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15 Nat. Resources L. Newsl. 1 (1982-1983)

handle is hein.journals/trends15 and id is 1 raw text is: fl X, EPA's Permitting Requirements for Land Disposal Facilities John T. Smith II, Esq. Washington, D.C. On July 26, 1982, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) long-awaited regulations goverring permitting of facilities for land disposal of hazardous wastes appeared in the Federal Register. 47 Fed. Reg. 32,274 (1982). On their effective date, January 26, 1983, these regulations will govern permitting of new as well as existing facilities though the court orders that impelled their issuance only required promulgation of regulations permitting of existing facilities. The regula- tions cover surface impoundments, landfills, waste piles and land treatment facilities. They do not cover underground injection wells. For the covered facilities, they effectively supersede the skeletal permitting regu- lations promulgated on February 13, 1981, to provide interim means for permitting of new facilities pending the development of more elaborate standards. 40 C.F.R. Part 267. Moreover, they supersede regulations governing storage and treatment in impoundments and piles promulgated on January 12, 1981.40 C.F.R. Part 264, subparts K and L. Background EPA delivered these new regulations after extraor- dinarily long and troubled labor. They emerged more than four years after an unrealistic statutory deadline and only after repeated prodding by a federal court. Illinois v. Gorsuch (D.D.C. Civ. Action No. 78-1689). A brief summary of EPA's travails is necessary to pro- vide context for discussion of the new regulatory package. EPA's original proposals, issued in December, 1978, set uniform design requirements for land disposal facilities subject to limited variances. 43 Fed. Reg. 58,946 (1978). They did not distinguish between new and existing facilities. Most affected industries found the regulations to be unduly rigid. The chemical in- dustry estimated that application of these standards to (continued on page 10) Highlights of the New National Contingency Plan for Parties Who May Be Liable for Chemical Waste Site Remedies Richard G. Stoll, Jr., Esq. Washington, D.C. On July 16, 1982, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final revisions to the National Contingency Plan (NCP) under the Comprehensive En- vironmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund). 47 Fed. Reg. 31,180- 31,243. The new NCP contains provisions which are highly important to those involved in chemical waste site litigation. This is because the government must follow the relevant provisions of the NCP to determine the appropriate exte,,t of rrmedy whenever it seeks to hold private parties liable for waste site remedial activity. In the following discussion, I will briefly discuss the NCP in general. I will then discuss in more detail the provisions of central relevance to chemical waste site litigation. General NCP Overview Under CERCLA, the NCP is to provide the basic regulatory framework and guidance for all federal responses to releases of oil and hazardous substances. Section 105 of CERCLA directs the President to publish the NCP, and specifies the types of provisions which must be included. The President has delegated to EPA the authority to issue the NCP. Executive Order No. 12,316, 46 Fed. Reg. 42,237. EPA published the final NCP as Part 300 of Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (40 C.F.R. part 300). Within Part 300, EPA subdivided the NCP into eight subparts. Subparts A through D contain administra- tive and organizational provisions, such as definitions and intergovernmental roles. Subpart E contains the regulatory framework for oil spill response, and is largely a carryover from the old national contingency plan for such spills which EPA had issued under sec- tion 311 of the Clean Water Act. (continued on page 14) Copyright © 1982 American Bar Association Produced by the ABA Press

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