Citizen Suit Provisions
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RESPONSE to ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS PERTAINING to the HOUGHTON TRANSFER STATION and HOUGHTON CLOSED LANDFILL KING COUNTY SOLID WASTE DIVISION July 2021
RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS PERTAINING TO THE HOUGHTON TRANSFER STATION AND HOUGHTON CLOSED LANDFILL KING COUNTY SOLID WASTE DIVISION July 2021 1. Concern: The Houghton Closed Landfill and Houghton Transfer Station are “Superfund sites.” Response: Neither site is designated as a Superfund site. A May 14, 2021 email from Calvin J. Terada, Director of the Superfund and Emergency Management Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Region 10 to Christie True, Director of the King County Natural Resources and Parks Department, confirmed that neither facility is a Superfund site: From: Terada, Calvin Sent: Friday, May 14, 2021 8:44 AM To: True, Christie Cc: Opalski, Dan Subject: RE: ECHO report for Houghton Transfer Station Ms. True, My name is Calvin Terada and I am the Director of the Superfund and Emergency Management Division and Dan’s colleague at EPA Region 10 in the Seattle Regional Office. Dan forwarded me your message and asked me to see if there is anything that I can do to assist you with you with your research effort. After receiving the forwarded message, I checked EPA’s publicly available database called Superfund Enterprise Management System (SEMS) in Envirofacts https://enviro.epa.gov/ and also asked our data coordinator to confirm my findings. As you have requested, we can confirm that the below site is not a site on EPA’s National Priorities List (NPL), aka Superfund site. We also could not find any information related to the Houghton Landfill and so we can assume that this site is also not on the NPL. We did find information about an EPA action that took place at the site and listed the below information for your reference. -
National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 Review Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 Review Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act Earl Liverman, US EPA R10 On-Scene Coordinator (Ret.) 1-1 Overview ♦ Course provides participants with an overview of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and Section 106 requirements under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) ♦ Topics covered: o Overview of the NHPA o NHPA under CERCLA o Pre-Incident Planning and Emergency Response Under Section 106 o Comparison of Key Elements of the Section 106 Process under NHPA and CERCLA o Section 106 Process: Case Studies Under CERCLA o Summary: Compliance with Section 106 Under CERCLA 1-2 I. Overview of the National Historic Preservation Act 1-3 National Historic Preservation Act ♦ Environmental review process initiated with passage of the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), as amended (P.L. 89-665; 80 Stat. 915; 16 U.S.C. 470) ♦ Section 106 requires federal agencies to: » Take into account effects of undertakings on historic properties » Provide the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) with a reasonable opportunity to comment » Consult with State Historic Preservation and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian Organizations 1-4 Overview of the Section 106 Review Process NHPA applies to your project if your project constitutes an undertaking and will have a potential effect on a property that is eligible for or included in the National Register of Historic Places Initiation of Section 106 Process 36 CFR § 800.3 Identification of Historic Properties 36 CFR § 800.4 Assessment of Adverse Effects 36 CFR § 800.5 Resolution of Adverse Effects 36 CFR § 800.6 1-5 Responsibility for Compliance with Section 106 ♦ Responsibility for Section 106 compliance lies with the federal agency funding the project or action [36 C.F.R. -
This Is Superfund
This is Superfund A Community Guide to EPA’s Superfund Program IF THERE IS A SUPERFUND SITE in your neighborhood, you are probably wondering, “what will happen?” and, “what can I do?” This brochure will give you a better understanding of the Superfund process and ways you and your community can be involved, including important topics such as: ► What is Superfund? ► Discovering Superfund Sites ► Taking Action to Clean Up Polluted Sites ► Responsibility for Superfund Site Cleanup ► Getting Involved: You and Your Community ► The Superfund Process ► Making each Superfund Cleanup “Greener” ► Maintaining the Site Cleanup Over the LongTerm ► Deleting a Site from the National Priorities List Valley of the Drums, KY 1979 Love Canal, NY 1978 2 What is Superfund? For a variety of reasons, hazardous commercial and industrial wastes have been mismanaged and may pose unacceptable risks to human health and the environment. This waste was dumped on the ground or in waterways, left out in the open, or otherwise improperly managed. As a result, thousands of hazardous waste sites were created throughout the United States. These hazardous waste sites commonly include manufacturing facilities, processing plants, landfills and mining sites. In 1980, Congress established the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended, in response to growing concerns over the health and environmental risks posed by hazardous waste sites. This law was enacted in the wake of the discovery of toxic waste dumps such as Love Canal and Valley of the Drums in the 1970s. CERCLA is informally called Superfund. The Superfund program is administered by EPA in cooperation with state and tribal governments. -
