EPA RECYCLING MEETING TO FOCUS ON 'REASONABLE CARE' STANDARD

EPA officials have scheduled a public meeting next month to help the agency determine whether they should issue guidance to implement the Superfund Recycling Equity Act (SREA). The meeting will focus on what is necessary for a recycler to meet the agency's "reasonable care" compliance standards under the exemption, an issue of key importance to recyclers. The issue of reasonable care is important because it is the standard for determining whether recyclers qualify for the exemption from Superfund liability. In...

EPA REINFORCES USE OF TOXICITY FACTORS FOR DIOXIN SUPERFUND RISKS

EPA is reasserting its confidence in the methodology it uses for comparing the toxicity of dioxin-related compounds at Superfund sites. The methodology, known as toxicity equivalent factors (TEFs), allows scientists to calculate the total risks posed by dioxin-type chemicals at waste sites. The methodology allows EPA to compare the risks of a host of dioxin-like compounds to the risks posed by the most toxic of these compounds 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin (TCDD). The dioxin-like compounds include 170 so-called congeners, or dioxin-like compounds, including...

DEMOCRATIC EFFORT TO STRIP SEDIMENT CLEANUP LANGUAGE FAILS

The House of Representatives last week narrowly voted to maintain language that would delay EPA contaminated sediment cleanup decisions until the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) completes a report examining the scientific issues surrounding sediment dredging. The House floor amendment failed by a vote of 208 to 216. to download a copy of the House vote in HTML format. The battle on the sediment cleanup language now moves to the Senate, where environmentalists believe the language may not be as...

SEDIMENT CLEANUP PROJECTS THAT MAY BE STOPPED OR DELAYED BY REPORT LANGUAGE -- FY 2001 HOUSE VA -- HUD APPROPRIATIONS MARKUP

Wednesday, June 7th (Based on information provided by EPA Regions) MAINE Eastland Woolen Mill, Maine (Region 1) MASSACHUSETTS Housatonic River, Massachusetts (Region 1) RHODE ISLAND Woonasquatucket/Centerdale Manor, Rhode Island (Region 1) NEW JERSEY Brook Industrial Park, New Jersey (Region 2) Vineland, New Jersey (Region 2) NEW YORK Grasse River, New York (Region 2) Hudson Coal Tar Site, New York (Region 2) Hudson River, New York (Region 2) Onondaga Lake, New York (Region 2) Raquette River, New York (Region 2) St...

Text: Proposed Industry Dredging Amendment

Sec. ____ Minimizing Adverse Environmental Effects (a) Evaluation. -- Prior to selecting, proposing, or initiating any project or action under Federal law for environmental dredging, or for the placement of dredge and fill material for environmental purposes, in the waters of the United States, the responsible Federal official shall undertake a detailed evaluation of practical alternatives to the project or action to assess: (1) the direct and indirect risks to human health and the environment posed by the project or...

DREDGING DISPOSAL MANAGEMENT PLAN FOCUSES ON VOLUNTARY ACTIONS

A draft California Long-Term Management Strategy (LTMS) to reduce disposal of dredged materials in the San Francisco Bay emphasizes volunteer actions prior to instituting mandatory controls. Environmentalists want to see an automatic trigger to launch mandatory waste discharge requirements if the voluntary program is unsuccessful but regulators are undecided how a mandatory program would be activated, according to sources. The LTMS's goal of reducing the amount of sediment and other materials dredged and disposed in the bay should greatly improve...

PENNSYLVANIA AWARDS FIRST BROWNFIELDS CLEANUP PERFORMANCE LOAN

The state of Pennsylvania June 13 awarded a first-time brownfields remediation loan that includes performance-based incentives that if met would provide significant financial benefit to loan recipients. The $14 million per year loan program rewards companies for meeting environmental cleanup goals by changing the loan to a grant if these predetermined goals are met within a certain time period. These loans only apply to the remediation of non-hazardous materials. The loans are available to companies willing to assess and remediate...

CALIFORNIA LAWMAKER REVISES CONTENTIOUS BROWNFIELDS BILL

California state Sen. Martha Escutia (D) has unveiled a revamped version of legislation aimed at spurring the redevelopment of contaminated "brownfields" properties. The bill, SB 324, provides local entities with the power to order site investigations while calling for cleanup standards "to encourage and require" restoration of brownfields. The bill would create an account from the state's general fund to provide affordable liability insurance for property owners. SB 324 is scheduled to be heard June 27 by the California Assembly...

APPEALS COURT SAYS EPA LIKELY HAS POWER TO EXPAND SUPERFUND SITES

A federal appeals court earlier this month suggested that EPA likely has the authority to expand the boundaries of existing Superfund sites without necessarily engaging in a public notice and comment period. However, the June 15 ruling from U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit did not allow EPA to automatically expand the boundaries of the Bunker Hill Superfund site, ruling instead that it did not have jurisdiction to determine whether EPA's efforts to expand the boundaries of the...

