Environment

National Acid Rain Control Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 December 1985

National Acid Rain Control Act - Title I: Acid Deposition Control and Assistance Program - Amends the Clean Air Act to require fossil fuel fired electric utility generating plants burning coal with excessive sulfur content to clean that coal prior to combustion. Requires such plants using flue gas desulfurization units to use adipic acid treatment. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), within 18 months after the enactment of this Act, to compute a State share for each of the 48 contiguous States of a 12,000,000 ton reduction in annual emissions of sulfur dioxide by 1995 below that of 1980. Sets forth a formula for determining State shares. Permits States to reallot shares among themselves if the required total reduction in annual emissions of sulfur dioxide is still achieved. Sets deadlines and procedures for submission and approval of State plans for such State shares. Requires the owner or operator of any fossil fuel fired facility which is a major but not new stationary source to comply with an emission limitation equivalent to an average of 1.2 pounds of sulfur dioxide per million Btu's of heat input on a rolling 30 day average, if its State has not submitted or implemented an approved plan. Requires such owners or operators to submit a compliance plan to the Administrator for approval. Establishes in the Treasury the Acid Deposition Control Fund to provide funding for emissions reductions from specified appropriations. Sets forth conditions and administrative provisions for such Fund. Imposes a fee on each kilowatt hour of electric energy generated by an electric utility in the contiguous States. Exempts electricity generated by nuclear or hydroelectric power. Directs the Administrator to make grants and contracts to accelerate research for developing other advanced industrial processes to reduce levels of sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, limestone injected multistaged burner (LIMB) technology. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991. Title II: Control of Emissions of Oxides of Nitrogen - Directs the Administrator to revise nitrogen oxides emissions standards for electric utility steam generating units which burn bituminous or subbituminous coal. Sets maximum subbituminous emissions at 0.30 pounds per million Btu's and maximum bituminous coal emissions at 0.40 pounds per million Btu's, based on a 30-day rolling average. Requires the Administrator to promulgate emissions standards for new, large fossil-fuel-fired steam generating units. Establishes oxides of nitrogen emissions standards for light duty trucks after model year 1987. Title III: Acid Deposition Damage Mitigation Program - Establishes a grants program for States with Administrator-approved plans for mitigating water quality damage caused by acid deposition. Limits such grants to 80 percent of State-expended funds for mitigation. Apportions funds among the States upon the basis of need.

A bill to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to protect the environment and human health from adverse effects caused by the release of genetically engineered microorganisms into the environment, to promote the safe use of genetically engineered microorganisms, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 17 December 1985

Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a permit program regulating the release, distribution, and use of genetically engineered micro-organisms to protect human health and the environment. Establishes a Biotechnology Science Coordinating Committee within the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering and Technology to serve as a forum for evaluating potential adverse effects on human health or the environment caused by such organisms.

A concurrent resolution to request the President to negotiate a North American Treaty on Air Pollution.

United States · United States Congress · 17 December 1985

Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should negotiate a North American treaty on air pollution with Canada and Mexico.

A concurrent resolution to request the President to take appropriate actions toward the establishment of a corporate international research program with respect to the greenhouse effect.

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 1985

Requests the President to establish a cooperative international research program concerning the greenhouse effect of increased concentration of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. Requires any such program established by the President to be started during or before 1991, which shall be known as the International Year of the Greenhouse Effect.

A resolution relating to the potential consequences that the use of paint containing the chemical compound tributyltin may have on the marine environment.

United States · United States Congress · 12 December 1985

Expresses the sense of the Senate that the environmental and health effects of organotin-bearing paints should be investigated.

A bill to extend the period allowed for compliance with certain financial responsibility requirements applicable to land disposal facilities under the Solid Waste Disposal Act.

United States · United States Congress · 12 December 1985

Extends the period allowed for compliance with certain financial responsibility requirements for land disposal facilities under the Solid Waste Disposal Act through June 30, 1986, with additional extensions permitted through November 8, 1986, as specified.

Superfund Amendments of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 4 December 1985

