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Cleanup Enforcement |  |
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About Cleanup EnforcementThe Office of Site Remediation Enforcement (OSRE) facilitates, coordinates, and evaluates the enforcement elements of EPA's national hazardous waste cleanup programs: CERCLA (Superfund), Brownfields (SBLRBRA), RCRA, OPA and UST.OSRE works with the Regional Offices and the states to vigorously and effectively enforce these statutes. OSRE's goal is to achieve prompt site cleanup and liable party participation by having those responsible for the problem perform and/or pay for the cleanup in ways which promote environmental justice and fairness. OSRE administers environmental cleanup occurs under several different statutes:
These statutes deal with actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances into the environment. Which statute to use depends on the kind of release and where it was released. EPA investigates who is responsible for the release and negotiates with them to do the cleanup. If a party does not agree to do the cleanup, EPA can order them to do so; or EPA can do the cleanup itself and, under certain statutes, recover its costs from the responsible party. To ensure that our Nation's environmental acts are fairly administered, EPA is continually evaluating and improving its cleanup programs. In order to clean up abandoned, contaminated sites and restore them to productive community use, the Agency launched the Brownfields initiative. EPA also encourages the use of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act (ADRA) in enforcement and compliance cases where a prompt and fair resolution of a dispute might result. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability ActIn 1980 Congress enacted the "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act" ("CERCLA," also known as "Superfund") to respond to the growing concern over health and environmental risks posed by these abandoned hazardous waste sites, and to clean up these sites. The Superfund program is administered by the U. S. EPA in cooperation with individual states and tribal governments. The law created a revolving Trust Fund which is known as the "Superfund" from which EPA and other agencies can draw to respond to real and threatened releases. Money from the Trust Fund is used only when the companies or people responsible for the contamination cannot be found, or cannot pay for or perform the cleanup themselves. At most Superfund sites, the companies or people responsible for the contamination clean it up or pay to have it cleaned up. To make sure that those responsible clean up or pay for the cleanup as much as possible, EPA's Superfund Enforcement program identifies the companies or people responsible for contamination at a site and negotiates with them to do the cleanup. In the event EPA pays for some or all of the cleanup at a site and then finds the people responsible, EPA can recover the money it spent from them. The Superfund law also requires federal facilities to clean up contamination at facilities they own or operate.
BrownfieldsBrownfields were initially defined as "abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination." In 2002 Congress enacted the "Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act" ("SBLRBRA," commonly known as the "Brownfields Amendments"), Public Law 107-118, amending the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act ("CERCLA" or "Superfund"). The Brownfields Amendments expand and codify EPA's Brownfields program by authorizing funds for assessment and cleanup of brownfields properties. The Amendments also contain important liability provisions. For example, the Brownfields Amendments exempt de micromis contributors of hazardous substances and household, small business, and nonprofit generators of municipal solid waste from liability for Superfund response costs at National Priority List ("NPL") sites. Additionally, the Brownfields Amendments provide for expedited settlements with certain persons based on a limited ability to pay. The Brownfields Amendments provide protection from Superfund liability to landowners who meet the statutory criteria of bona fide prospective purchasers ("BFPP"), contiguous property owners, or innocent landowners. Finally, the Brownfields Amendments authorize funding for state response programs and limit EPA's Superfund enforcement authority at sites cleaned up under a state response program.
Resource Conservation and Recovery ActIn 1976 Congress enacted the "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act" ("RCRA"), amending the "Solid Waste Disposal Act" to provide a framework for the proper management of currently generated hazardous and non-hazardous waste. In 1984 Congress enacted the "Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments" ("HSWA") to make owners or operators of treatment, storage and disposal ("TSD") facilities responsible for investigating, and, as necessary, cleaning up releases at or from their facilities, regardless of when the release occurred. EPA refers to the cleanup of TSD facilities under these statutory authorities as "RCRA Corrective Action." In 1992 Congress enacted the "Federal Facilities Compliance Act" to clarify that Federal agencies must comply with RCRA. Congress intended for the states to implement the RCRA program. This is achieved through a process known as "delegation" or "authorization." When states incorporate the Federal standards and processes into their state waste program, EPA evaluates each state's program for adequacy or equivalence with the federal program and then formally delegates the program to the state.
Underground Storage Tank ProgramAs part of the 1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments, the underground storage tank ("UST") program was added to RCRA to address tanks storing petroleum products for retail and industrial purposes, to establish performance standards for new tanks, to require leak detection, prevention and corrective action at underground tank sites, and to require UST owners and operators to demonstrate that they are financially capable of cleaning up releases and compensating third parties for damages. The program also delegates authority to the states and is largely implemented by the states today. Nearly all USTs at these sites contain petroleum. These sites include marketers who sell gasoline to the public (such as service stations and convenience stores) and non-marketers who use tanks solely for their own needs (such as fleet service operators and local governments). EPA estimates about 25,000 tanks hold hazardous substances covered by the UST regulations.
Oil Pollution Act (OPA)The "Oil Pollution Act" ("OPA"), signed into law in August 1990, is Congress's most comprehensive effort to address harmful environmental impacts from oil spills. The OPA improved the nation's ability to prevent and respond to oil spills by establishing provisions that expand the Federal Government's authority, and provide the money and resources necessary, to respond to oil spills. The OPA also consolidated several existing oil spill response funds into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which is available to provide up to $1 billion per spill incident.
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