 hour break.

Tanya Amme, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) (Tanya.Amme@gdit.com)
Tanya Amme is an Environmental Scientist and Records Manager with over 20 years supporting the EPA mission for the EPA Office of Land and Emergency Management and the EPA Office of Water with a concentration on supporting the EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation and its Superfund NPL listing program. She is an expert on applying all aspects of the hazard ranking system and has assisted with over 100 quality assurance reviews, technical assistance reviews, and response to public comment replies.

Elizabeth Benjamin, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) (Elizabeth.Benjamin@gdit.com)
Elizabeth Benjamin is an Environmental Scientist with 14 years of experience providing data management, quality assurance, and training support to the EPA. This includes 12 years of support to EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office, and more recently, involvement with training initiatives for the Hazard Ranking System under EPA’s Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI).

Brian Kolodne, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) (Brian.Kolodne@gdit.com)
Brian Kolodne is a Senior Scientist with 18 years of experience in the environmental field, including 8 years of experience supporting EPA’s Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI) in implementation of the Hazard Ranking System (HRS). He has participated in numerous quality assurance and technical assistance reviews for possible Superfund sites, was part of the implementation team for the Subsurface Intrusion addition to the HRS, and has developed and provided training on the HRS.

Jason Merkel, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) (Jason.Merkel@gdit.com)
Jason Merkel is an Environmental Scientist with 12 years of experience providing technical and policy support to EPA’s Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI) in implementation of the Hazard Ranking System regulation. This work has included assisting in technical reviews of sites identified for Superfund attention, and in EPA’s implementation of the HRS Subsurface Intrusion component.

Molly Wenner, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) (Molly.Wenner@gdit.com)
Molly Wenner has 25 years of experience providing policy and technical support to EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM). She is a Senior Project Manager and the lead for HRS training and technical support under GDIT’s EPA HRS/NPL Technical Support contract.

Matt Jefferson, U.S. EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (jefferson.matthew@epa.gov or 202-566-0940)
Matthew Jefferson is an Environmental Engineer with the United States Environmental Protection Agency since 2003. Mr. Jefferson provides project management, strategic planning, site characterization technical support and training to EPA, contractors, and state, tribal, and federal partners. He was previously an EPA Superfund Remedial Project Manager with the San Francisco and Kansas City regional offices for 12 years. Mr. Jefferson has a Masters Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Davis and a Bachelors in Environmental Engineering from the University of Oklahoma.

Moderator:

Jean Balent, U.S. EPA Technology Innovation and Field Services Division (balent.jean@epa.gov or 202-566-0832)
Ms Balent is on the staff of the EPA's Technology Innovation and Field Services Division where she has worked to collect and disseminate hazardous waste remediation and characterization information since 2003. Ms Balent manages the Clean Up Information Network website and actively supports online communication and collaboration resources available to EPA. She formerly worked with the US Army Corps of Engineers Environmental Engineering Division in the Buffalo District. Ms Balent was also a member of the SUNY-Buffalo Groundwater Research Group where she constructed and tested large scale models of groundwater flow. Ms Balent has also conducted research relating to the Great Lakes, environmental remediation, and brownfields re-development. She holds a Bachelor's degree in environmental engineering from SUNY-Buffalo and a Master's degree in Information Technology from AIU.

• Slide Presentation for Benjamin - Introduction (1.08MB/PDF)
• Slide Presentation for Wenner - Universal Concepts (1.51MB/PDF)
• Slide Presentation for Merkel - Sources and Areas (1.71MB/PDF)
• Slide Presentation for Wenner - Surface Water Migration (3.85MB/PDF)
• Slide Presentation for Kolodne - Ground Water Migration (2.97MB/PDF)
• Slide Presentation for Amme - Soil Exposure (2.49MB/PDF)
• Slide Presentation for Merkel - SsI (3.05MB/PDF)

Webinar Slides and References:

• Slide Presentation for Benjamin - Introduction (1.08MB/PDF)
• Slide Presentation for Wenner - Universal Concepts (1.51MB/PDF)
• Slide Presentation for Merkel - Sources and Areas (1.71MB/PDF)
• Slide Presentation for Wenner - Surface Water Migration (3.85MB/PDF)
• Slide Presentation for Kolodne - Ground Water Migration (2.97MB/PDF)
• Slide Presentation for Amme - Soil Exposure (2.49MB/PDF)
• Slide Presentation for Merkel - SsI (3.05MB/PDF)

Additional Resources:

• Pre-Webinar CERCLA Handout (1 MB/PDF)

Thank you for participating in our webinar. We would like to receive any feedback you might have that would make this service more valuable.

Date of Seminar:

 October 26, 2023: Introduction to the Hazard Ranking System (HRS)

Instructor Comments	Disagree	Neutral	Agree
I had trouble hearing the instructor
The instructors are knowledgeable of the subject matter
I could easily follow the instructor's presentation and slides
Ample time was allowed for Q&A
Presentation Content	Disagree	Neutral	Agree
I learned a great deal from this presentation
The content was too simplified
The presentation was too long
Will you recommend this seminar to other environmental professionals?		Yes No

What additional subject matter or changes should be made to this seminar?