Superfund Amendments of 1985 - Title I: Provisions Relating Primarily to Response and Liability - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA)(Superfund) to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish reportable quantities for all hazardous substances by December 31, 1986. Directs the Administrator to give primary attention to releases which may present a threat to public health. Grants the Administrator discretion to decide when responsible parties are authorized to conduct cleanup actions in lieu of Superfund-financed responses. Requires short-term removal actions undertaken by the Administrator to contribute to the degree possible to the efficient performance of any long-term action. Requires coordinated action among Federal and State natural resource trustees when hazardous substance releases threaten such resources. Increases the maximum time and funding limit on short-term response actions when appropriate. Requires States to assure the availability of hazardous waste disposal facilities sufficient for the next 20 years' wastes. Credits States with expenditures made at National Priorities List (NPL) sites on cost-eligible response actions. Revises other State cost-sharing measures. Treats long-term cleanup of groundwater or surface water as a part of the costs of remedial action. Grants EPA employees or contractors the necessary access to facilities and information to determine if the need for a response action exists. Prescribes a cleanup schedule for Superfund, requiring the Administrator to list at least 1,600 facilities on the NPL by January 1, 1988. Sets a schedule for the conduct of remedial investigations and feasibility studies (RIFS) and remedial action at a NPL sites. Directs the Administrator to revise the National Contingency Plan (NCP) within 18 months to reflect this Act's amendments. Requires the review of the hazard ranking system within one year. Permits individuals to petition the Administrator for a preliminary hazard assessment at a site. Includes contamination of the ambient air and damage to the human food chain as criteria for ranking a hazard. Eliminates the requirement that the NPL contain at least 400 sites. Prohibits the Administrator from taking abatement action against any release resulting from an applied pesticide registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Includes all vessels releasing hazardous substances within the jurisdiction of the United States under the liability provisions of CERCLA. Makes certain investigatory and assessment costs recoverable from the responsible party. Exempts Government agencies responding to a hazardous substance emergency from liability for all but negligent actions. Directs the Administrator and each Governor to appoint Federal and State trustees, respectively, for natural resources, creating a rebuttable presumption that their assessment of damages to such resources is valid. States that cleanup costs incurred in a response action constitute a Federal lien against the property of a responsible party. Sets forth evidentiary requirements for establishing financial responsibility. Permits direct action against a financial guarantor if the person liable is financially or physically unavailable for redress. Entitles such a guarantor to all rights and defenses available to the liable party. Limits the liability of such guarantor to its financial responsibility to the responsible party. Increases criminal penalties and adds certain civil penalties for violations of this Act, including failure to provide accurate information at specified times. Authorizes appropriations of $1,830,000,000 for each of FY 1986 through 1990 from Superfund, establishing the Fund level. Authorizes the use of Superfund monies for the authorities created by this Act. Eliminates the use of Superfund for payment of natural resource damage claims, except as specified. Revises auditing procedures to require annual audits and reports to the Congress by the Inspector General. Authorizes appropriations out of general revenue for Superfund for FY 1986 through 1990 of $250,000,000 per year. Establishes a six-year statute of limitations for Superfund claims, setting forth special rules for minors and incompetents. Authorizes nationwide service of process under CERCLA. Establishes a three year statute of limitations for the initiation of actions for contribution for response costs of damages and for recovery claims for damages to natural resources. Establishes a six-year statute of limitations for cost recovery actions. Prohibits pre-enforcement review of an ongoing removal. Limits judicial review of Federal decisions under this Act to the administrative record. Establishes new procedures for reimbursement of costs and provides opportunities for judicial review of administrative orders once the response action is completed. Authorizes a State to require contributions to a fund to pay the costs of hazardous substance response actions or damages. Establishes within the Public Health Service the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), headed by an Administrator. Requires ATSDR to implement the health-related authorities of this Act. Directs such Administrator to establish and maintain a listing of areas closed to the public or otherwise restricted in use because of contamination by hazardous substances or pollutants or contaminants. Directs the Administrator of EPA to list and periodically revise a list of hazardous substances which pose the most significant potential threat to human health. Includes pollutants or contaminants to the degree they are determined to be hazardous. Directs the Administrator of ATSDR to establish and maintain an inventory of information on the health effects of each listed substance. Requires such Administrator to also develop toxicological profiles for each such substance, assessing the current state of knowledge of their deleterious effects, and revising such profiles at least every three years. Requires the Administrator to initiate research where inadequate information on a substance is available. Requires Federal coordination of research efforts. Requires the Administrator of ATSDR to perform a health assessment for each NPL facility where a significant possibility exists that a human population has been exposed to hazardous substances existing at such facility and a significant threat of adverse health effects exists. Bases the selection of such facilities on criteria developed by the Administrator of EPA. Permits the Administrator of ATSDR to conduct health assessments at other facilities as well. Authorizes individuals to petition the Administrator of EPA for a health assessment of a site where evidence of human exposure to hazardous substances exists. Requires the completion of health assessments before the completion of remedial investigation and feasibility studies (RIFS) whenever possible. Grants priority to those sites where the potential risk to human health appears highest. Requires State or local officials conducting a health assessment to report the results and recommendations to the Administrators. Requires the Administrator of ATSDR to provide the affected State and the Administrator of EPA with the results and recommendations of any ATSDR assessment. Includes the costs of an assessment among recoverable cleanup costs whenever such assessment reveals human exposure to a hazardous substance. Directs the Administrator of ATSDR to conduct a pilot study of health effects of exposure whenever justified by an assessment to determine if full scale epidemiological studies are appropriate. Requires the Administrator to establish a registry of exposed persons if appropriate. Directs the Administrator to initiate a health surveillance program for an exposed population if justified by an epidemiological study or exposure registry. Requires the Administrator to report biennially to the Administrator of EPA and ATSDR's activities under this Act. Directs the Administrator of EPA to abate significant risks to the human population through exposure by providing alternate household water or relocation of individuals. Requires peer review of all ATSDR studies and research. Requires the Administrator of ATSDR to provide States and health professionals with educational materials on exposure-related issues. Requires the Administrator of EPA to provide a reasonable opportunity for public comment on any proposed plan for remedial action before it is implemented. Requires the Administrator to publish an explanation of any divergences from such plan or public comments. Authorizes the Administrator to make assistance available to affected individuals to help them evaluate and assess technical information and data. Prohibits the Administrator from taking a response action to certain types of releases unless such releases constitute a public health or environmental emergency. Prohibits response to releases: (1) of naturally occurring substances; (2) of building products; (3) into drinking water supply systems due to ordinary deterioration; and (4) from specified coal mining sites. Grants highest cleanup priority to releases which have contaminated or closed a sole or principal drinking water source. Requires the consideration of certain factors when adopting offsite remedies, including the long-term risks and uncertainties of land disposal. Requires a study of the shortage of skilled personnel at EPA to administer this Act. Requires radon contaminated soil to be disposed of as low-level radioactive waste. Exempts response-action contractors from liability for nonnegligent cleanup activities if they would not otherwise have been liable. Opens competition for response-actions to all interested contractors, subject to Federal and State requirements. Includes Federal facilities under CERCLA as if they were private facilities, except for certain financial responsibility and time period provisions. Applies the relevant State law when a Federal facility is not on the NPL. Requires the Administrator to establish a Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket for each Federal agency and department which will include information on off-site contamination and monitoring data, and releases of reportable quantities of hazardous substances. Requires that such information be made available to the public. Requires the Administrator to evaluate certain Federal facilities by January 31, 1987, for placement on the NPL, using NCP criteria. Requires the commencement of a RIFS within six months of a Federal site's placement on the NPL. Directs the Administrator to review the RIFS and enter into interagency agreements for cleanup when necessary, allowing for public participation. Requires each agency to report annually to the Congress on its implementation progress. Requires Federal agencies to notify buyers or transferees of Federal land where hazardous substances were disposed of or stored. Authorizes a State to act as an on-scene coordinator at EPA expense for Federal facility cleanups in such State. Sets forth special rules to protect national security at defense facilities needing cleanup. Requires the Administrator to select appropriate cost-effective remedial actions in accordance with the NCP. Requires remedial actions selected to provide sufficient control or amelioration of the hazardous substance so as to protect human health and the environment. Requires such measures to take into account the long-term effectiveness of the solution and the alternative technologies available to the maximum extent possible. Requires a standard of control at least as strict as that provided by any other applicable Federal environmental law for onsite disposal. Requires offsite disposal to be in compliance with the relevant provisions of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Permits waivers of otherwise applicable requirements under specified conditions. Requires compliance with otherwise applicable permit requirements for offsite and Federal site disposal, but not for onsite disposal. Requires States to pay any difference in costs for requiring a cleanup to achieve a standard more stringent than the Federal standard. Sets forth cooperative procedures between a State and EPA to determine which remedial action or siting will be followed under this Act, and who will bear what costs. Establishes standards of treatment technology for dioxin wastes. Requires a value engineering review of the cost-effectiveness of response actions in excess of $4,000,000 dollars. Authorizes the Administrator to enter into agreements whereby the releasor or any potentially responsible person conducts the remedial response. Permits the Administrator to fund part of such response. Limits the liability of the cleaning up party to that specified in the agreement. Permits the Administrator to take action against any person not a party to such agreement. Enters such agreements in the appropriate U.S. district court as consent agreements, enforceable as such. Directs the Administrator to notify potentially responsible parties of each other's identities and of the seriousness of the necessary cleanup, providing a moratorium on the commencement of remedial action for a specified period after such notice has been given. Grants notified persons an opportunity to submit a proposal to the Administrator for the undertaking or financing of remedial action. Permits the Administrator to commence remedial action if no good faith proposal is forthcoming within a specified period. Authorizes the Administrator to proceed on remedial actions where a significant public health threat exists regardless of the status of negotiations. Authorizes the Administrator to agree to refrain from pursuing any future liability of a person if an approved response action would be expedited and the person is in full compliance with the consent decree. Permits such an agreement only in the public interest after an evaluation of the effectiveness of the remedy and the nature of the remaining risks. Places premiums from such agreements into the Groundwater and Surface Water Protection Fund for future remedial actions at other facilities. Permits the Administrator to settle with persons whose share of response costs is not substantial. Authorizes EPA to settle certain claims not yet referred to the Department of Justice. Permits arbitration. Requires the Administrator to promulgate rules setting out procedures under which the Administrator would reimburse local governments for expenses incurred in carrying out temporary emergency measures necessary to prevent or mitigate injury to public health or the environment associated with the release or threatened release of hazardous substances or pollutants or contaminants. Exempts from Superfund liability landfill gas operators at facilities where such operators are recovering gas. Excludes such operators from coverage under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, except as specified. Requires the Administrator to revise the Hazard Ranking System as it applies to facilities that contain substantial volumes of wastes that relate to the combustion of coal or other fossil fuels. Prohibits the addition of facilities to the NPL on the basis of the volume of such waste until such revision is completed. Requires the Secretary of Labor to promulgate worker protection standards for the protection of government and nongovernment employees engaged in hazardous waste operations. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990. Establishes liability limits for ocean incineration vessels under CERCLA. Authorizes the Administrator to require additional evidence of financial responsibility for such vessels. Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - Terminates the Post-Closure Liability Fund's responsibility to fund the cleanup of already closed sites where hazardous waste was stored in compliance with the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of options for a program for the management of the liabilities associated with hazardous waste disposal sites after their closure. Provides for the additional regulation of hazardous substances under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act. Establishes a federally-required commencement date for the running of State statutes of limitations for injury or damages caused by exposure to a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Makes such date the time a plaintiff should reasonably have known exposure to such a substance caused or contributed to a personal injury. Renames the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund the Hazardous Substances Superfund. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize the Administrator to provide for the cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks. Requires the Administrator to use funds in the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund for such purposes, but holds the owners and operators of such tanks strictly liable for such costs. Authorizes State implementation of such authority under specified conditions, authorizing the Administrator to make grants to such States for such purpose. Directs the Comptroller General to study the availability of pollution liability insurance for owners and operators of such tanks. Authorizes citizen suits against violators of this Act, including the Administrator and other government officials who have failed to perform nondiscretionary duties. Permits citizen suits against nongovernment officials in the Federal district court in which the violation occurred. Permits citizen suits against any Federal official only in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Empowers such courts to impose civil penalties and to order the performance of required acts. Requires plaintiffs to give notice to the Administrator, the alleged violator, and the State in which the violation occurred before commencing proceedings. Prohibits citizen suits where the Administrator has commenced and is pursuing an enforcement action. Permits the awarding of court costs to the substantially prevailing party. States that the United States may intervene as a matter of right in all citizen suits in which it is not otherwise a party. Requires the Federal Government to provide the assurances that it will pay a share of the remedial action and maintenance costs of a cleanup on Indian lands that is otherwise required to be made by a State. Authorizes Indian tribes to recover damages for injury to natural resources from hazardous substance releases, except as specified. Includes Indian tribes on the same basis as States under certain provisions of CERCLA. Requires the Administrator to commence a study on the adverse effects of drilling fluids, produced waters, and other wastes associated with the production of crude oil or natural gas on human health and the environment within six months of this Act's enactment. Directs the Comptroller General to appoint a study group to determine the insurability of the liability of persons who generate hazardous substances, own or operate facilities liable for costs under CERCLA, or are liable for harm to persons or property caused by the release of such substances into the environment. Requires the delivery of such report to the Congress within 18 months. Authorizes the formation of risk retention groups of corporations or insurance companies to assume and spread the pollution liability of its group members. Sets forth the relationship of such groups to State laws, insurance laws, and securities laws. Directs the Administrator to review State programs for the protection of public health and the environment where the annular injection of brines associated with oil and gas production is permitted. Requires the Administrator to order enforcement or corrective action as necessary. Requires completion of such review within 18 months of this Act's enactment. Establishes a comprehensive and coordinated Federal program of research, development, demonstration, and training to develop alternative and innovative treatment technologies for response actions under Superfund. Establishes a basic university research and education program within the Department of Health and Human Services and a research, demonstration, and training program within EPA. Establishes an advisory council. Directs the Secretary of Defense to carry out a program of environmental restoration on lands under the Secretary's jurisdiction through response and remedial actions covered by CERCLA. