EPA Rolls Out Round 2 Of Cleanup Reforms

22 January 2001 00:00  [Source: ICB Americas]

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a second round of reforms that are designed to ensure that human exposures and groundwater releases are under control at more than 1,700 industrial facilities across the US.

EPA Assistant-Administrator Timothy Fields said the reforms, which were begun in 1999, will speed corrective action cleanups at high-priority hazardous waste sites regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

"The 1999 RCRA cleanup reforms promote faster, focused, more flexible cleanups to meet aggressive goals at facilities managing hazardous waste," said Mr. Fields.

"By fostering creative cleanup solutions, the 2001 reforms reinforce and build upon actions taken by EPA, the states, industry, and communities to meet these goals," he commented.

Unlike the abandoned toxic waste sites being cleaned up under the Superfund program, RCRA sites are owned by companies that are still in business and therefore responsible for cleaning up their properties.

EPA said the new reforms include:

Ñ Launching 25 pilot projects that focus on new approaches to cleanup; supporting culture changes in ways the program is implemented such as increasing interaction between EPA, states, industry and communities;

Ñ Involving communities by promoting technical assistance opportunities and publicizing information resources; and

Ñ Promoting RCRA brownfields redevelopment with additional pilot projects.

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