A Citizen's Guide to Using Federal Environmental Laws to Secure
A Citizen’s Guide to Using Federal Environmental Laws to Secure Environmental Justice Copyright © 2002 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. All rights reserved. ISBN No. 1-58576-033-1. ELI Project No. 981624. An electronically retrievable copy (PDF file) of this report may be obtained for no cost from the Environmental Law Institute web site <www.eli.org>, click on “Publications” then “2002 Research Reports” to locate the file. [Note: ELI Terms of Use will apply and are available on site.] (Environmental Law Institute®, The Environmental Forum®, and ELR® – The Environmental Law Reporter® are registered trademarks of the Environmental Law Institute.) acknowledgement This project was supported by the Office of Environmental Justice of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Assistance Agreement No. CR82675501. The views expressed herein should not be attributed to EPA nor should any official endorsement be inferred. table of contents Chapter 1. Introduction to Environmental Laws and Available Resources ...............................35 Environmental Justice Funding and Other Assistance for Public Participation. ..35 Other Grants . ......................... ......36 Introduction to Environmental Justice Issues.............1 Program Funding ..............................36 How Environmental Laws Can Help You to Protect Your Community ...............................3 How This Handbook Can Help You to Use Appendix A - Summary Descriptions of Selected Environmental Laws to Your Advantage...............4 Environmental Statutes..........................39 How This Handbook Is Organized, and What It Covers . 5 What This Handbook Does Not Cover.................6 Appendix B - Overview of Additional U.S. EPA Community Grant Programs .....................83 Chapter 2. Understanding the Players and the Laws Appendix C - Selected Other Environmental Justice Resources ...............................87 Identifying the Players..............................9 The U.S. -
Superfund: It's Time for Repeal After a Decade of Failure
UCLA UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy Title Superfund: It's Time for Repeal after a Decade of Failure Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8jg867n2 Journal UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy, 12(1) Author McGee, Robert W. Publication Date 1993 DOI 10.5070/L5121018815 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Superfund: It's Time for Repeal After a Decade of Failure Robert W. McGee* I. INTRODUCTION The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA),1 also known as Superfund, was passed more than a decade ago.2 After that much time, there is more than enough evidence to evaluate whether Superfund has been effective in achieving its purpose: cleaning the environment.3 The evidence suggests that Superfund not only did not accomplish its task but it also might have made things worse in a number of ways. This Essay, in part II, enumer- ates the problems associated with Superfund. Part III argues that Superfund is beyond repair and should be repealed - the sooner the better. It then continues by suggesting what should replace Superfund. * Robert W. McGee is a professor at the W. Paul Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. He has authored more than 300 articles and reviews and has written or edited more than 30 books and monographs. The author would like to thank Joseph Wu and Vivian Lugo for their research assistance. 1. Pub. L. No. 96-510, 94 Stat. 2767 (1980) (codified at 42 U.S.C. -
Hello APES Students, I Look Forward to Meeting You All in September!! In
Hello APES students, I look forward to meeting you all in September!! In the meantime, I have put together a few things for you to help you prepare for our class and most of all, to get you out into the environment and explore. Your summer work will make up your first project grade and quiz grade for the semester and will be due on the first Friday of school (even if we don’t have class)! Feel free to email me with any questions at [email protected] Mrs. Mullane Assessment: (25 points) On the second day of class (Thursday or Friday) we are back at school, there will be a quiz covering part 2, environmental Laws. Part I: Ecology Field Journal (50 points) In a composition notebook (you will use this for notes throughout the year) complete 10 journal entries. Each entry must follow the format below and you must include the following topics: Each of the 10 entries must (have): Fill at least one page of your notebook All information and pictures should be at least 1 inch away from the edge of the paper A minimum of one paragraph (5 sentence) description of what you observed One hand drawn and colored picture of what you observed, drawn on unlined paper and glued into the notebook I am not the best artist so I usually need to make notes on my pictures to make it more clear Quantitative data recorded: Date Time Location Name of topic covered (use descriptions from below) Weather (temp/ cloud cover/ precipitation) Length or relative size of drawing Topics to Cover: Humans interacting with nature (3 entries) Naturally occurring abiotic (non-living) object (2 entries) Producer (2 entries) Consumer (3 entries) non-human Part II: Laws (31 points) Review the information provided about some major environmental laws. -