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on such program. Permits otherwise unauthorized military construction projects if necessary for a response action. Requires oversight hearings at least annually on CERCLA. Directs the Administrator to identify and assess the location and level of radon gas and radon daughters in naturally occurring deposits of uranium collecting in residences and structures. Requires the Administrator to conduct a demonstration program on methods to reduce or eliminate the threat and to report to the Congress by December 31, 1988, on the final results. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988. Title III: Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know - Subtitle A: Emergency Planning - Directs each Governor to appoint an emergency response commission to supervise and coordinate local emergency response committees appointed by the State commission to develop and, when necessary, implement an emergency response plan for hazardous substance emergencies arising out of activities carried on within such district. Subtitle B: Notification Requirements - Requires owners and operators of facilities which produce, use, or store hazardous chemicals to file with local and State officials and periodically revise a material safety data sheet for each hazardous chemical. Requires such owners and operators to supply such information to any other facility owner or operator who is receiving shipments of such chemicals. Requires such owners and operators to prepare, update, and submit to the local committee a hazardous substance report showing the type, amount, location, and exposure symptoms for each covered hazardous substance. Requires such report to also include emergency notification procedures and telephone numbers. Sets forth procedures for listing such substances. Requires an extremely toxic substance status sheet for each extremely toxic substance present at a facility. Sets forth procedures for listing such substances. Requires owners and operators to maintain records of such information. Sets forth exemptions. Requires such information to be made available to the public and health professionals. Requires the owner or operator of a facility having a hazardous substance emergency to immediately notify the appropriate authorities according to the Plan, including providing an emergency bulletin for the community which provides sufficient chemical and response information to inform the public of the nature of the crisis. Subtitle C: General Provisions - Preempts State and local law in the area of chemical hazard communication. Establishes civil penalties for violations of these requirements and provides for court-ordered enforcement of the medical information provisions. Permits owners and operators to withhold trade secret information from their material safety data sheets, but not from medical personnel. Excludes from the requirements of this title the transportation of any hazardous substance. Authorizes existing Federal emergency training programs to provide training programs for government personnel in hazard mitigation, emergency preparedness, and other aspects of emergency training with response to hazardous chemical emergencies specifically in mind. Authorizes appropriations to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for FY 1986 through 1990 for such purpose. Requires the Administrator to carry out a pilot program for testing methods to determine emissions from facilities of covered substances. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation - Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act - Subtitle A: Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation - States that this title is inapplicable to the United States regarding oil pollution damages during any period in which both the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1984 and the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1984 are in force with respect to the United States and compensation is available. Permits claims for damages for economic loss arising from oil pollution for: (1) removal costs; (2) injury to or destruction of real or personal property; (3) reasonable costs incurred in assessing injury or destruction of natural resources and in planning, restoring, or acquiring the equivalent of the damaged resources; (4) loss of subsistence use of natural resources; (5) loss of profits or impairment of earning capacity due to such injury or destruction; and (6) loss of tax revenue for a period of one year due to injury to real or personal property. Specifies the potential claimants who have standing to assert claims involving such damages. Imposes joint, several, and strict liability on the party responsible for the source of oil pollution. Specifies liability limits (except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct) for vessels. Sets forth defenses to liability. Makes the Marine Oil Pollution Compensation Fund, established under subtitle B of this Act (the Fund), liable for damages not otherwise compensated. Requires the responsible party for certain vessels over 300 gross tons and the party responsible for offshore facilities to establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility in an amount sufficient to satisfy applicable liability limits. Limits the liability of a guarantor to the aggregate amount of financial responsibility that the guarantor provided. Specifies procedures whereby the Secretary of Transportation shall designate oil pollution sources. Directs the Secretary to advertise claims to be presented initially to the responsible party or to such person's guarantor, in instances in which: (1) the responsible party and guarantor both deny involvement; (2) the source of the discharge is a public vessel; or (3) the Secretary is unable to designate the pollution source. Permits claimants either to present a claim to the Fund or to bring an action in an appropriate U.S. court if liability is denied or the claim is not settled within a specified period. Permits States to have accelerated access to funds for compensation for cleanup costs incurred by that State as a result of an oil spill. Sets forth procedures for the disposition and appeal of claims submitted to the Fund. Requires both the plaintiff and the defendant in a court action brought against a responsible party or guarantor to forward copies of all pleadings to the Fund. Permits the Fund to intervene in such actions. Requires a claim to be presented within three years of discovery of an economic loss, or within six years of the date of the incident, whichever is earlier. Subrogates any person, including the Fund, to all the claimant's claims and rights under this title. Sets forth the measure of recovery for actions brought by the Fund against any responsible party or guarantor. Grants U.S. district courts exclusive original jurisdiction over all controversies arising under subtitles A, B, and C of this Act, without regard to the citizenship of the parties or the amount in controversy. Makes the rights and remedies under this title exclusive with respect to economic loss caused by oil pollution (but does not preclude State imposition of taxes or fees to finance the purchase and prepositioning of oil pollution cleanup and removal equipment). Sets penalties for persons failing to comply with specified provisions in this Act. Authorizes appropriations for this title. Subtitle B: Marine Oil Pollution Compensation Fund - Establishes the Marine Oil Pollution Compensation Fund to be administered by the Secretary. Makes the Fund available for purposes of: (1) removal costs incurred under specified laws; (2) costs incurred by the President or a State Governor (as trustee) in assessing damaged natural resources and preparing a restoration and acquisition plan regarding such damaged resources; (3) certain uncompensated damage claims; (4) implementing certain laws regarding oil pollution; and (5) contributions to the International Fund. Requires rebates from income to premium payers if the Fund exceeds $300,000,000. Credits against required premiums any amounts paid to the Deepwater Port Liability Fund and the Off-shore Oil Pollution Compensation Fund. Sets a maximum premium of 1.3 cents per barrel of crude oil or other petroleum products for payment into the Fund. Limits payment on any claim (except removal costs) to the extent that payment would result in the Fund having less than $30,000,000. Establishes a liability limit per incident for the Fund. Sets a maximum civil penalty for failure to pay premiums into the Marine Oil Pollution Compensation Fund. Provides that if the balance of any fund is to be transferred to the Fund, any claim arising before the effective date of this Act shall be paid from the Fund. Provides that if the Secretary determines that there is a Trans-Alaska Pipeline Liability Fund deficit, then the premium imposed on oil first transported through such Pipeline shall be increased by a certain amount until the total amount of increased premiums equals the deficit. Subtitle C: Regulations, Effective Dates, and Savings Provisions - Specifies the effective dates of specified provisions of this Act. Eliminates the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Liability Fund and provides that all unused assets of such Fund shall be rebated directly to the operator of the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline for pro-rata payments to those owners who had paid into such Fund. Amends specified laws, including the Deepwater Port Act of 1974, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Intervention on the High Seas Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978 and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act, to conform with the provisions of this Act. Transfers to the Fund amounts remaining in the Deepwater Port Liability Fund and the Offshore Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (both having been eliminated by the above repeals). Subtitle D: Implementation of Conventions - Recognizes the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (International Fund) as a legal person under the laws of the United States. Requires, in any action brought in the United States against the owner of a ship or his guarantor under the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, that the International Fund and the Marine Oil Pollution Compensation Fund be served a copy of the complaint and any subsequent pleading. Entitles the International Fund to intervene as a party in any such action. Exempts the International Fund from all direct taxation in the United States. Requires any contribution to the International Fund to be paid from the Marine Oil Pollution Compensation Fund. Sets forth the jurisdiction of the U.S. district courts for controversies arising under the Civil Liability Convention or the International Fund Convention. Requires U.S. courts to recognize final judgments of courts of nations which are a party to the Civil Liability Convention or the International Fund Convention. Requires the owner of each U.S. documented ship, or any ship, wherever registered, which enters or leaves a U.S. port or terminal carrying more than 2,000 tons of oil in bulk as cargo to establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility in amounts sufficient to cover the maximum liability arising from one incident under the Civil Liability Convention. Imposes a civil penalty for noncompliance with such financial responsibility requirement. States that the United States waives all defenses based on its status as a sovereign state with respect to any controversy arising under the Civil Liability Convention or the International Fund Convention relating to any ship owned by the United States and used for commercial purposes. Title V: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 - Superfund Revenue Act of 1985 - Part I: Superfund and Its Revenue Sources - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase and extend the environmental tax on petroleum and certain chemicals for five years, through FY 1990. Includes lead as a taxable chemical. Provides for inflation adjustments for such tax. Creates an exemption for: (1) exports; (2) lead having transitory presence during the extraction process; (3) certain recycled chemicals such as chromium, cobalt, nickel, and lead; and (4) animal feed substances. Provides a special rule for the treatment of xylene and nitric acid. Repeals the exemption for chemicals derived from coal. Repeals the Post-Closure Tax and Trust Fund of the Hazardous Substance Response Revenue Act of 1980. Imposes a tax through 1990 in increasing amounts on: (1) the receipt of hazardous waste at a qualified hazardous waste management unit or the receipt of such waste for ocean disposal; or (2) on the exportation of such waste. Sets forth exemptions for certain removal and remedial actions under the Solid Waste Disposal Act or CERCLA for waste received at any Federal facility, and for waste received at waste water treatment units. Allows credits for incineration, qualified chemical fuels, and recycled batteries. Applies the tax while corrective action at a facility is uncompleted. Imposes a tax on hazardous waste which has not been received for disposal within 270 days of its generation. Sets forth specified exemptions, including small generators. Requires persons subject to these taxes to submit to the Secretary of the Treasury any required information, including information submitted to the Administrator under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Imposes penalties for violations of such and other information requirements. Imposes other penalties for violations of these tax requirements, including a negligence penalty. Imposes a tax through FY 1990 on any taxable substance (a substance whose value is more than 50 percent derived from petroleum or taxable chemicals) sold or used by its importer. Exempts substances already taxed as petroleum or feedstock chemicals. Imposes a Superfund excise tax on the sale or leasing of tangible personal property in connection with a trade or business or the importing of such property through December 31, 1990, or until September 30, 1990, if $10,000,000,000 has been collected and credited to the Hazardous Substance Superfund. Exempts certain small transactions, exports, and certain products, such as foods and unprocessed agricultural products from such tax. Sets forth the formula for determining the taxable amount. Sets forth rules on credits and their carryforward. Sets forth administrative provisions identifying return requirements, taxable periods, depository requirements, penalties and special rules for certain manufacturers, taxpayers under common control, and Indian tribal governments. Establishes in the Treasury the Hazardous Substance Superfund. Authorizes appropriations to Superfund for FY 1986 through FY 1990. States that such Fund replaces the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund. Part II: Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund and Its Revenue Sources - Imposes an additional tax on gasoline, diesel fuel, and special motor fuels. Earmarks funds for the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund. Establishes in the Treasury the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund to be the sole sources of revenue for cleaning up such tanks. Part III: Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and Its Revenue Sources - Increases the environmental tax on petroleum, including an increase to fund the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. Establishes such Fund in the Treasury, transferring funds from under the Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act, the Deep Water Liability Fund, and the Offshore Oil Pollution Compensation Fund. Makes such monies available for removal costs under such Acts and for contributions to the International Fund of the Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act. Sets forth administrative provisions for such Fund. Part IV: Studies - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study the impact of the waste management tax on domestic manufacturers and report to the appropriate congressional committees by July 1, 1986. Directs the Administrator of ATSDR to report to the appropriate congressional committees by March 1, 1986, on the nature and extent of lead poisoning in children from environmental sources, including an evaluation of specific sites. Part V: Coordination with Other Provisions of this Act - Makes title V of this Act the sole taxing and financial administration authority under CERCLA.

