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PA EPA SEEKS COMMENTS ON SUPERFUND MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LIABILITY PROPOSAL

Release Date: 07/11/97
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JULY 11, 1997

EPA SEEKS COMMENTS ON SUPERFUND MUNICIPAL
SOLID WASTE LIABILITY PROPOSAL


EPA is seeking comment on a “Municipal Solid Waste Settlement Proposal” designed to promote fairness, consistency and efficiency in Superfund settlements with municipalities and municipal solid waste generators and transporters at sites on the National Priorities List (NPL). The proposal has two principal policy purposes. First, it is designed to address the liability of parties whose only contribution to a Superfund site was household trash or similar wastes, and whom EPA believes should not be drawn into the Superfund liability net. Although EPA has not historically pursued these types of parties, other responsible parties have brought them into Superfund litigation through contribution actions. The second goal is to provide a fair and efficient mechanism to deal with the liability of municipalities who owned or operated landfills as part of their obligation to provide basic waste disposal services to their citizens. The proposed policy is directed at those landfills that accepted both municipal solid waste and industrial wastes containing hazardous substances, and as a result, have been placed on the NPL for cleanup. It provides a methodology for calculating appropriate settlement contributions for municipal owners and/or operators of such landfills, as
well as for municipal and private generators and/or transporters of municipal sewage sludge and municipal solid waste. The proposed policy is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Friday, July 11. EPA is seeking public comment on the proposal for 45 days. Comments should be sent to Leslie Jones, EPA’s Office of Site Remediation Enforcement, Policy Guidance Branch (2273A), 401 M St. S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460.

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