If institutional controls are deemed necessary by regulators, these should be established with consideration of the existing and potential future land uses, including local government land use plans and expected tribal use scenarios. The Tri-Parities should work with appropriate state agencies and tribal and local governments in clearly defining the nature and definition of the institutional controls to be applied. Physical controls, such as fences, should be supplemented with appropriate administrative controls to ensure continued barrier integrity. To avoid confusion in the future, the Board recommends discussion of institutional controls in documents and correspondence, specifically defining the nature and type of institutional controls being discussed, the context for application, and anticipated length of institutional control life. DOE must provide adequate resources while the land is under DOE ownership for maintenance, enforcement, and public notification of restrictions and the hazard for the life of the institutional control.
Local governments have responsibility for maintaining property records.
Consistent with the recommendations for building local capacity in the Federal Facilities Environmental Restoration Dialogue Committee report, the Board recommends DOE and EPA work with State and local governments, in consultation with affected tribes, to establish a residual contamination and institutional controls tracking system. This system should address land surface, vadose zone, and groundwater restrictions. Such a system would help to maintain a viable federal, state, tribal and local government institutional memory of Hanford Site conditions during and beyond cleanup, and through changes in land ownership or control. It will allow state, tribal and local governments to play a support role in protecting public health and safety for public, tribal, and private uses on federal lands. Because the 1100 Area has been recently deleted from the Superfund National Priorities List, it is the Board's opinion that the 1100 Area would be a good test case in translating the above principles into process and product.