The House Environment and the Economy Subcommittee, chaired by U.S. Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), hosted a second panel to examine cleanup of federal facilities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) last week.
Following the productive first portion of the hearing on Sept. 11, Wednesday’s hearing reviewed the role and perspective of the state in the federal cleanup process, focusing on the idea that certain provisions of the law will limit a state’s ability to drive how the cleanup process may be carried out at federal facilities.
“States have always played an important role in protecting the environment, and I’m glad we were able to hear their perspective today,” Shimkus said. “There have been strides made in improving the relationship between federal agencies and the states as it relates to federal facility cleanups, but today’s hearing demonstrated that there’s still room for improvement.”
The hearing also addressed how authority for CERCLA cleanup is delegated to federal agencies and looked at the opportunity for potential conflicts, especially when the federal agencies are the potentially responsible parties and making cleanup decisions.
“States must be involved in the critical decisions related to the environmental response and close-out actions at federal facilities,” Bonnie Buthker, vice president of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials, said. “Federal agencies should ensure that state costs for the regulation of federal facilities are fully reimbursed to the same extent and in the same manner as other regulated entities.”