Superfund Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 4 December 1985

Superfund Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1985 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) (Superfund) to establish a comprehensive and coordinated Federal program of research, development, demonstration, and training to develop and provide incentives for alternative and innovative treatment technologies for use in response actions for hazardous wastes and substances under Superfund. Provides for the appointment of an advisory council. Establishes a basic university research and education program within the Department of Health and Human Services and a research, demonstration, and training program within the Environmental Protection Agency.

A bill entitled the "Ocean Incineration Research Act of 1985".

United States · United States Congress · 2 December 1985

Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing a permit for ocean incineration of hazardous wastes off the coast of Maryland until a hazardous waste reduction and management feasibility report has been completed and a plan based on such report has been submitted to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.

Ground Water Protection Act of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1985

Ground Water Protection Act of 1985 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish criteria for groundwater quality, including an analysis of the contaminants and the risks they pose to human and environmental health. Sets a timetable for the establishment of such criteria. Requires the Administrator to appoint an advisory panel. Requires each State to establish numerical standards for contaminants found in the ambient groundwater. Permits separate standards for special systems. Requires each State to use Federal criteria in establishing such standards. Requires each State to assess the groundwater resources within such State and to develop a management strategy and monitoring program for such resources. Requires the Director of the United States Geological Survey to make grants to States for such assessments. Directs the Administrator to make grants to assist States in meeting the other requirements of this Act. Authorizes appropriations.

A bill to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to require the States to conduct inventories of solid waste disposal sites containing hazardous substances.

United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1985

Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to require States to conduct inventories of solid waste disposal sites containing hazardous substances.

A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to provide that certain regulations regarding tall stacks shall not apply to stationary sources which have received EPA approval for the stack height.

United States · United States Congress · 14 November 1985

Amends the Clean Air Act to exempt from tall stack requirements certain stationary sources which have received prior approval from the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for their particular stack height.

A bill to restrict the dumping of sewage sludge in the ocean site off the coast of New York and New Jersey known as the "106-Mile Ocean Waste Dump Site" to certain authorities currently authorized to dump sewage sludge in the New York Bight Apex.

United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1985

Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing or renewing an ocean dumping permit for dumping municipal sludge within the "106-Mile Ocean Waste Dump Site" off New York and New Jersey, except for those authorities eligible to dump such sludge at the New York Bight Apex.

Ground Water Protection Act of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1985

Ground Water Protection Act of 1985 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish criteria for groundwater quality, including an analysis of the contaminants and the risks they pose to human and environmental health. Sets a timetable for the establishment of such criteria. Requires the Administrator to appoint an advisory panel. Requires each State to establish numerical standards for contaminants found in the ambient groundwater. Permits separate standards for special systems. Requires each State to use Federal criteria in establishing such standards. Requires each State to assess the groundwater resources within such State and to develop a management strategy and monitoring program for such resources. Requires the Director of the United States Geological Survey to make grants to States for such assessments. Directs the Administrator to make grants to assist States in meeting the other requirements of this Act. Authorizes appropriations.

A bill to modify the deadlines applicable to hazardous waste disposal facilities required to certify compliance with certain financial responsibility requirements under the Solid Waste Disposal Act.

United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1985

Extends for two years the compliance date for certain financial responsibility requirements under the Solid Waste Disposal Act for hazardous waste disposal facilities.

A bill to modify the deadlines applicable to hazardous waste disposal facilities required to certify compliance with certain financial responsibility requirements under the Solid Waste Disposal Act.

United States · United States Congress · 6 November 1985

Extends for two years the compliance date for certain financial responsibility requirements under the Solid Waste Disposal Act for hazardous waste disposal facilities.

A bill to modify the deadlines applicable to hazardous waste disposal facilities required to certify compliance with certain financial responsibility requirements under the Solid Waste Disposal Act.

United States · United States Congress · 6 November 1985

Extends for two years the compliance date for certain financial responsibility requirements under the Solid Waste Disposal Act for hazardous waste disposal facilities.

Acid Deposition Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 November 1985

Acid Deposition Act- Title I: Acid Deposition Control Program - Amends the Clean Air Act to limit the application of such Act's sulfur dioxide emissions limitations to sources constructed or modified in 1980 and earlier. Requires electric utilities in the acid deposition impact region which convert to coal after 1980 to meet an emission standard not in excess of 1.2 pounds of sulfur dioxide per million British thermal units (Btu's). Designates an acid deposition impact region comprising a long-range transport corridor of 31 States east of the Mississippi and the District of Columbia. Requires such region to achieve in two equal phases a total reduction of annual emissions of sulfur dioxide of ten million tons below 1980 levels, the first five million by the start of 1991. Directs the Acid Precipitation Task Force to implement an accelerated research program during the first stage to examine the pattern of effects of atmospheric loading of pollutants such as sulfur and nitrogen oxides. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate such results until no later than the start of FY 1992. Authorizes appropriations for such evaluations for FY 1989 through 1991. Requires the completion of the second phase's five million ton emissions reduction by the start of 1996. Authorizes the Administrator to vary through rulemaking by April 1, 1992 the requirements of the second stage based upon the first stage research evaluations. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on proposed changes and requires such changes to increase protection of sensitive areas and mitigation of identified damage. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress by the end of FY 1992 if a determination is made that individual State nitrogen oxides reduction standards should not be established. Requires each State to reduce its proportional share of annual sulfur dioxide emissions, permitting two or more States to reallot their shares among themselves so long as the total, required reduction is achieved. Requires each State to adopt enforceable reduction measures within two years of this Act's enactment, submitting them to the Administrator for approval and other States for comment. Provides for revisions of such measures by the State or the Administrator. Applies Federal reduction standards of 1.2 pounds of sulfur dioxide per million Btu's in addition to State established requirements for any major stationary source in noncompliance with the applicable implementation plan by the end of 1986. Applies the Federal standard to all facilities owned or operated by an owner or operated of a facility which continues to be in noncompliance by 1991. Applies Federal reduction standards of an average among facilities of 1.2 pounds of sulfur dioxide per million Btu's on a 30-day average to covered sources in States in the impact region without the required enforcement measures. Requires the owner or operator of such sources to submit a compliance plan and schedule to the Administrator for approval. Permits the use of the following measures to reduce emissions in addition to enforceable continuous emission reduction measures if such measures are enforceable by entities and persons other than the State in which the emissions occur: (1) least emissions dispatch to meet electric generating demand at existing generating capacity; (2) retirement of major stationary sources at an earlier than provided for date; (3) investments in energy conservation where emission reductions can be identified with such investments; (4) trading of emission reduction requirements and actual reductions through emission reduction banks or brokerage institutions; (5) precombustion cleaning of fuels, and (6) fuel substitution. Directs the Administrator and the Secretaries of Energy, Commerce, and State to induce Canada to achieve comparable reductions. Requires the Administrator to certify that progress on such front is being made by Canada before the Department of Energy approves agreements for the importation of electric energy from Canada under the Federal Power Act. Directs the President and Secretary of State to seek the installation and monitoring of air pollution control equipment on new major emissions sources, including copper and other metal smelters in Mexico. Directs the President to report periodically to the Congress on progress in such endeaver. Directs the Administrator to report to the appropriate congressional committees on compliance with emission limitations and other enforceable measures under this Act.

A bill to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to clarify the liability of the United States Government for hazardous substances released during the manufacture of munitions or ordnance parts using equipment owned by the Department of Defense or any subdivision thereof.

United States · United States Congress · 23 October 1985

Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to include the United States as a party liable for hazardous substances released during the munitions manufacturing process where Department of Defense equipment is used.

An original bill to extend the authorization for appropriations for the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.

United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1985

Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to authorize FY 1986 and 1987 appropriations for pesticide control.

A bill to restrict the dumping of sewage sludge in the ocean site off the coast of New York and New Jersey known as the "106-Mile Ocean Waste Dump Site" to certain authorities currently authorized to dump sewage sludge in the New York Bight apex.

United States · United States Congress · 16 October 1985

Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing or renewing an ocean dumping permit for dumping municipal sludge within the "106-Mile Ocean Waste Dump Site" off New York and New Jersey, except for those authorities eligible to dump such sludge at the New York Bight Apex.

Suisun Marsh Preservation and Restoration Act of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1985

Suisun Marsh Preservation and Restoration Act of 1985 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to execute and implement the cooperative agreement with the State of California and the Suisun Resources Conservation District entitled "Suisun Marsh Preservation Agreement" (dated August 29, 1985).

Radon Mitigation Research and Emergency Assistance Act of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1985

Radon Mitigation Research and Emergency Assistance Act of 1985 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish an indoor radon exposure research program in cooperation with other Federal agencies. Requires the Administrator to determine the levels of exposure which are safe and those which require emergency response action. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress within one year on the research results. Directs the Administrator to establish a Radon Public Awareness Program. Requires the Administrator to provide emergency assistance to persons exposed to emergency response action levels of radon. Authorizes appropriations.

Mary L. Walker, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy (Environment, Safety and Health), vice William Addison Vaughan, resigned.

United States · United States Senate · 23 September 1985

Small Business Superfund Clean-up Technology Research Act of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1985

Small Business Superfund Clean-up Technology Research Act of 1985 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (Superfund) to direct the President to establish the Small Business Superfund Cleanup Innovation Research Program to be administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Requires such program to undertake research and development of innovative technologies for hazardous waste remedial actions. Requires such program to be administered in accordance with other small business innovative research programs under the Small Business Act, except as specified. Authorizes use of Superfund monies for such purpose. Directs the Comptroller General to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees.

Superfund Cleanup Participation Act of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1985

Superfund Cleanup Participation Act of 1985 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to notify each potentially responsible party within 90 days of placing a facility on the National Priorities List for cleanup of hazardous wastes. Requires notified parties to indicate to the Administrator whether or not such party intends to participate in settlement negotiations. Requires the Administrator to conduct negotiations with interested notified parties, seeking an agreement for a remedial action and cost allocation plan for such facility. Allocates responsibility for costs and cleanup among all potentially responsible parties, based upon contribution to the facility in terms of amount and toxicity of the substances involved and the degree of involvement and care exercised. Imposes a moratorium during the course of negotiations on nonemergency actions against a participating party. Authorizes the Administrator to issue an order requiring a participant to carry out the terms of the settlement agreement. Requires the Administrator to enter into a limitation of future liability agreement with a settling party when permanent cleanup technology is used. Prohibits any other person from seeking contribution from a settling party for the same release. Requires remedial investigations and feasibility studies for facilities which are the subject of negotiations to review the available on-site permanent cleanup technologies. Requires the Administrator to publish an explanation of why such technologies were not used, if they were not used. Exempts response action contractors from liability for nonnegligent actions during the course of a response. Requires competitive bidding among such contractors. Requires the United States to provide legal representation to a response action contractor when an action is brought by a non-Federal entity for damages resulting from the contractor's actions or a release from the facility in question. Requires States, as a condition for receiving Federal remedial action, to make assurances that they have adequate facilities in compliance with the Solid Waste Disposal Act for the disposal or treatment of hazardous waste for the next 20 years.

