Department of Energy defense programs environmental restoration program update

Federal facilities are under increasing pressure to remediate inactive hazardous waste sites and associated off-site areas. The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act federal facilities provision requires that the Environmental Protection Agency establish a public docket to list all federal sites contaminated by hazardous wastes or substances and to monitor the progress of investigations and cleanups against an established schedule. In addition, Sect. 3004(u) of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requires that operating permits for hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities be issued only upon binding agreements that identify specific schedules for corrective action for all hazardous waste releases that have or are occurring at the facility. As a result of these regulations, defense programs (DP) must make remedial actions integral to its mission. This paper reports how environmental cleanups are given increased emphasis with the new regulations/laws providing the right to private citizens and the states to sue to enforce these statutes and schedule commitments