Superfund Laws
Chapter VIII SUPERFUND LAWS In the aftermath of Love Canal and other revelations of the improper disposal of hazardous substances, the federal and state governments enacted the “Superfund” laws to address these problems. Generally these laws address remediation of spills and dumps, rather than regulation of current conduct, and hold parties liable to cleanup contamination resulting from activities that may have been legal. They have resulted in extensive litigation, widespread concerns about environmental liabilities, and expensive cleanups. A. CERCLA The federal Superfund law is entitled the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. §9601, et seq. It was extensively amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (“SARA”), and further amendments were made in 2002 by the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. 1. Basic Scheme CERCLA provides a framework for the cleanup of the “release” or threatened release” of hazardous substances into the environment. EPA can take action to clean up hazardous substances using funds from the multi-billion dollar “Superfund” (raised by excise taxes on certain chemical feedstocks and crude oil), and then seek reimbursement from “responsible parties.” Alternatively, it can require responsible parties to clean up a site. “Hazardous substances” are defined to include hazardous wastes under RCRA, hazardous substances and toxic pollutants under Clean Water Act §§311(b)(2)(A) and 307(a), 33 U.S.C. 23 §§1321(b)(2)(A) and 1317(a), hazardous air pollutants under Clean Air Act §112, 42 U.S.C. §7412(a), any “imminently hazardous chemical substance or mixture” designated under Toxic Substances Control Act §7, 15 U.S.C. -
A Community Guide to EPA's Superfund Program
This is Superfund A Community Guide to EPA’s Superfund Program IF THERE IS A SUPERFUND SITE in your neighborhood, you are probably wondering, “what will happen?” and, “what can I do?” This brochure will give you a better understanding of the Superfund process and ways you and your community can be involved, including important topics such as: ► What is Superfund? ► Discovering Superfund Sites ► Taking Action to Clean Up Polluted Sites ► Responsibility for Superfund Site Cleanup ► Getting Involved: You and Your Community ► The Superfund Process ► Making each Superfund Cleanup “Greener” ► Maintaining the Site Cleanup Over the Long-Term ► Deleting a Site from the National Priorities List Valley of the Drums, KY 1979 Love Canal, NY 1978 2 What is Superfund? For a variety of reasons, hazardous commercial and industrial wastes have been mismanaged and may pose unacceptable risks to human health and the environment. This waste was dumped on the ground or in waterways, left out in the open, or otherwise improperly managed. As a result, thousands of hazardous waste sites were created throughout the United States. These hazardous waste sites commonly include manufacturing facilities, processing plants, landfills and mining sites. In 1980, Congress established the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended, in response to growing concerns over the health and environmental risks posed by hazardous waste sites. This law was enacted in the wake of the discovery of toxic waste dumps such as Love Canal and Valley of the Drums in the 1970s. CERCLA is informally called Superfund. The Superfund program is administered by EPA in cooperation with state and tribal governments. -
Despite New Attacks, Citizen Suits Are Constitutional by William Droze and Viktoriia De Las Casas
Despite New Attacks, Citizen Suits Are Constitutional By William Droze and Viktoriia De Las Casas A recent amicus curiae filing in a high-profile Michigan Clean Air Act case targets an important aspect of environmental law — citizen suit provisions — and whether they run afoul of constitutional principles. In U.S. v. DTE Energy et al.,[1] a Michigan district court is considering arguments of two law professors who question whether citizen suits invade executive powers. The July 30 amicus curiae brief alleges that citizen suit provisions violate the vesting and appointments clauses of Article II of the U.S. Constitution, and raise important separation of powers issues. Because all executive power, including power to enforce laws, is vested in the president under Article II, so the argument goes, private citizens or citizen groups cannot enforce laws by filing citizen suits. William Droze Despite the relative novelty of the argument as framed, district courts have uniformly held that such provisions are constitutional, and a concurring opinion in the U.S. Supreme Court foreshadowed skepticism over disallowing private enforcement of public duties. The case stems from a 2010 filing by the federal government against energy companies for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at their facilities. A well-known citizen environmental group, the Sierra Club, has intervened in the case under the CAA's citizen suit provision, Title 42 of the U.S. Code, Section 7604. The court has approved the consent decree. Most recently, some parties negotiated a separate agreement as a Viktoriia De Las Casas condition of the Sierra Club's release of claims. -
GAO-21-555T, SUPERFUND: EPA Should Take Additional Actions To