A bill to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to authorize funds for the establishment of university hazardous waste research centers.

United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1985

Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make grants to at least one university in each Federal region to establish and operate a hazardous waste research center. Limits the Federal share to a maximum of 80 percent of costs. Directs the Administrator to establish within EPA a national advisory council to coordinate the grant recipients' research. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990.

Superfund Expansion and Protection Act of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1985

Superfund Expansion and Protection Act of 1985 - Title I: Provisions Relating Primarily to Response and Liability - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA)(Superfund) to include among hazardous substances subject to such Act any petroleum released from an underground storage tank. Includes community relocation and business and employment protection costs within removal costs. Includes pollutants and contaminants under Superfund, defining them as any substance which after release into the environment causes disease or abnormalities upon exposure or assimilation, either directly or through the food chain. Excludes petroleum and natural gas, except as otherwise indicated under such Act. Redefines "release" to include the abandonment of containers containing hazardous substances or pollutants or contaminants. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish reportable quantities for all noncarcinogenic hazardous substances within six months of this Act's enactment and for all other hazardous substances by October 1, 1986. Increases criminal penalties for failure to notify the Government of a hazardous substance release. Requires the Administrator to consider long-range effects when evaluating the cost-effectiveness of offsite remedial actions. Authorizes the Administrator to undertake any response action when faced with a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance unless the Administrator determines the responsible party will take appropriate action. Requires the Administrator to assess the health effects associated with such release or potential release. Directs the Administrator to publish a cleanup schedule, granting priority to releases affecting principal drinking water sources, for releases or threatened releases for which no cleanup agreement with responsible parties has been reached. Requires a State to pay at least 50 percent of the cleanup costs only if the State both owned and operated the polluting facility. Credits States with cleanup costs already dispersed as specified. Requires the Administrator to choose remedial actions which are: (1) consistent with the National Contingency Plan (NCP); (2) cost-effective; and (3) permanent whenever possible. Places facilities for which no permanent solution is technologically feasible on an interim National Priorities List (NPL), such list to be reviewed every five years to determine if a permanent solution has become feasible. Eliminates the requirement that pollutant levels be such as to protect human welfare, leaving the requirement that such levels protect human health and the environment. Requires pollutant levels to comply with the other Federal standards applicable. Specifies under what conditions removal actions must comply with the requirements of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Entitles Federal and State environmental officials to access to the information and premises of any person who generates, treats, or disposes of hazardous substances for purposes of determining the need for a response action. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to prepare toxicological profiles on the most frequently found or threatening hazardous substances. Permits individuals to petition the Administrator for a health effects study where hazardous substances have been removed if warranted by a preliminary assessment. Entitles the public to participate in the selection of a plan for remedial action. Authorizes the Administrator to provide grants for technical assistance to groups which may be affected by a release from a facility on the NPL. Establishes a schedule for the commencement of remedial investigations and feasibility studies for all facilities on the NPL. Provides for the listing of additional facilities at regular intervals. Requires the commencement of remedial actions starting at the rate of 200 facilities per year within three years of enactment. Requires the Administrator to complete preliminary assessments of all facilities on the Emergency and Remedial Response Information System list by the start of 1987. Requires completion of remedial action for facilities currently on the NPL within five years or an explanation of nonperformance. Requires the Administrator to revise the NCP, consistent with these provisions. Permits an individual to petition the Administrator for a preliminary assessment of a release. Includes damage to the food chain and the ambient air among the factors determining a facility or site ranking under the NCP. Makes abatement action decisions nonreviewable. Prohibits subsequent storage or treatment of hazardous waste at a facility where an abatement action has been taken involving the relocation of individuals, a specified density of population, and other factors. Includes additional Federal cleanup or abatement activities for which a responsible party would be liable. Makes liability strict, joint, and several under this Act for damages and costs resulting from the release and cleanup of hazardous substances. Exempts State and local officials from liability for nonnegligent emergency response actions. Requires each Federal agency which may be a defendant under this Act to provide its own counsel rather than the Attorney General. Entitles a defendant to prove damages are divisible and to seek contribution. Sets forth authorized uses of Superfund, including emergency relief, health studies, toxicological profiles, and petition-prompted investigations. Earmarks funds for FY 1986 through 1990 for petroleum released from an underground storage tank. Requires an annual audit of the conduct of Superfund, including comparative reports of actions taken in earlier fiscal years. Establishes a statute of limitations of six years after the completion of the response action, regardless of the date of discovery of the loss. Permits a State to require contributions for response costs compensated under this Act. Requires each Federal agency and department to notify the Administrator, within six months of this Act's enactment, of any hazardous substance treated, stored, or disposed of at Federal facilities under its control. Requires such agencies and departments to make annual reports to the Administrator on all facilities not on the initial notice. Requires such initial notice to describe the location, nature, toxicity, contamination, response actions, and cleanup techniques for the hazardous substances. Directs the Administrator to establish a public Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket (Compliance Docket) to record each listed facility and subsequent actions taken. Requires preliminary assessment of each facility for possible evaluation under the NCP and inclusion on the NPL. Requires Federal agencies or departments responsible for facilities placed on the NPL to commence a remedial investigation and feasibility study for such facility and enter into an interagency agreement with the Administrator to conduct remedial action. Requires continuous, substantial onsite response within six months of the agreement. Requires that such agreements: (1) review alternative remedial actions and construction design selection by the Administrator; (2) schedule completion of remedial actions; and (3) arrange for long-term operation and maintenance of the facility. Requires completion of remedial actions within two years of the agreement to the extent practicable. Requires explanations of noncompletion to be included on the Compliance Docket and in the agency's or department's annual report to the Congress on its progress on reaching and implementing interagency agreements. Requires such annual report to also include cost information and public comments. Makes Federal facility cleanup actions ineligible for Superfund monies. Provides that the Administrator shall retain the authority to enforce this Act. Includes Federal facilities within CERCLA guidelines for preliminary assessments, NCP evaluations, and inclusion on the NPL. Permits the Administrator to bring an action under CERCLA against any Federal agency or department and prohibits the Attorney General from representing such agencies or departments in such actions. Authorizes a State to require a solid waste disposal facility to charge more for disposal or storage of out-of-State waste than the State of origin would have charged. Exempts response action contractors from liability for nonnegligent response activities. Permits the Administrator to enter into a consent agreement with a responsible party who will properly carryout cleanup activities. Authorizes $250,000,000 for each of FY 1986 through 1990 plus additional amounts as specified for the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund (Superfund). Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - Permits citizen action lawsuits against any party, including the Government, involved with hazardous substances in such a way as may present an imminent and substantial danger to health or the environment or against the Administrator for failure to perform a required duty. Requires potential plaintiffs to give 60 days notice to the appropriate Federal and State officials as well as the alleged violator before commencing an action. Prohibits such action if the Administrator or the State has commenced and is prosecuting a court action already or a settlement has been reached. Permits intervention, as a matter of right. Prohibits citizen actions for the siting or issuance of permit to a hazardous waste disposal facility. Authorizes the Federal district court to award costs to any substantially prevailing party. Permits Federal intervention as a matter of right. Requires the Department of Transportation to promulgate regulations requiring shippers to notify transporters whenever hazardous substances are offered for transportation. Requires Federal agencies to notify buyers or transferees of Federal land where hazardous substances were disposed of or stored. Title III: Community Right to Know and Emergency Planning - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act by adding a new title II concerning communities' right-to-know and emergency planning. Requires each covered manufacturer or processor of a covered hazardous substance (potential release) to prepare and update a fact sheet for such substance for distribution to local police, fire, and health officials. Requires the fact sheet to include the name, physical properties of, and hazards posed by the substance, including potential routes of human exposure to such substance, symptoms of such exposure, and appropriate emergency and first aid procedures. Requires status sheets on the same basis as fact sheets, with each status sheet to include the maximum inventory and method of storage of the substance, the quantity of its emission into the environment, and the quantity and method for disposal. Requires the Administrator to establish a toll-free hotline for such information. Requires the releaser of a covered hazardous substance in an emergency situation to provide an emergency bulletin to the State and local police and other local officials. Requires the bulletin to identify the name and amount of the substance released and the response actions taken. Requires fact and status sheets and emergency bulletins to be made available for public inspection with public notice of such availability at the facility of the potential releaser. Requires the Administrator to publish a uniform format for fact and status sheets. Authorizes a State's governor to identify local officials to receive covered hazardous substance release information, with the Administrator doing so in the absence of the Governor's identification. Requires the potential releasers to maintain records of information required by this Act. Requires manufacturers or processors to transmit fact sheets to covered distributors or users upon shipping of a covered hazardous substance. Provides protection for trade secrets while continuing to make necessary information available to the appropriate persons. Excludes listed or possible carcinogens from such protection. Sets forth application and substantiation procedures for trade secret claims. Permits affected citizens or government officials to compel disclosure of nonsubstantiated trade secrets through the Federal courts. Authorizes the Administrator to grant exemptions from the basic notification requirements of this Act through specified procedures open to the public, based upon a cost-benefits analysis where there is no reasonable likelihood of harm. Directs each covered major manufacturer to develop within two years of enactment of this Act a comprehensive evacuation and emergency response plan which addresses the health and safety issues applicable to such manufacturer's particular situation. Requires the plan to include designations of the appropriate government officials to be notified, mitigation measures, evacuation routes, notification plans, and evaluation of community support services. Authorizes each governor to designate emergency response districts within 18 months of enactment of this Act or the Administrator will do so. Permits each governor to appoint an Emergency Response Committee per district or the Administrator will be treated as such Committee. Requires such Committees to review the manufacturers' plans, revising them where necessary. Directs the Administrator, within 18 months of enactment of this Act, to develop uniform national mandatory labeling requirements for pipes, storage tanks, or containers for any covered hazardous substance not otherwise required to be labeled. Requires the label to indicate the appropriate response to a release. Sets forth categories of substances to be considered covered hazardous substances and procedures for adding additional substances. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to compile and update a digest of all such substances. Exempts certain substances for this Act's purposes, based upon the form, amount, and other regulation of such substances. Establishes civil and criminal penalties, limiting criminal penalties to the knowing violation of emergency requirements. Authorizes citizens' suits to enforce this Act. Permits States to adopt more stringent right-to-know standards. Title IV: Internal Revenue Code Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase and extend through FY 1990 the environmental excise taxes sufficient to reach $1,770,000,000 per year. Title V: Federal Cause of Action - Entitles individuals injured by the disposal of a hazardous substance to recover damages from the responsible parties who will be held strictly, jointly, and severally liable. Entitles such individuals to compensation for expenses related to personal injury, economic injury, and limited pain and suffering. States that this Federal cause of action does not preempt State law regarding liability for damages in connection with any hazardous substance. Establishes a three year statute of limitations, running from the date of knowledge of the injury or the date of enactment of this Act. Prohibits dual recovery through workers' compensation or actions filed in a State court and this Act. Permits additional recovery against the source of the disposal for later manifested injuries.

