Administrative Record File/Information Repository File (ARF/IRF)

Index of documents contained in the ARF/IRF, which are available at the University of South Carolina Libraries – Aiken and Columbia on CD. This index is in PDF (portable document format) which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader software to be installed on your computer.

PDFs of documents contained in the ARF/IRF from 10/1/2017 through 7/23/2025 are located here. The PDFs will be updated approximately once per quarter. Historical PDFs will be added at a later date.

Disclaimer: The scanning process used to transfer documents into the portable document format may unintentionally create minor inaccuracies in the text. The viewer is warned that minor spelling errors may occur and numerical data may be missing decimal points or exponential values. Should the viewer have any questions regarding a particular section of text, an accurate hardcopy is always available from the Area Completion Project Document Control at the Savannah River Site, Luchelle Abney at (803) 952-7401.

Introduction

The Administrative Record File contains the documents and information considered or relied on in the selection of a response action and in controlling hazardous waste management activities. At the Savannah River Site, the Administrative Record File will fulfill the requirements of Section XXXIV, Administrative Record, of the Federal Facility Agreement (FFA).

An Administrative Record File for an individual waste unit is initiated upon the approval by the EPA-IV and the SCDHEC of an RFI/RI Work Plan. The File is compiled until the decision of the response action is chosen (the signing of the Record of Decision). At that time the Administrative Record File is finalized and is called the Administrative Record for that waste unit.

An Administrative Record serves two primary purposes. First, it is a vehicle for public participation in the selection of the response action. Section 113(k)(2) of CERCLA provides the public with an opportunity to participate in a response decision. The Administrative Record makes available the information considered or relied on in the selection and provides the opportunity for public involvement. Without opportunity for this involvement of interested persons, the limitation of court review solely to the Administrative Record can be challenged. Therefore, the Administrative Record will also record the public participation in the decision process and reflect the views of members of the public.

The second purpose of the Administrative Record is concerned with the presentation of evidence in the event of litigation. Judicial review of any issue concerning the adequacy of a response selection is limited to the Administrative Record. Under section 113(j)(2) of CERCLA, the trial court reviewing the selected response decision is limited the facts as set out in the Administrative Record. The Courts will not allow the use of discovery, hearings or additional fact findings unless the Administrative Record is found to be incomplete or poorly prepared. Provided the Administrative Record is adequate, the court will limit its review of the response decision made to the standard of arbitrary and capricious or otherwise not in accordance with the law. The Administrative Record should therefore chronicle the response decision process, whereby a judge could easily follow how and why a decision was made.

An Information Repository File contains information and documents that do not meet the definition of Administrative Record Files but that contain site and unit information, documents on site and unit activities, and general information.

Each entry in the Administrative Record File Index contains the following information:

• ARF/IRF Catalog Number – A unique number assigned to each document or piece of information. For those documents that are microfilmed, the number is stamped on the top of the document to aid in locating the document on the microfilm.

• Date –The date the document or information was issued.
• Document Number – Many of the documents published or produced by the SCDHEC, EPA and SRS are assigned unique numbers. If no document number has been assigned, it is so indicated by the entry of a unique sequence number known as the catalog number. This number is for electronic tracking only.
• Title –The title of the document, or a brief description of the contents.
• Author – The person or party responsible for the issuance or writing of the document or information
• Author Affiliation – The organization that the author works for or is affiliated with.
• Addressee – In most cases this entry will be blank except if the document is correspondence. The entry, in that case, will be the individual(s) to whom the correspondence was addressed.
• Addressee Affiliation – In most cases this entry will be blank except if the document is correspondence. The entry in that case will be the organization(s) to which the Addressee is affiliated.
• Appx. No. of Pages – The approximate number of pages the document contains.
• Document Type – Each document is categorized according to one of the following types of information:
  • Community Involvement/Relations
  • Correspondence
  • Draft RFI/RI Work Plan
  • Federal Facility Agreement
  • Final RFI/RI Work Plan
  • Guidance
  • Interim Action Proposed Plan
  • Meeting Minutes
  • Proposed Plan
  • Risk Assessment Document
  • Site Evaluation Report
  • Supporting Document
• Classification – The entry will contain one of the three following codes:
  • U – The information is unclassified and available to the general public for viewing.
  • CP – The information or document is considered confidential or privileged. The document may contain sensitive information and is not available to the general public. It may be included in an Administrative Record File as it was used to support the decision making, but cannot be made publicly available.