API PUBL 4722

Abstract

PURPOSE <br> Groundwater sensitivity is a key consideration in the development and implementation of appropriate corrective actions at potential release sites, such as leaking underground storage tanks, landfills, and other sources. Experience shows that actual impacts on critical water supply resources have occurred at a relatively small number of sites. Due to the risk of potential exposure, these high-sensitivity sites should warrant a large percentage of the available public and private resources for release prevention, assessment, and remediation. <br> However, practical, site-specific measures of groundwater sensitivity may not be sufficiently considered in release prevention efforts and the development of remediation goals. As a result, low sensitivity and high sensitivity sites may be frequently treated as equivalent concerns. This results in an inefficient allocation of available remediation/prevention dollars. <br> The Groundwater Sensitivity Toolkit is a decision support expert system that allows a user to enter site-specific parameters to generate a scorecard for that site. This scorecard, when compared to the scores for other sites in a portfolio, gives the decision-maker insight into how resources should be allocated amongst the portfolio. <br> METHOD <br> This scorecard is based on three separate but related issues for a site: <br> A user may enter data for up to three aquifers for a site. For each aquifer, a HIGH, MEDIUM, or LOW score is determined for each of the three issues. The results may be printed out, and the project may be saved to a data file for later revision.