Radon Mitigation Research and Assistance Act of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1985

Radon Mitigation Research and Assistance Act of 1985 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish an indoor radon exposure research program in cooperation with other Federal agencies. Requires the Administrator to determine the levels of exposure which are safe and those which require emergency response action. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress within one year on the research results. Directs the Administrator to establish a Radon Public Awareness Program. Requires the Administrator to provide emergency assistance to persons exposed to emergency response action levels of radon. Authorizes appropriations.

Ocean Dumping Amendments of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1985

Ocean Dumping Amendments of 1985 - Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to prohibit the dumping of sewage sludge into ocean waters as soon as possible, but in no case later than the close of 1990 for any type of sewage sludge. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to prescribe ocean dumping permit fees such that they cover the costs of site selection, monitoring, enforcement, and environmental assessment. Prohibits the use of funds under such Act to finance ocean dumping.

A bill to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to establish local emergency response committees which will plan and coordinate local response to hazardous substance emergencies and to provide members of the community with information about hazardous substances that are located within the community, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1985

Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to add a new title IV: State and Local Coordination of Emergency Response; Community Right to Know. Directs each Governor to appoint an emergency response commission to coordinate response planning in such State for hazardous substance emergencies. Directs these commissions to designate local emergency response committees to develop and implement emergency response plans in case of a hazardous substance emergency. Requires such plans to include emergency notification personnel and procedures, evacuation plans, and an assessment and use plan for local medical and police resources. Requires owners and operators of covered facilities which produce, use, or store hazardous substances to file with local committees a hazardous substance report setting forth the following information for each substance: type; amount; location; emergency and first aid procedures; routes and symptoms of exposure; and emergency personnel to contact. Requires the periodic updating of such reports. Directs the Administrator to publish and update a list of covered hazardous substances requiring such a report. Permits individuals or a local committee to petition the Administrator to add a substance to such list. Requires such owners and operators to submit to the Administrator and the committee and other State and local officials a material safety data sheet on each listed chemical which shall also be furnished with shipments of such substance. Excludes from coverage under these requirements certain small manufacturers, research laboratories, and consumer users. Requires such sheet to be updated and kept (for 30 years), and the information to be made available to the public via a toll-free telephone number. Permits other exemptions from these requirements as specified. Sets forth emergency notice and bulletin procedures a covered operator must follow in the case of any hazardous substance emergency, including notifying the appropriate government officials. Requires such bulletins to include a full description of the nature and scope of the emergency, together with any recommendations for action. Requires that all such plans, reports, data sheets, and bulletins be made available for public inspection. Requires that medical personnel be granted access to necessary information by any owner or operator required to file data sheets or reports. Requires such personnel to maintain the confidentiality of such information beyond health purposes. Permits owners and operators to withhold trade secret information from the data sheets and reports for all but health-related purposes. Sets forth standards for determining what constitutes a trade secret and requires the Administrator to establish procedures for citizen challenge of such a designation. Establishes civil and criminal penalties for violations of these information requirements. Permits citizen suits to enforce this Act. Permits States and local governments to also require the submission of hazardous chemicals information. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for training government personnel to cope with hazardous substance emergencies.

Superfund Amendments of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1985

Superfund Amendments of 1985 - Title I: Provisions Relating Primarily to Response and Liability - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) (Superfund) to direct the Administrator of the Envronmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish reportable quantities for all hazardous substances by December 31, 1986. Directs the Administrator to give primary attention to releases which may present a threat to public health. Requires short-term removal actions undertaken by the Administrator to contribute to the degree possible to the efficient performance of any long-term action. Increases the maximum time and funding limit on short-term response actions when appropriate. Limits the 50 percent State cleanup obligation to those facilities which are both owned and operated by the State. Credits States with expenditures made at National Priorities List (NPL) sites on cost-eligible response actions. Revises other State cost-sharing measures. Grants EPA employees or contractors the necessary access to facilities and information to determine if the need for a response action exists. Prescribes a cleanup schedule for Superfund, requiring an evaluation within two years of sites on the Emergency Response and Remedial Investigation System (ERRIS) list for possible inclusion on the NPL. Sets a schedule for the commencement of substantial and continuous onsite remedial action for a specified number of facilities. Directs the Administrator to revise the National Contingency Plan (NCP) within 18 months to reflect this Act's amendments. Requires the review of the hazardous ranking system within one year. Permits individuals to petition the Administrator for a preliminary hazard assessment at a site. Includes contamination of the ambient air as a criterion for ranking a hazard. Eliminates the requirement that the NPL contain at least 400 sites. Prohibits the Administrator from taking abatement action against any release resulting from an applied pesticide registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Makes liability for releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances requiring abatement actions strict, joint, and several. Includes all vessels releasing hazardous substances within the jurisdiction of the United States under the liability provisions of CERCLA. Makes certain investigatory and assessment costs recoverable from the responsible party. Exempts from liability for all but negligent actions government agencies responding to a hazardous substance emergency. Directs the Administrator and each Governor to appoint Federal and State trustees, respectively, for natural resources, creating a rebuttable presumption that their assessment of damages to such resources is valid. States that cleanup costs incurred in a response action constitute a Federal lien against the property of a responsible party. Sets forth evidentiary requirements for establishing financial responsibility. Permits direct action against a financial guarantor if the person liable is financially or physically unavailable for redress. Entitles such a guarantor to all rights and defenses available to the liable party. Limits the liability of such guarantor to its financial responsibility to the responsible party. Increases criminal penalties and adds certain civil penalties for violations of this Act, including failure to provide accurate information at specified times. Directs the Administrator to establish a program for alternative or innovative treatment technologies which can be used in remedial actions through research contracts and grants, information exchange, and demonstrations at NPL sites in each of the EPA regions. Requires the Administrator to revise the National Contingency Plan (NCP) to include the use of such technologies in remedial actions. Authorizes the use of Superfund monies for such research. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress an evaluation of the demonstration projects. Establishes a total fund level of $2,020,000,000 for each of five years, through FY 1990. Authorizes the use of Superfund monies for the authorities created by this Act. Eliminates the use of Superfund for payment of natural resource damage claims. Revises auditing procedures to require audits and reports to the Congress by the Inspector General. Authorizes appropriations for Superfund for FY 1986 through 1990 at a level of $250,000,000 per year. Establishes within Superfund the Underground Storage Tank Account to clean up petroleum leaks from underground storage tanks. Establishes a six-year statute of limitations for Superfund claims, setting forth special rules for minors and incompetents. Authorizes nationwide service of process under CERCLA. Establishes a three-year statute of limitations for the initiation of actions for contribution for response costs of damages and for recovery claims for damages to natural resources. Establishes a six-year statute of limitations for cost recovery actions. Authorizes a State to require contributions to a fund to pay the costs of hazardous substance response actions or damages. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), to list and periodically revise a list of hazardous substances at NPL sites which pose the most significant potential threat to human health. Directs the Administrator to develop toxicological profiles for each such substance, assessing the current state of knowledge of their deleterious effects. Authorizes individuals to petition the Administrator of EPA for a health assessment of a site where evidence of human exposure to hazardous substances exists. Directs the Administrator of ATSDR to conduct a study of health effects of exposure whenever justified by an assessment. Requires the Administrator of EPA to provide a reasonable opportunity for public comment on any proposed plan for remedial action before it is implemented. Requires the Administrator to publish an explanation of any divergences from such plan or public comments. Authorizes the Administrator to make assistance available to affected individuals to help them evaluate and assess technical information and data. Prohibits the Administrator from taking a response action to certain types of releases unless such releases constitute a public health or environmental emergency. Prohibits response to releases: (1) of naturally occurring substances; (2) of building products; (3) into drinking water supply systems due to expected deterioration; and (4) from coal mining sites when a response action is available under the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. Grants highest cleanup priority to releases which have contaminated or closed a sole or principal drinking water source. Requires the consideration of certain factors when adopting offsite remedies, including the long-term risks and uncertainties of land disposal. Exempts response-action contractors from liability for nonnegligent cleanup activities if they would not otherwise have been liable. Includes Federal facilities under CERCLA as if they were private facilities, except for certain financial responsibility and time period provisions. Requires the Administrator to establish a Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket for each Federal agency and department which will include information on off-site contamination and monitoring data, and releases of reportable quantities of hazardous substances. Requires that such information be made available to the public. Requires the Administrator to evaluate certain Federal facilities by January 31, 1987, for placement on the NPL, using NCP criteria. Requires the commencement of a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RIFS) within six months of a Federal site's placement on the NPL. Directs the Administrator to review the RIFS and enter into interagency agreements for cleanup when necessary, allowing for public participation. Requires each agency to report annually to the Congress on its implementation progress. Requires Federal agencies to notify buyers or transferees of Federal land where hazardous substances were disposed of or stored. Permits States to be the on-scene coordinators for Federal projects within their boundaries. Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a research program to reduce the quantities and toxicity of hazardous waste generated by defense activities. Requires the Secretary to notify the Administrator of ATSDR of the most widely used substances for which no other Federal standard is in place. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Administrator to select appropriate cost-effective remedial actions in accordance with the NCP. Requires remedial actions selected to provide sufficient control or amelioration of the hazardous substance so as to protect human health and the environment. Requires such measures to take into account the long-term effectiveness of the solution and the alternative technologies available to the maximum extent possible. Requires a standard of control at least as strict as that provided by any other applicable Federal environmental law. Requires offsite disposal to be in compliance with the relevant provisions of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Permits the waiver of certain requirements as specified. Authorizes the Administrator to enter into agreements whereby the releasor or any potentially responsible person conducts the remedial response. Permits the Administrator to fund part of such response. Limits the liability of the cleanup party to that specified in the agreement. Permits the Administrator to take action against any person not a party to such agreement. Enters such agreements in the appropriate U.S. district court as consent agreements, enforceable as such. Directs the Administrator to notify potentially responsible parties of each other's identities and of the seriousness of the necessary cleanup, providing a moratorium on the commencement of remedial action for a specified period after such notice has been given. Grants notified persons an opportunity to submit a proposal to the Administrator for the undertaking or financing of remedial action. Permits the Administrator to commence remedial action if no good faith proposal is forthcoming within a specified period. Authorizes the Administrator to proceed on remedial actions where a significant public health threat exists regardless of the status of negotiations. Authorizes the Administrator to agree to refrain from pursuing any future liability of a person if an approved response action would be expedited and the person is in full compliance with the consent decree. Permits such an agreement only in the public interest after an evaluation of the effectiveness of the remedy and the nature of the remaining risks. Places premiums from such agreements into a contingency fund for future remedial actions at other facilities. Permits the Administrator to settle with persons whose share of response costs is not substantial. Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - Terminates the Post-closure Liability Fund's responsibility to fund the cleanup of already closed sites where hazardous waste was stored in compliance with the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Requires the promulgation of natural resource assessment damage claims regulations within six months of this Act's enactment. Requires the Department of Transportation to promulgate regulations requiring shippers to notify transporters whenever hazardous substances are offered for transportation. Holds responsible parties strictly, jointly, and severally liable in State court actions for personal damages caused by exposure to any hazardous substance released. Establishes a federally-required commencement date for the running of State statutes of limitations for injury or diseases caused by exposure to a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Makes such date the time a plaintiff should reasonably have known exposure to such a substance caused or contributed to a personal injury. Directs the Administrator to provide for the cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks, establishing a separate Tank Priorities List under the NCP. Requires the Administrator to use funds in the Underground Storage Tank Account of Superfund for such purposes. Authorizes the Administrator to utilize the response authorities available under CERCLA. Directs the Administrator to promulgate interim financial responsibility regulations which permit owners or operators or others to assume financial responsibility for leaks. Authorizes the Administrator to issue corrective action orders when a release or threatened release presents an imminent and substantial endangerment. Establishes a one-year moratorium on liability and abatement action coverage for leaks, but subjects owners and operators to such provision afterwards to the extent they have agreed to assume financial responsibility and have complied with specified provisions of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Authorizes citizen suits against violators of this Act, including the Administrator and other Government officials who have failed to perform nondiscretionary duties. Permits citizen suits against nongovernment officials in the Federal district court in which the violation occurred. Permits citizen suits against any Federal official only in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Empowers such courts to impose civil penalties and to order the performance of required acts. Requires plaintiffs to give notice to the Administrator, the alleged violator, and the State in which the violation occurred before commencing proceedings. Prohibits citizen suits where the Administrator has commenced and is pursuing an enforcement action. Permits the awarding of court costs to the substantially prevailing party. States that the United States may intervene as a matter of right in all citizen suits to which it is not otherwise a party. Requires the Federal Government to provide the assurances that it will pay a share of the remedial action and maintenance costs of a cleanup on Indian lands that is otherwise required to be made by a State. Authorizes Indian tribes to recover damages for injury to natural resources from hazardous substance releases, except as specified. Includes Indian tribes on the same basis as States under certain provisions of CERCLA. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress within one year an evaluation on the threat to human health of radon gas and radon daughters forming from naturally occurring deposits of uranium and collecting in residences. Directs the Administrator to conduct a demonstration program testing methods of reducing or eliminating the threat, reporting periodically to the Congress on the results. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Community Right to Know and Emergency Planning - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act by adding a new title II concerning communities' right-to-know, emergency planning, and liability. Requires each covered manufacturer or processor of a covered hazardous substance (potential releasors) to prepare and update a fact sheet for such substance for distribution to local police, fire, and health officials. Requires the fact sheet to include the name, physical properties of, and hazards posed by the substance, including potential routes of human exposure to such substance, symptoms of such exposure, and appropriate emergency and first aid procedures. Requires status sheets on the same basis as fact sheets, with each status sheet to include the maximum inventory and method of storage of the substance, the quantity of its emission into the environment, and the quantity and method of disposal. Requires the Administrator to establish a toll-free hotline for such information. Requires the releasor of a covered hazardous substance in an emergency situation to provide an emergency bulletin to the State and local police and other local officials. Requires the bulletin to identify the name and amount of the substance released and the response actions taken. Requires fact and status sheets and emergency bulletins to be made available for public inspection with public notice of such availability at the facility of the potential releasor. Requires the Administrator to publish a uniform format for fact and status sheets. Authorizes a State's Governor to identify local officials to receive covered hazardous substance release information, with the Administrator doing so in the absence of the Governor's identification. Requires the potential releasors to maintain records of information required by this Act. Requires manufacturers or processors to transmit fact sheets to covered distributors or users upon shipping of a covered hazardous substance. Provides protection for trade secrets while continuing to make necessary information available to the appropriate persons. Excludes listed or possible carcinogens from such protection. Sets forth application and substantiation procedures for trade secret claims. Permits affected citizens to petition disclosure of nonsubstantiated trade secrets through the Administrator. Authorizes the Administrator to grant exemptions from the basic notification requirements of this Act through specified procedures open to the public based upon a cost-benefits analysis where there is no reasonable likelihood of harm. Directs each covered major manufacturer to develop within two years of the enactment of this Act a comprehensive evacuation and emergency response plan which addresses the health and safety issues applicable to such manufacturer's particular situation. Requires the plan to include designations of the appropriate government officials to be notified, mitigation measures, evacuation routes, notification plans, and evaluation of community support services. Authorizes each Governor to designate emergency response districts within 18 months of the enactment of this Act or the Administrator will do so. Permits each Governor to appoint an Emergency Response Committee per district or the Administrator will be treated as such Committee. Requires such Committees to review the manufacturers' plans, revising them where necessary. Directs the Administrator, within 18 months of the enactment of this Act, to develop uniform national mandatory labeling requirements for pipes, storage tanks, or containers not otherwise required to be labeled which could reasonably be presumed to release a covered hazardous substance. Requires the label to indicate the appropriate response to a release. Sets forth categories of substances to be considered covered hazardous substances and procedures for adding additional substances. Directs the Administrator of ATSDR to compile and update a digest of all such substances. Exempts certain substances for this Act's purposes, based upon the form, amount, and other regulation of such substances. Establishes civil and criminal penalties, limiting criminal penalties to the knowing violation of emergency requirements. Authorizes citizens' suits to enforce this Act. Permits States to adopt more stringent right-to-know standards. Title IV: Internal Revenue Code Provisions - Imposes taxes of $1,770,000,000 for each of FY 1986 through 1990 for deposit in the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund.

A bill to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 regarding contribution, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1985

Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (Superfund) to permit a defendant in a Government enforcement action under Superfund to file a claim for contribution against other defendants as third-party defendants. States that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure shall govern such proceedings. Excludes from claims for contribution any party which enters into a judicially approved good faith settlement or judgment with a State or the United States. Permits recovery from other potential defendants, either through a claim for contribution filed by a settling or already judged defendant or through direct action by a State or the United States, whenever a partial settlement or judgment has been secured.

Radon Assessment and Reduction Act of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1985

Radon Assessment and Reduction Act of 1985 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report to the Congress within one year an evaluation on the threat to human health of radon gas and radon daughters forming from naturally occurring deposits of uranium and collecting in residences. Directs the Administrator to conduct a demonstration program testing methods of reducing or eliminating the threat, reporting periodically to the Congress on the results. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 to include assistance for releases of radon gas.

Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1985

Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling Act - Prohibits the sale of carbonated beverages in beverage containers by retailers and distributors unless such containers carry a refund value of not less than five cents. Requires that retailers and distributors pay the refund on returned containers of brands sold by such retailers or distributors. Prohibits distributors and retailers from selling beverages in metal beverage containers with detachable openings. Preempts inconsistent State or local laws. Prohibits State and local governments from imposing any tax on the collection or return of refund values. Imposes penalties of up to $1,000 for violations.

A bill to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a national assessment of the extent to which radon gas formed from naturally occurring deposits of uranium is a threat to public health, to authorize a demonstration program to test methods of eliminating the threat to public health from radon gas, and to authorize disaster relief assistance for releases of radon gas.

United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1985

Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report to the Congress within one year an evaluation on the threat to human health of radon gas and radon daughters forming from naturally occurring deposits of uranium and collecting in residences. Directs the Administrator to conduct a demonstration program testing methods of reducing or eliminating the threat, reporting periodically to the Congress on the results. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 to include assistance for releases of radon gas.

A bill to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 to encourage the use of innovative technologies, including technologies used by small businesses, for the cleanup of hazardous substances.

United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1985

Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish an Office of Demonstration within the Office of Emergency and Remedial Response within EPA to administer a program for testing and demonstrating innovative technologies for hazardous waste cleanup. Requires the program to develop and choose projects for demonstration at selected sites on the National Priorities List (NPL). Permits any person to apply to demonstrate innovative technology, each application to be reviewed within EPA. Directs the Administrator to establish a plan, based upon the applicant's demonstration plan, and evaluate the technology's effectiveness. Directs the Administrator to act upon applications according to a specified timetable. Authorizes the Administrator to provide loan guarantees for demonstration projects. Requires a minimum of five projects in FY 1986, increased to a minimum of ten per year during the succeeding four fiscal years. Directs the Administrator to revise and republish the National Contingency Plan (NCP) to include standards and testing procedures utilizing alternative or innovative technologies, according to cost-effectiveness. Requires the Administrator to document for the demonstrator how the technology concerned is considered for NPL site response actions. Authorizes appropriations from the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund (Superfund) for FY 1986 through 1990 to carry out this demonstration program.

A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to determine the effectiveness of State vehicle emission control inspection and maintenance programs before implementing the additional State plan requirements under the Clean Air Act applicable to such programs.

United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1985

Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate existing State vehicle emission control inspection and maintenance programs for cost-effectiveness. Prohibits the implementation of additional requirements in a State unless the Administrator determines such additional requirements to be the most cost-effective in attaining the national ambient air quality standards for such State.

Community Emergency Preparedness and Response Act of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1985

Community Emergency Preparedness and Response Act of 1985 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to direct the President to publish a list identifying extremely hazardous substances and information relating to their toxicity, reactivity, volatility and usage to the quantity at which an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or the environment would be posed if released. Directs the President to establish de minimis levels for such substances. Requires the owners or operators of facilities with sufficient quantities of such substances to pose a threat if released to notify the Governor of the facility's State of such fact. Requires the Governor to designate emergency planning districts with emergency planning committees to evaluate the resources necessary to an emergency plan which identifies such facilities, substance transportation routes, emergency notification procedures and personnel and a response and evacuation plan. Requires local official and facility representation at such planning process. Directs the National Response Team to publish guidelines for emergency plans. Directs Regional Response Teams to review plans at the request of the emergency planning committee. Establishes civil penalties for violations of such requirements by facility owners or operators. Requires such owners or operators to immediately provide notice of a threatening release to the appropriate emergency official in a potentially affected area, including all pertinent information about the nature and extent of the release and possible hazards posed, updating such information as necessary. Establishes criminal penalties for violations of such requirements. Requires each covered owner or operator to file a material safety data sheet for each hazardous chemical with the emergency planning committee in the facility's area. Requires that such information be updated and made available to the public. Permits State or local governments to require additional or more stringent information reporting. Establishes civil penalties for violations.

A bill to amend and extend title I of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, as amended, for two years.

United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1985

Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1986 and 1987 to carry out that portion of the Act relating to ocean dumping regulation.

Toxic Substances Health Effects Act of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1985

Toxic Substances Health Effects Act of 1985 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to direct the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to list the 100 hazardous substances which pose the most significant threat to human health or are most frequently found at facilities on the National Priority List (NPL) under the National Contingency Plan (NCP). Requires, for five years, the annual addition of at least 25 other hazardous substances. Directs the Administrator to prepare toxicological profiles for each substance listed which evaluate the information available and the need for additional research on a priority, 25 annual minimum basis. Requires the adequate staffing of the ATSDR to prepare such profiles. Permits an individual to petition the Administrator for a preliminary assessment of the environmental and public health hazards associated with the release of a particular substance. Requires the Administrator of the ATSDR to notify the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) if a substance's release may be dangerous so that such substance may be ranked. Directs the Administrator of ATSDR to conduct a health effects study on a hazardous substance where a preliminary assessment indicates its release may pose a threat to human health or upon petition by exposed individuals. Requires such study to be completed within nine months of the petition or assessment.

Superfund Clean-up Technology Research and Demonstration Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1985

Superfund Clean-up Technology Research and Demonstration Act - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct an alternative or innovative treatment technology research, evaluation, and demonstration program to develop permanent solutions for use in remedial actions for the release of hazardous substances. Directs the Administrator to conduct a technology transfer program, including a central reference library for such information. Prohibits the Administrator from disclosing trade secret or proprietary information. Authorizes the Administrator to contract out such research and to provide assistance or information as appropriate, including the use of National Priority Sites for research and demonstration purposes. Requires the Administrator to designate at least ten demonstration sites for alternative or innovative treatment technologies, requiring public participation and compliance. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress annually on the research and demonstration program, requiring congressional notice before expending funds on a single project in excess of specified levels. Directs the Administrator to revise and republish the National Contingency Plan to include standards and testing procedures for using the alternative or innovative treatment technologies developed under this Act. Requires the Administrator to select permanent solutions when evaluating the cost-effectiveness of a remedial action. Funds such research program out of Superfund, up to specified levels. Exempts persons conducting field demonstrations from liability for anything but releases caused by negligence. Directs the Administrator to transmit within one year a study to the Congress on the standards of liability and financial responsibility under CERCLA and the costs and incentives for developing the new technologies.

A bill to amend section 123 of the Clean Air Act regarding tall stacks and dispersion techniques.

United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1985

Amends the Clean Air Act to modify the requirements for stack height for sources of not well controlled emissions of air pollutants. Includes among dispersion methods any other measure which disperses pollutants at ground level measuring points.

A bill to prohibit certain discharges of agriculture waste waters into Morro Bay or Monterey Bay, California.

United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1985

Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from in any way funding the discharge of agricultural wastewaters from the Central Valley Project into the Pacific Ocean at either Morro or Monterey Bay, California.

Community Information and Emergency Response Planning Act

United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1985

Community Information and Emergency Response Planning Act - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to require the Governor of each State to appoint an emergency response commission. Requires each commission to appoint and coordinate regional emergency response committees which shall develop emergency response plans to minimize the injury to human health and the environment in the event of a hazardous substance emergency. Requires such plans to contain specified information, including: the names and phone numbers of persons to be contacted in case of an emergency, a description of measures to be taken, and an evaluation of the medical and municipal services needed in such an event. Requires the operator of a facility on the National Priority List (NPL) issued a permit under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, or containing significant amounts of a hazardous substance, to prepare for the appropriate regional emergency response committee a hazardous substance report identifying the type, amount, location, routes of potential human exposure, and appropriate emergency procedures and notifications for any hazardous substances contained therein. Requires such reports to be updated periodically and to comply with a uniform format. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish and revise a list of covered hazardous substances for purposes of these provisions. Permits regional committees or individuals to petition for the designation of additional substances. Requires the owner or operator of any facility which produces, uses, or stores any hazardous chemical to prepare or obtain a material safety data sheet indicating how much of the chemical will be present during the next year, such sheet to be distributed to the appropriate regional committee. Requires the maintenance of permanent records of such information. Permits exemptions from reporting and information maintenance requirements under specified circumstances. Requires a covered operator to provide an emergency bulletin to the emergency response committee in the area when an emergency arises. Requires such bulletins to identify the chemical, the actions to be taken, the scope of the emergency, and recommendations for additional actions. Requires all reports, bulletins, and data sheets to be made available to the public. Establishes civil and criminal penalties for violations of such information provisions. Permits citizen suits for such violations or for the failure of the Administrator to perform mandatory acts. Preempts State laws for hazardous substances reporting requirements unless the State standard is more protective. Permits an otherwise covered operator to withhold certain trade secrets from reports, bulletins, and data sheets, but requires disclosure to health officials upon written demonstration of need.

Radioactive Materials Transportation Protection Act of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1985

Radioactive Materials Transportation Protection Act of 1985 - Amends the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act to direct the Secretary of Transportation, when route determinations are made for the shipment of such material, to file an environmental impact statement which includes consideration of alternative modes of transporting a controlled quantity of radioactive materials into or through a high-density metropolitan area. Requires the Secretary to include the use of barges when considering such alternative modes of transportation. Applies the alternative transportation modes requirement to route determinations made after January 19, 1981.

A bill to provide for a study of the use of unleaded fuel in agricultural machinery, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1985

Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of Agriculture to jointly conduct a study of the use of unleaded fuel in agricultural machinery and to report to the Congress on such study. Prohibits any reduction in the permitted lead level in gasoline below a specified level until after the Congress receives such report. Authorizes appropriations

A bill to amend the Tariff Schedules of the United States by repealing item 807.00 relating to certain articles assembled abroad from fabricated components which are products of the United States.

United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1985

Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to delete the tariff provisions which base the tariff on imports of products assembled abroad from U.S. components on the full value less the value of the U.S. components.

A bill to amend section 123 of the Clean Air Act regarding tall stacks and dispersion techniques.

United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1985

Amends the Clean Air Act to modify the requirements for stack height for sources of not well controlled emissions of air pollutants. Includes among dispersion methods any other measure which disperses pollutants at ground level measuring points.

Acid Rain Control Act of 1985

United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1985

Acid Rain Control Act of 1985 - Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), within 90 days after the enactment of this Act, to compute a State share for each of the 48 contiguous States of a 10,000,000 ton two-tiered reduction in annual emissions of sulfur dioxide below that of 1980 by 1996. Sets forth a formula for determining State shares. Sets deadlines and procedures for submission and approval of State plans for such State shares. Directs the Administrator to promulgate a State plan in the absence of a State-submitted, Administrator-approved plan. Requires such plans to achieve reductions through the use of continuous emission reduction. Prohibits the construction of any new stationary sources of sulfur dioxide in a State which fails to achieve its 1990 or 1996 emissions goals. Prohibits a stationary source from emitting more sulfur dioxide under such plan than it did under the applicable 1982 implementation plan. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations to facilitate State trading of reduction requirements and the substitution of reductions in oxides of nitrogren for reductions in emissions of sulfur dioxide permitted under State plans. Establishes civil and criminal penalties and empowers the Administrator to bring civil actions against an electric utility in violation of the fee requirement. Terminates the fee after six years. Imposes a fee on each kilowatt hour of electric energy generated by an electric utility in the contiguous States. Exempts electricity generated by nuclear or hydroelectric power. Establishes in the Treasury the Acid Deposition Control Fund to provide funding for emissions reductions from specified appropriations. Sets forth conditions and administrative provisions for such Fund. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to report annually to the Congress on the current and five-year projected financial condition of the Fund. Directs the Administrator to revise nitrogen oxide emissions standards for fossil fuel-fired electric utility steam generating units. Directs the Administrator to promulgate emissions standards for new, large fossil-fuel-fired steam generating units. Establishes oxides of nitrogen emission standards for light duty trucks after model year 1985. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress on the equity of the pass-through of emission control costs through utility rates. Directs the Administrator to conduct an acid deposition research and clean coal technologies demonstration program. Directs the Administrator to financially assist State programs for mitigating the adverse effects of acid rain.