United States Government Accountability Office Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives For Release on Delivery Expected at 10:30 a.m. ET Thursday, May 13, 2021 SUPERFUND EPA Should Take Additional Actions to Manage Risks from Climate Change Effects Statement of J. Alfredo Gómez, Director, Natural Resources and Environment GAO-21-555T May 2021 SUPERFUND EPA Should Take Additional Actions to Manage Risks from Climate Change Effects Highlights of GAO-21-555T, a testimony before the Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives Why GAO Did This Study What GAO Found Superfund is the principal federal In October 2019, GAO reported that available federal data on flooding, storm program for addressing sites surge, wildfires, and sea level rise suggested that about 60 percent (945 of contaminated with hazardous 1,571) of all nonfederal Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites—which substances. EPA administers the have serious hazardous contamination--are located in areas that may be program and lists some of the most impacted by these potential climate change effects (see figure). In 2019, GAO seriously contaminated sites—most of released an interactive map and dataset, available with its report (GAO-20-73). which are nonfederal—on the NPL. At those sites, EPA has recorded over Nonfederal NPL Sites Located in Areas That May Be Impacted by Flooding, Storm Surge, 500 contaminants, including arsenic Wildfires, or Sea Level Rise, as of 2019 and lead. Climate change may make some natural disasters more frequent or more intense, which may damage NPL sites and potentially release contaminants, according to the Fourth National Climate Assessment. -
Scott Pruitt's Toxic Superfund Shell
Scott Pruitt’s Toxic Superfund Shell Game How cronyism, budget cuts and secrecy threaten the health of millions of Americans More than 50 million Americans live within 3 miles of sites contaminated with toxic waste that has been dumped, left out in the open, or otherwise improperly managed. Living near these dangerous places has been linked to higher rates of cancer, birth defects, and rare diseases. Contamination can leech into the soil and seep into plumbing systems and waterways. Winds can carry contaminated dust particles into nearby neighborhoods. EPA’s Superfund program works to clean up the dangerous chemicals and compounds at these sites. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has promised to focus on Superfund, but he’s hobbling it instead. Addressing the Most Toxic Health Risks More than 1,300 “Superfund” sites are on a list of the most highly polluted properties in the nation - exposing millions of Americans to toxic chemicals. Sites include former industrial facilities, mines, landfills and dumps, dry cleaners and other locations contaminated by heavy metals like arsenic, lead and mercury, chemicals like benzene and asbestos, as well as radiation. Superfund sites also include places where disasters like oil and mercury spills and factory fires occurred. These areas threaten the public health, since more than 50 million Americans live within 3 miles of a Superfund site. Living close to a Superfund site has been linked to residents having higher rates of: cancer, birth defects, and rare disease. Communities beyond the sites can also be exposed when site hazards spread. o Polluted water can contaminate local waterways and utility systems o Contaminated soil can leech chemicals into drinking water and sediment o Hazardous dust particles can be carried by winds and spread toxics into air, land and water There are Superfund-affected communities who can no longer use local tap water for drinking or bathing. -
State Courts, Citizen Suits, and the Enforcement of Federal Environmental Law by Non-Article III Plaintiffs
Notes State Courts, Citizen Suits, and the Enforcement of Federal Environmental Law by Non-Article III Plaintiffs Christopher S. Elmendorf I. INTRODUCTION Environmentalists habitually bring their federal claims to federal court. Only a handful of citizen suits under national environmental statutes have surfaced in the state courts. This pattern may reflect environmental lawyers' greater familiarity with federal procedure, their fear of state court bias, or their greater confidence in the quality of federal adjudication. Perhaps it reflects a mistaken belief that state courts generally lack concurrent jurisdiction over federal environmental claims. The task I shoulder here is not to plumb the origins of this pattern, but to predict and defend a change-a new role for state courts in adjudicating claims under federal environmental law. It is my contention that state courts can, will, and should adjudicate the federal environmental claims of parties who lack Article Ili standing (non-Article III plaintiffs). My prediction emerges from no insider knowledge of environmentalists' litigation strategy. Rather, it takes root in the principle that, in law as in markets and ecosystems, unexploited niches come to be filled. This Note reveals an open niche.' Three jurisprudential developments that came to a head in the last decade make state courts increasingly attractive fora for the private enforcement of federal I. Thus, my "prediction" more resembles self-fulfilling prophecy than inference from scientifically tested hypotheses. 1003 1004 The Yale Law Journal [Vol. 110: 1003 environmental law. First, under the intellectual leadership of Justice Scalia, the Supreme Court elaborated constitutional doctrines of standing that curtail environmentalists' access to the federal courts.