PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

States must set up and keep a program to find and list every place in the State where hazardous waste was ever stored or dumped. The list must be published and sent to the Administrator. The inventory must cover the sites’ locations and, when possible, the amount, type, and danger of the waste; the site owner’s name and address; the kinds of treatment or disposal used; and the site’s current status (whether waste is still handled there and, if not, when that stopped). The Administrator must give each State any federal information that can help. States may require people to give the needed data and may use the authority of section 6927 to do so. States that ran a qualifying program before October 21, 1980, can get reimbursed. If the Administrator finds a State’s program does not give enough information, the Administrator will tell the State. If the State does not fix it within 90 days, the Administrator will run the inventory there, may use the grant funds under subsection (c) to do it, and can stop further grants to the State until it meets the rules. Grants may be made to States that apply, and Congress authorized $25,000,000 for each fiscal year 1985 through 1988. Nothing in this law stops immediate cleanup or enforcement at any site before the inventory is finished.

Title 42, §6933

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

(a)State inventory programs

Each State shall, as expeditiously as practicable, undertake a continuing program to compile, publish, and submit to the Administrator an inventory describing the location of each site within such State at which hazardous waste has at any time been stored or disposed of. Such inventory shall contain— (1)

(2)such information relating to the amount, nature, and toxicity of the hazardous waste at each such site as may be practicable to obtain and as may be necessary to determine the extent of any health hazard which may be associated with such site;

(3)the name and address, or corporate headquarters of, the owner of each such site, determined as of the date of preparation of the inventory;

(4)an identification of the types or techniques of waste treatment or disposal which have been used at each such site; and

(5)information concerning the current status of the site, including information respecting whether or not hazardous waste is currently being treated or disposed of at such site (and if not, the date on which such activity ceased) and information respecting the nature of any other activity currently carried out at such site.

For purposes of assisting the States in compiling information under this section, the Administrator shall make available to each State undertaking a program under this section such information as is available to him concerning the items specified in paragraphs (1) through (5) with respect to the sites within such State, including such information as the Administrator is able to obtain from other agencies or departments of the United States and from surveys and studies carried out by any committee or subcommittee of the Congress. Any State may exercise the authority of section 6927 of this title for purposes of this section in the same manner and to the same extent as provided in such section in the case of States having an authorized hazardous waste program, and any State may by order require any person to submit such information as may be necessary to compile the data referred to in paragraphs (1) through (5).

(b)Environmental Protection Agency program

If the Administrator determines that any State program under subsection (a) is not adequately providing information respecting the sites in such State referred to in subsection (a), the Administrator shall notify the State. If within ninety days following such notification, the State program has not been revised or amended in such manner as will adequately provide such information, the Administrator shall carry out the inventory program in such State. In any such case—

(1)the Administrator shall have the authorities provided with respect to State programs under subsection (a);

(2)the funds allocated under subsection (c) for grants to States under this section may be used by the Administrator for carrying out such program in such State; and

(3)no further expenditure may be made for grants to such State under this section until such time as the Administrator determines that such State is carrying out, or will carry out, an inventory program which meets the requirements of this section.

(c)Grants

(1)Upon receipt of an application submitted by any State to carry out a program under this section, the Administrator may make grants to the States for purposes of carrying out such a program. Grants under this section shall be allocated among the several States by the Administrator based upon such regulations as he prescribes to carry out the purposes of this section. The Administrator may make grants to any State which has conducted an inventory program which effectively carried out the purposes of this section before October 21, 1980, to reimburse such State for all, or any portion of, the costs incurred by such State in conducting such program.

(2)There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1985 through 1988.

(d)No impediment to immediate remedial action

Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide that the Administrator or any State should, pending completion of the inventory required under this section, postpone undertaking any enforcement or remedial action with respect to any site at which hazardous waste has been treated, stored, or disposed of.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Another section 3012 of Pub. L. 89–272 as added by Pub. L. 96–463, § 7(a), Oct. 15, 1980, 94 Stat. 2057, was redesignated section 3014 of Pub. L. 89–272, and is classified to section 6935 of this title.

Amendments

1984—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 98–616 substituted “$25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1985 through 1988” for “$20,000,000”.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of certain

Enforcement

functions of Administrator or other official of Environmental Protection Agency under this chapter to Federal Inspector, Office of Federal Inspector for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, and subsequent transfer to Secretary of Energy, then to Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, see note set out under section 6903 of this title.

§6933 Hazardous Waste Site Inventory