House Subcommittee on the Environment and the Economy Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL) concluded the first part of a two-day hearing examining federal facility cleanups under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) on Friday.
CERCLA is legislation that requires federal agencies to identify, assess and clean up hazardous waste contamination at facilities that they own or use.
At last week’s hearing, members heard from the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy about the issues they face in cleaning up contaminated facilities under CERCLA, as well as from the Environmental Protection Agency about its limited oversight role in the cleaning process.
“Today’s hearing demonstrated that some of our federal partners are more successful than others at juggling the balance between focusing on national security and protecting our land and water,” Shimkus said on Friday. “Thousands of ordinary and private sector companies face the daily challenge of controlling costs and making a profit and their federal agency counterparts should be no different. I’m looking forward to hearing the second panel of witnesses next week who will provide the committee with the state and local perspective on federal facility cleanups.”
The hearing will continue this week with the committee hearing the state perspective on cleanups required at federal facilities.