Volume 141, No. 24 covering the 1st Session of the 104th Congress (1995 - 1996) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“INTRODUCTION OF THE TOXIC POLLUTION RESPONSIBILITY ACT AND THE MUNICIPAL LIABILITY CAP ACT” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E286 on Feb. 7, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCTION OF THE TOXIC POLLUTION RESPONSIBILITY ACT AND THE
MUNICIPAL LIABILITY CAP ACT
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HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH
of new jersey
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, February 7, 1995
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today, I reintroduced legislation addressing one of the central problems in the Superfund Program--municipal liability. I have introduced this legislation in the past two sessions and was pleased that it was included in principle in the comprehensive Superfund reform which was supported by a wide coalition and nearly gained congressional approval last year.
The Toxic Pollution Responsibility Act and the Municipal Liability Cap Act would free local governments from the costly entanglements of third party lawsuits generated by parties eager to share the costs of Superfund cleanup. Far too often, potentially responsible parties
[PRP's] with obligations to contribute to cleanup costs initiate third party lawsuits against communities which had disposed simple municipal solid waste as sties which later found their way onto the National Priorities List [NPL]. Sometimes, these legal actions are predicated on serious, but erroneous, intentions of shifting cleanup costs to municipalities and taxpayers. Sometimes, however, they are just dilatory tactics meant to postpone final payments and cleanup.
The success of these tactics is obvious. In the 15 years of the program, only 5 percent of the 1,245 sites on the NPL have been completely cleaned up. And for that small accomplishment, an estimated
$20 billion in combined Federal, State, and private funds has been spent. The National Association of Manufacturers estimates that the average site clean up takes 11 years and between $25 and $40 million. This is a far cry from the original EPA estimates of 5 to 8 years and
$7 million.
To linger in negotiations and courts for years on end is very costly. A November 1993 Rand Corp. study of Superfund-related expenditures for 108 companies indicates that 32 percent of these combined expenses went to legal fees. There are few municipalities--particularly small communities--which can afford such exorbitant prices. To meet these costs, implicated towns would have little recourse other than tax hikes and/or reduced local services.
And beyond this, these lawsuits have averted the main principle of the Superfund law--to make the polluter pay.
Municipalities are not the hazardous waste polluters. They disposed simple everyday waste at these sites--coffee beans, toilet paper tubes, and banana peels--and not the industrial hazardous waste which transformed simple landfills into Superfund sites. There is no equating one with the other. And the law must reflect this distinction.
Furthermore, communities performed this duty not only to fulfill their traditional local responsibilities, but at the behest of the U.S. Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]. In passing the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 [RCRA], Congress specifically noted that ``the collection and disposal of solid wastes should continue to be primarily the function of State, regional, and local agencies.'' Congress was clear in RCRA that local governments should hold the primary responsibilities in solid waste management within their jurisdiction. Are we to punish them now for complying so efficiently?.
The two bills which I have introduced today recognize the innocence of these actions. The provisions of the bills apply to transporters and generators of municipal solid waste which have not been named by the EPA as PRP's. The first of my bills--the Toxic Pollution Responsibility Act--would entirely exempt these parties from the threat of third party suits. The second of my bills--the Municipal Liability Cap Act--would cap the total municipal liability obligation at 4 percent for each site. This cap was first advocated in 1992 by an internal EPA review board. This principle was also incorporated into last year's comprehensive Superfund reform proposal as a 10-percent cap on municipal liability.
The overwhelmingly decisive passage of unfunded mandates legislation by the House demonstrates our commitment to providing overburdened local governments with long overdue relief. These are our partners in governance and serve the same citizens we serve. We owe them this much. I encourage my colleagues to cosponsor one or both of these initiatives and I encourage the House Committee on Commerce to consider this important proposal for inclusion once again in a comprehensive Superfund reform package.
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