Did this seminar meet your needs?
Are you likely to participate in the future?
Why or why not?

Additional comments or technical difficulties encountered:

First Name:

Last Name:

Organization:

Organization Type:

State/Local GovernmentU.S. EPAU.S. DODU.S. DOEOther Federal AgencyConsultant/Engineering FirmCommunity StakeholderSite OwnerTechnology VendorAcademiaTribal GovernmentsPressTesting LaboratoryOther

EPA Office:

NHSRCOAOAROARMOCFOOCSPPOECAOEIOGCOIGOITAOLEMOPORDORD-NCEAOtherOWR01R02R03R04R05R06R07R08R09R10

City:

State:

Select State AKALARAZCACOCTDCDEFLGAGUHIIAIDILINKSKYLAMAMDMEMIMNMOMSMTNCNDNENHNJNMNVNYOHOKORPAPRRISCSDTNTXUTVAVIVTWAWIWVWY

Country:

Select Country JapanJerseyJordanJuan De Nova IslandKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacauMacedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNo Man'S LandNorfolk IslandNorth KoreaNorwayOceansOmanPakistanPalauPanamaPapua New GuineaParacel IslandsParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairn IslandsPolandPortugalQatarReunionRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint HelenaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and The GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and The South Sandwich IslandsSouth KoreaSpainSpratly IslandsSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbardSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTromelin IslandTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAshmore and Cartier IslandsAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamas, TheBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBassas Da IndiaBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurmaBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandClipperton IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, Democratic Republic of TheCook IslandsCoral Sea IslandsCosta RicaCôte D'IvoireCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaEuropa IslandFalkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern and Antarctic LandsGabonGambia, TheGaza StripGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGlorioso IslandsGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and Mcdonald IslandsHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJan MayenTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUndersea FeaturesUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican CityVenezuelaVietnamVirgin IslandsWallis and FutunaWest BankWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe

Phone:

Email:

 I certify that I attended this live seminar or viewed the archive in its entirety. Please send a participation certificate and feedback confirmation to this address.

Help & FAQs

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Content Questions?
  Call Matthew Jefferson at 202-566-0940 or jefferson.matthew@epa.gov
• Technical Problems?
  Leave us a comment
• Cancel Your Registration
• My Participation Records
• CEU Credits and PDHs

Zoom Resources

This seminar will be delivered through Zoom. Participants are encouraged to update to the latest version of the Zoom application for the best experience. If you are unable to install the Zoom application, most functions will be available if you join just using a modern web browser such as Chrome, Edge or Firefox. We strongly encourage you to run the Zoom Meeting Test prior to attending this seminar. Technical support on the day of the seminar will be very limited and subject to significant delays.

Rehabilitation Act Notice for Reasonable Accommodation

It is EPA's policy to make reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities wishing to participate in the agency's programs and activities, pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 791. Any request for accommodation should be made to at or , preferably one week or more in advance of the seminar, so that EPA will have sufficient time to process the request. EPA would welcome specific recommendations from requestors specifying the nature or type of accommodation needed. EPA welcomes specific recommendations from requestors specifying the nature or type of accommodation needed. Please note that CLU-IN provides both alternate phone call-in options and closed captioning for all webinars, and requests for these specific accommodations are not necessary.

Rehabilitation Act Notice for Reasonable Accommodation

It is EPA's policy to make reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities wishing to participate in the agency's programs and activities, pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 791. Any request for accommodation should be made to at or , preferably one week or more in advance of the webinar, so that EPA will have sufficient time to process the request. EPA would welcome specific recommendations from requestors specifying the nature or type of accommodation needed. EPA welcomes specific recommendations from requestors specifying the nature or type of accommodation needed. Please note that CLU-IN provides both alternate phone call-in options and closed captioning for all webinars, and requests for these specific accommodations are not necessary.

Webinar Recording

By participating in this CLU-IN webinar, you automatically agree to authorize recording of audio and visual content presented during this live event and consent to subsequent use of this recording in the public domain by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This recording may include questions, comments and poll responses provided by you during the live event in addition to your name, voice, image or likeness. This recording will be made available after the conclusion of the live event as part of the CLU-IN webinar archives, and will remain available indefinitely. If you do not wish to consent to the recording, please do not join the live event, and contact Jean Balent at 202-566-0832 or balent.jean@epa.gov to discuss your concerns.

Content Disclaimer

This webinar is intended solely to provide information to the public. The views and opinions expressed as part of this webinar do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It is not intended, nor can it be relied upon, to create any rights enforceable by any party in litigation with the United States, or to endorse the use of products or services provided by specific vendors. With respect to this webinar, neither the United States Government nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights.