[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1386 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1386

 To facilitate the remediation of contaminated sediments in the waters 
                         of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 6, 1997

   Mr. Levin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To facilitate the remediation of contaminated sediments in the waters 
                         of the United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REMEDIATION OF CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Title I of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 127. REMEDIATION OF CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS.

    ``(a) Sediment Quality Criteria.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--Not later than January 1, 2001, after 
        consultation with the States and Indian tribes, the 
        Administrator shall establish final numerical sediment quality 
        criteria for the 10 toxic, persistent, or bioaccumulative 
        substances that the Administrator determines are most likely to 
        adversely affect human health and the environment.
            ``(2) Review.--Every 3 years after the date on which 
        criteria are established under paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) the Administrator shall review the list of 
                substances compiled under paragraph (1);
                    ``(B) after consultation with the States and Indian 
                tribes, add or remove substances from the list based on 
                the risks of adverse effects to human health and the 
                environment (including the risks of adverse 
                developmental, reproductive, and transgenerational 
                effects); and
                    ``(C) not later than 3 years after the date on 
                which a substance is added to the list under 
                subparagraph (B), establish final numerical sediment 
                quality criteria for the substance.
    ``(b) Revision of Hazard Ranking System.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 30 months after the date 
        of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall revise 
        the hazard ranking system referred to in section 105(a)(8)(A) 
        to ensure that the hazard ranking system more accurately 
        assesses the risks to human health and the environment from 
        aquatic sites with contaminated sediments (as that term is 
        applied for the purposes of section 118(c)(7) of the Federal 
        Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1268(c)(7))).
            ``(2) Scope of assessment.--To ensure more accurate 
        assessments of health and environmental risks at aquatic sites 
        with contaminated sediments, the assessment referred to in 
        paragraph (1) shall not--
                    ``(A) include consideration of the costs of 
                carrying out response actions; or
                    ``(B) require identification of the source of a 
                release.
            ``(3) Transition provision.--The hazard ranking system in 
        effect on the date of enactment of this section shall continue 
        in effect until the effective date of the revised hazard 
        ranking system required by this subsection.
    ``(c) Expenditure of Funds for Response Actions.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, for each fiscal year, the Administrator may expend up to 
        $300,000,000 of funds appropriated out of the Hazardous 
        Substance Superfund established under section 9507 of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for the purposes of carrying out 
        response actions and other corrective actions at facilities 
        containing contaminated sediments (as that term is applied for 
        the purposes of section 118(c)(7) of the Federal Water 
        Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1268(c)(7))).
            ``(2) Priorities.--In expending funds under paragraph (1), 
        the Administrator shall give priority to facilities, a release 
        from which has adversely affected or could adversely affect 
        human health or the environment, in the following order:
                    ``(A) A facility in a watershed with respect to 
                which--
                            ``(i) a program has been or is being 
                        implemented that has significantly reduced or 
                        is significantly reducing or preventing the 
                        deposition into sediment of a persistent and 
                        bioaccumulative toxic substance from the 
                        watershed; and
                            ``(ii) a State or local government having 
                        jurisdiction over a portion of the watershed 
                        contributes 25 percent or more of the response 
                        costs.
                    ``(B) A facility in a watershed with respect to 
                which only subparagraph (A)(i) applies.
                    ``(C) A facility in a watershed with respect to 
                which only subparagraph (A)(ii) applies.
                    ``(D) A facility in a watershed with respect to 
                which subparagraph (A) does not apply.
    ``(d) Hazard Ranking System Scoring Package.--
            ``(1) Identification of facilities.--From the comprehensive 
        national survey of data regarding aquatic sediment quality 
        conducted under section 503(a) of the Water Resources 
        Development Act of 1992 (33 U.S.C. 1271(a)), the Administrator 
        shall identify the 20 facilities containing contaminated 
        sediments (as that term is applied for the purposes of section 
        118(c)(7) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
        1268(c)(7))) that are most likely to adversely affect human 
        health and the environment and that have not been the subject 
        of any Federal or State response action or other corrective 
        action.
            ``(2) Scoring package.--After identifying the facilities 
        under paragraph (1), the Administrator, not later than 3 years 
        after the date of enactment of this section, shall--
                    ``(A) prepare a comprehensive scoring package under 
                the hazard ranking system referred to in section 
                105(a)(8)(A) for each facility, unless a State or 
                remedial action planning committee objects to the 
                conduct of the assessment necessary for the scoring in 
                an area or watershed under the jurisdiction of the 
                State or committee; and
                    ``(B) report to Congress the results of each 
                scoring package prepared under subparagraph (A).''.
    (b) Criteria for Determining Priorities Among Releases.--Section 
105(a)(8)(A) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 
and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(A)) is amended by 
inserting before the semicolon at the end the following: ``, except 
that criteria and priorities under this paragraph shall not be based on 
the extent to which the President is able to identify 1 or more 
potentially responsible parties or 1 or more specific sources of a 
release''.
    (c) Inclusion in Report on Monitoring of Aquatic Sediment 
Quality.--Section 503(b)(2) of the Water Resources Development Act of 
1992 (33 U.S.C. 1271(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ``Each report shall include information on all facilities 
containing contaminated sediments that are listed on the National 
Priorities List under section 105(a)(8)(B) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 
U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(B)).''.
    (d) Report on Hazard Ranking System.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to 
        Congress a report assessing the extent to which the hazard 
        ranking system referred to in section 105(a)(8)(A) of the 
        Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
        Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(A)) (as revised in 
        1990) has achieved the objectives specified in paragraphs (1) 
        and (2) of section 105(c) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 9605(c)).
            (2) Contents.--The report shall include a comprehensive 
        assessment of the number and type of aquatic facilities that 
        have been scored under the hazard ranking system (as revised in 
        1990) and the level of risk that the facilities pose to human 
        health and the environment.
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