MAINE SUPERFUND LIABILITY DEAL COULD BECOME NATIONAL MODEL

A federal district court in Maine May 30 approved a first-ever Superfund cleanup agreement transferring liability for the site from 3,000 potentially responsible parties (PRPs) to a waste cleanup company, dramatically streamlining the cost and time associated with the cleanup while making it possible for the remediation company to turn a significant profit at the same time. Sources close to the issue say that if the agreement is successful, it may serve as a model for other Superfund cleanups across...

GAO URGES AGAINST FIXED PRICE CONTRACTS AT LARGE DOE CLEANUP SITES

The General Accounting Office (GAO) last week told lawmakers that while fixed price contracts may reduce Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear waste cleanup costs at some sites, they should not be used for large, complex cleanups. The GAO's testimony came at a House Commerce Committee hearing where Republicans grilled officials from DOE and British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) about the department's recent cancellation of their contract with BNFL to clean up the Hanford, WA, nuclear waste disposal site. Republicans questioned...

NEW WASTE TREATMENT PROGRAM MAY LEAD TO STRICTER RCRA STANDARDS

EPA is proposing to launch a new alternative treatment technology program that could lead the Office of Solid Waste to revisit a host of land disposal standards for hazardous wastes under the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA). But industry sources are critical of a program that they fear could cause industry to reinvest millions of dollars to replace technology already paid for to meet current land disposal restrictions (LDRs). EPA says its ultimate goal is to revisit some of...

ACTIVISTS, UNIONS DEMAND OVERHAUL OF EPA BURDEN REFORM PLANS

A large coalition of environmental and union groups is pressing Clinton administration officials to modify a series of new paperwork reduction initiatives proposed under the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) and the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act, charging the reforms will cripple EPA's public right-to-know program and deprive communities of critical environmental data. Although EPA and White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) sources could not be reached for comment, sources say officials from both agencies plan to sit down...

BOND BLASTS LACK OF EPA ACTION ON INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORTS

Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) is blasting EPA's apparent lack of action on recommendations from the agency's Inspector General (IG), charging that the inaction poses a risk to public health and the environment. In response, Deputy Administrator Michael McCabe has asked all agency offices to provide him with an explanation of why they have not complied with IG recommendations and a schedule for completing work on the reports -- a move Bond argues does not "address the more important and pressing...

LAWMAKER AMENDS PLASTICS RECYCLING BILL TO REMOVE OPPOSITION

California state Sen. Wesley Chesbro (D) has agreed to significantly amend his plastics recycling legislation (SB 1110) by removing a requirement that food and cosmetic containers be subject to the state's container recycling law. However, the bill may be dead after failing by a 4-2 vote this week in the Consumer Protection, Governmental Efficiency & Economic Development Committee. The bill has been granted reconsideration by the committee. SB 1110 initially sought to close a gap in the state's recycling law...

EPA CAN LEVY UST PENALTIES AGAINST DOD, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAYS

Federal law clearly gives EPA the authority to levy penalties against the Defense Department for underground storage tank (UST) violations of the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA), the Justice Department says in a long-awaited opinion issued last week. DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion June 14, responding to a dispute over whether EPA has authority to issue fines and penalties. "A straightforward reading of RCRA's statutory text and the relevant legislative history leads us to conclude that...

EPA IN METHANEX CLAIM AGAINST CALIFORNIA, DEFENDS UST RULES

U.S. EPA is aggressively defending California's underground storage tank (UST) program in response to a claim by Methanex Corp., filed with the environmental commission of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). EPA is urging the commission to reject the claim of the Canadian methanol manufacturer, which argues that shoddy enforcement of UST regulations has resulted in the contamination of water supplies by the methanol-based fuel additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). EPA contends USTs will leak despite the best...

SANTA MONICA SEEKS $200 MILLION FROM OIL COMPANIES FOR MTBE CLEANUP

Oil industry officials say a lawsuit filed by the city of Santa Monica earlier this month to clean up methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) contamination at a drinking water wellfield was long expected, although something companies had hoped to avoid. The city sued seven oil companies for $200 million, and expect that a trial will sort out whether some companies are more liable for cleanup than others, according to city officials. The city sued June 19 in San Francisco County...

HOUSE LAWMAKERS RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT YUCCA MOUNTAIN MILESTONES

House lawmakers questioned the Energy Department's (DOE) ability to meet milestones for the construction of a national high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, NV, even as the department is again evaluating bids for re-competing the contract to manage and operate the waste disposal site. Lawmakers raised the concerns at House Commerce Committee's Energy and Power Subcommittee hearing June 23 on the status of DOE's program to develop the repository. Subcommittee Chair Joe Barton (R-TX) stated that he "needed to...

SCIENCE PANEL CALLS FOR CREATION OF EPA DEPUTY-LEVEL SCIENCE OFFICIAL

The National Research Council (NRC) is calling on EPA and Congress to establish a deputy administrator for science with broad power to coordinate science policy throughout the agency. The NRC argues that science should be considered with the same priority assigned to legal issues by EPA. "Such an action would send a strong message that Congress and the administration are committed to strengthening science at EPA," and would enhance the science that underpins the policymaking process, according to the NRC...

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