Illinois – January 8, 2003
The Weekly Roundup is published by SRA International, Inc. (formerly Marasco Newton Group, Ltd.), on behalf of the Land Renewal Network, a forum to address RCRA, CERCLA, and Brownfields policies. The following items are of interest this week:
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
EPA ENFORCEMENT CHIEF RESIGNS: On January 5, John Peter Suarez, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), tendered his resignation to President Bush. Suarez was nominated to the post in April 2002, and was confirmed on August 1, 2002. Suarez is noted for his establishment of OECA’s “Smart Enforcement” initiative, which emphasizes better compliance, increased inspections, and enforcement actions that provide the most environmental and public health benefits. In his resignation letter, Suarez stated, “I believe that the enforcement program is on the right track and headed in the direction that we need to go. EPA has demonstrated that we can use data effectively to identify and target the most significant areas of non-compliance, and then measure our successes in light of the benefits realized.” Suarez announced that he has accepted a position as general counsel of Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart. Suarez’s resignation is effective January 30.
JOHNSON NOMINATED TO EPA DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR POST: On January 7, Stephen L. Johnson, former assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances, was nominated by the White House to fill the agency’s number-two position. Johnson has been serving as the acting deputy administrator since July 2003, after the post was vacated by Linda Fisher. The White House also nominated Charles Johnson, president of the Huntsman Cancer Foundation and former member of the Utah State Board of Regents, to serve as EPA’s chief financial officer. Johnson succeeds Linda Morrison Combs, and will be responsible for EPA’s annual budget, accountability, and resource management issues. Both nominations require confirmation by the Senate.
SUPERFUND
EPA RELEASES REPORT ON SUPERFUND FUNDING NEEDS: On January 7, EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its report, “Congressional Request on Funding Needs for Non-Federal Superfund Sites.” The report was developed in response to a May 2003 letter from Sen. Boxer (D-CA), Sen. Jeffords (I-VT), Rep. Dingell (D-MI), and Rep. Solis (D-CA) requesting that EPA provide information concerning the sufficiency of funding for non-federal Superfund sites at all stages of the cleanup process. The report found that there was a $174.9 million shortfall in FY 2003 site-specific funding, and that funding limitations restricted some site activities. However, the report noted that, “within this context, regional officials..considered FY 2003 funding sufficient to address most sites.” The report includes a detailed review of 15 sites to determine whether EPA’s funding decisions were appropriate; OIG found that four of these sites did not receive sufficient funding. The report also includes answers to Sen. Boxer’s questions raised in response to an October 2002 EPA letter on FY 2002 funding needs for non-federal Superfund sites. The report can be found at Report.
NEW JERSEY BILL WOULD BLOCK EPA CLEANUP AT SUPERFUND SITE: A bill signed by New Jersey Governor James McGreevey (D) on December 16 could block an EPA-approved remedy at a Superfund site. The legislation prohibits the discharge of untreated or pre-treated wastewater from Superfund former landfill sites into publicly owned treatment works, and also imposes certain remediation requirements on Superfund former landfill sites with radionuclide pollutants. The legislation represents an attempt to force EPA to review its remedy for the GEMS Landfill Superfund site, which would allow discharged radioactive water to be transported through municipal sewage lines and ultimately into a major waterway. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) request that the remedy for the GEMS site be revised was rejected earlier by EPA, who noted that DEP had already approved the plan. EPA has also said that there is no technical basis for reopening the site’s Record of Decision, although the new legislation may force a stricter cleanup plan to be developed.
RCRA
EPA EXTENDS COMMENT PERIOD ON HAZARDOUS WASTE EXEMPTION RULE: In a Federal Register notice published December 29, EPA announced that it is extending the public comment period on the proposed rule entitled, “Revisions to the Definition of Solid Waste” (68 FR 74907). The public comment period was set to end on January 26, 2004, but has now been extended to February 25, 2004. The proposed rule would revise the definition of solid waste under RCRA by identifying certain recyclable hazardous secondary materials as not “discarded,” and therefore not subject to RCRA regulation. It would also establish specific regulatory criteria for determining whether or not hazardous secondary materials are recycled legitimately. The proposed rule can be found at Proposed Rule. Comments can be submitted by mail to: OSWER Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 5305T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. RCRA-2002-0031. Comments may also be submitted electronically to Comments.
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Land Pollution Information
