Pennsylvania
One Cleanup Program
Pennsylvania One Cleanup Program
The One Cleanup Program is an agreement between the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Region 3 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The two agencies signed a Memorandum of Agreement in 2004 to streamline remediation at sites that are under Pennsylvania's Land Recycling Program and certain federal cleanup programs at the same time. DEP says the aim was that a site meeting state requirements could also fulfill the criteria of the federal programs, when EPA approves.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name this agreement among its standard record sources. It matters at a facility that appears both in a federal cleanup record and in Pennsylvania's Act 2 lists.
- Which federal programs. DEP names three: corrective action under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Superfund, and the Toxic Substances Control Act programs. The federal corrective action record is described on the RCRA CORRACTS page.
- The two programs are not the same. DEP has published a handout on the key differences between its Act 2 program and EPA's RCRA corrective action program, and says it shows where and why the programs diverge during assessment and remediation. Its page also links a comparison of EPA and DEP cleanup milestones. Read both records instead of assuming a state milestone matches a federal one.
- There can be two sets of restrictions. DEP says One Cleanup Program sites may have restrictions required by both EPA and DEP. Its model environmental covenant for RCRA sites does not carry EPA's signature, though it includes provisions for EPA reporting requirements, enforcement rights, document sharing and site access. DEP adds that some sites may need a separate environmental covenant for EPA's signature, to address activity and use limitations beyond what Act 2 requires. Look for both when a site has a covenant in the Activity and Use Limitations (PA AUL) Registry.
- The agreement is being revised. DEP says the Memorandum of Agreement is under revision, and that remediators can use the information on its page in the meantime.
DEP's Division of Hazardous Waste Management coordinates the RCRA Corrective Action Program. Its page for that program links the Memorandum of Agreement and EPA's corrective action page. See the Hazardous Waste Program page.
Where to look a site up
- The pages read give no separate list of One Cleanup Program sites. The program's results page links the same two Act 2 site lists as the Land Recycling Program: Completed Sites and Sites In Progress.
- DEP's One Cleanup Program page links the handout, the milestone comparison, the model covenant for RCRA sites, and EPA's contact information for corrective action cleanups.
- Questions on the Land Recycling Program go to landrecycling@pa.gov.
Getting the file
DEP's side of the file is reviewed through its regional offices. DEP recommends an Informal File Review, requested on an electronic form and scheduled with the regional office, before a request under the Right-to-Know Law. Both routes are on the Informal File Review and Right-to-Know requests page. The pages read do not say how to get EPA's file.
Sources
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection pages, read October 1, 2026, no modified date shown: