§9661 — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

Summary

The EPA Administrator may give New York up to $2,500,000 to buy private property inside the Love Canal Emergency Declaration Area. This can include any private land or buildings there — for example homes (even if not owner‑occupied), shops, factories, public, religious, non‑profit, and vacant lots. No property can be bought unless the owner agrees. Payment must equal the fair market value the property had before the emergency declaration, and the rules for valuing property must follow the agreement dated October 9, 1980 between the New York State Disaster Preparedness Commission and the Love Canal Revitalization Agency. The EPA must have a cooperative agreement with a New York public agency that promises the State will take title to bought properties before EPA money is used. The EPA will also arrange to keep acquired properties maintained and will pay 90% of those maintenance costs (the State pays the rest unless a credit is available under section 9604(c)). The EPA can give technical help to carry out a habitability and land‑use study. That study must check the risks of living there, compare pollution levels to similar places, and look at possible uses for the land (like homes, industry, business, or parks) and the risks of those uses. Money spent under this rule counts as a cost under section 9611(c) (and related reference to 9631(c)). These rules do not change any cleanup actions the EPA already decided were needed before October 17, 1986. “Emergency Declaration Area” means the area named in New York’s General Municipal Law section 950 (as of October 17, 1986). “Private property” means anything not owned by the United States or the State of New York (or its agencies).

Title 42, §9661

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (hereinafter referred to as the “Administrator”) may make grants not to exceed $2,500,000 to the State of New York (or to any duly constituted public agency or authority thereof) for purposes of acquisition of private property in the Love Canal Emergency Declaration Area. Such acquisition shall include (but shall not be limited to) all private property within the Emergency Declaration Area, including non-owner occupied residential properties, commercial, industrial, public, religious, non-profit, and vacant properties.

(b)No property shall be acquired pursuant to this section unless the property owner voluntarily agrees to such acquisition. Compensation for any property acquired pursuant to this section shall be based upon the fair market value of the property as it existed prior to the emergency declaration. Valuation procedures for property acquired with funds provided under this section shall be in accordance with those set forth in the agreement entered into between the New York State Disaster Preparedness Commission and the Love Canal Revitalization Agency on October 9, 1980.

(c)The Administrator shall not provide any funds under this section for the acquisition of any properties pursuant to this section unless a public agency or authority of the State of New York first enters into a cooperative agreement with the Administrator providing assurances deemed adequate by the Administrator that the State or an agency created under the laws of the State shall take title to the properties to be so acquired.

(d)The Administrator shall enter into a cooperative agreement with an appropriate public agency or authority of the State of New York under which the Administrator shall maintain or arrange for the maintenance of all properties within the Emergency Declaration Area that have been acquired by any public agency or authority of the State. Ninety (90) percent of the costs of such maintenance shall be paid by the Administrator. The remaining portion of such costs shall be paid by the State (unless a credit is available under section 9604(c) of this title). The Administrator is authorized, in his discretion, to provide technical assistance to any public agency or authority of the State of New York in order to implement the recommendations of the habitability and land-use study in order to put the land within the Emergency Declaration Area to its best use.

(e)The Administrator shall conduct or cause to be conducted a habitability and land-use study. The study shall—

(1)assess the risks associated with inhabiting of the Love Canal Emergency Declaration Area;

(2)compare the level of hazardous waste contamination in that Area to that present in other comparable communities; and

(3)assess the potential uses of the land within the Emergency Declaration Area, including but not limited to residential, industrial, commercial and recreational, and the risks associated with such potential uses.

(f)For purposes of section 9611 of this title [and 9631(c) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title], the expenditures authorized by this section shall be treated as a cost specified in section 9611(c) of this title.

(g)The provisions of this section shall not affect the implementation of other response actions within the Emergency Declaration Area that the Administrator has determined (before October 17, 1986) to be necessary to protect the public health or welfare or the environment.

(h)For purposes of this section:

(1)The terms “Emergency Declaration Area” and “Love Canal Emergency Declaration Area” mean the Emergency Declaration Area as defined in section 950, paragraph (2) of the General Municipal Law of the State of New York, Chapter 259, Laws of 1980, as in effect on October 17, 1986.

(2)As used in subsection (a), the term “private property” means all property which is not owned by a department, agency, or instrumentality of—

(A)the United States, or

(B)the State of New York (or any public agency or authority thereof).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 9631 of this title, referred to in subsec. (f), was repealed by Pub. L. 99–499, title V, § 517(c)(1), Oct. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 1774.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Love Canal Property Acquisition; Congressional Findings Pub. L. 99–499, title II, § 213(a), Oct. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 1726, provided that: “(1) The area known as Love Canal located in the city of Niagara Falls and the town of Wheatfield, New York, was the first toxic waste site to receive national attention. As a result of that attention Congress investigated the problems associated with toxic waste sites and enacted CERCLA [Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.)] to deal with these problems. “(2) Because Love Canal came to the Nation’s attention prior to the passage of CERCLA and because the fund under CERCLA was not available to compensate for all of the hardships endured by the citizens in the area, Congress has determined that special provisions are required. These provisions do not affect the lawfulness, implementation, or selection of any other response actions at Love Canal or at any other facilities.” Coordination of Titles I to IV of Pub. L. 99–499Any provision of titles I to IV of Pub. L. 99–499, imposing any tax, premium, or fee; establishing any trust fund; or authorizing expenditures from any trust fund, to have no force or effect, see section 531 of Pub. L. 99–499, set out as a note under section 1 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.

§9661 Love Canal property acquisition