§2648 Emergency Authority

Summary

The Administrator or a State Governor can step in and take emergency steps to protect people or the environment when airborne asbestos or crumbling asbestos in a school run by a local educational agency creates an immediate and serious danger, and the local agency is not doing enough (as the Administrator or Governor decides. A Governor must tell the Administrator ahead of time before acting. If the Administrator then takes action about the same hazard, the Governor may not start or continue that action. Before acting, a Governor must notify the local educational agency. If the Administrator acts, the Administrator must notify both the local educational agency and the Governor. The Administrator or a Governor may try to recover all costs of the emergency work by suing in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or in the federal district where the emergency happened. If they seek costs from the local educational agency, the suit must be filed in the federal district where that agency is located. If there is evidence of an immediate danger from airborne or crumbling asbestos in a school, the Administrator may ask the Attorney General to sue, or a Governor may sue, to get court orders or other relief. The U.S. district court where the response will occur can grant such relief, including injunctions.