[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 23, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1479]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1479]]
             FEDERAL FACILITIES CLEAN WATER COMPLIANCE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PETER A. DeFAZIO

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 23, 1997

  Mr. DeFAZIO.  Mr. Speaker, today I'm re-introducing the Federal 
Facilities Clean Water Compliance Act (H.R. 2222). This legislation, 
which I first introduced in 1993, would subject Federal facilities to 
the same requirements under the Clean Water Act, as private facilities.
  Five years ago, Congress overwhelmingly enacted the Federal 
Facilities Compliance Act. This act has become a major enforcement tool 
in cleaning up waste at military and civilian sites around the Nation. 
But few people realize it only applies to solid wastes. Liquid 
discharges into surface water at Federal facilities are completely 
exempt from enforcement actions under the law. Under this indefensible 
double standard, the Federal Government gets off scot-free for the same 
violations for which private companies and local government are slapped 
with fines of $25,000 each day.
  At the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in the Pacific Northwest, hundreds 
of billions of gallons of contaminated wastewater were discharged 
directly into the Columbia River. More than 400 billion gallons of 
liquid waste have been discharged into the soil, contaminating over 200 
square miles of ground water with radioactive and chemical wastes. This 
contamination is slowing inching toward, and in some cases has already 
reached, the Columbia River.
  In December 1991, following a 3-year, billion-dollar start-up effort, 
the Department of Energy's [DOE] ``K'' Reactor at the Savannah River 
Site in South Carolina discharged thousands of curies of contaminated 
cooling water into the Savannah River. As a result, a number of 
drinking water plants, food processors, and oyster beds on the river 
had to be shut down until the tritium concentrations diminished.
  It was not the first time radioactive pollutants had been dumped into 
the river. DOE records indicate that more than 3.5 million curies of 
tritium had been released from the site since 1984.
  In Texas, the DOE has admitted to discharging waste from its Pantex 
Plant into nearby Playa Lakes. In Ohio, the DOE has dumped over one-
half million pounds of uranium into the air and water from its Fernald 
Plant, located 20 miles northwest of Cincinnati. Drinking wells south 
of the Fernald plant are contaminated with radioactivity at levels as 
much as 250 times higher than limits set by the Environmental 
Protection Agency [EPA].
  One startling fact highlighted by all of these tragic spills is that 
radioactive discharges from Federal facilities are not regulated under 
the Clean Water Act [CWA]. Neither the EPA nor individual States can 
set or enforce discharge limits for Federal facilities that dump 
nuclear waste into our streams and rivers.
  Although the CWA defines a pollutant as ``radioactive material'' and 
requires DOE and other Federal agencies to comply with the CWA in the 
same manner and to the same extent as private individuals, the language 
doesn't have much backbone. A 1976 Supreme Court decision, Train versus 
Colorado PIRG, ruled that the CWA's definition of pollutant does not 
clearly indicate whether Congress intended the CWA to apply to 
radioactive materials regulated under the Atomic Energy Act--namely 
``source,'' ``special nuclear,'' and ``by-product'' materials. These 
are the chief waste discharges found in tritium and released from DOE 
and Department of Defense facilities.
  In addition, States are virtually helpless to do anything about the 
dumping, since States cannot assess civil penalties against the Federal 
Government under the doctrine of sovereign immunity.
  Under the CWA, States may assess penalties against individuals up to 
$25,000 per day per violation. However, another Supreme Court decision, 
State of Ohio versus DOE, ruled that the DOE and other Federal agencies 
are immune from civil penalties under the CWA and the Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act [RCRA].
  This infamous decision ultimately led Congress to pass the Federal 
Facilities Compliance Act for RCRA in 1992. The exemption for the CWA 
still remains.
  And finally, the EPA cannot issue administrative orders or assess 
penalties against other agencies for violating the CWA. The EPA may 
currently assess penalties up to $10,000 per day against individuals. 
But it can only issue administrative orders against Federal facilities 
on a consent basis. The EPA cannot assess unwanted penalties against a 
Federal agency. This essentially limits the EPA's primary enforcement 
mechanism to voluntary compliance agreements.
  Congress needs to fill this regulatory void by providing independent 
oversight of Federal facilities that discharge radioactive waste into 
our waters. That authority already exists for toxics, suspended solids, 
and other nonradioactive pollutants under the CWA. Radioactive material 
should not be held to a lesser standard.
  In addition, we should grant EPA the same regulatory powers it now 
enjoys under the Clean Air Act. Under this act, the EPA can regulate 
radioactive air pollutants discharged from Federal facilities. There is 
no distinction made between pollutants; a poison is still a poison. We 
should eliminate the paradox under the Clean Water Act.
  The legislation I'm introducing today will eliminate the exemption 
under the CWA for radioactive discharges, empower States to assess 
civil penalties against Federal agencies, and authorize the EPA to 
issue unilateral administrative orders and assess penalties against 
other Federal agencies for violations of the CWA. My bill is supported 
by the Clean Water Network, Natural Resources Defense Council, USPIRG, 
Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Military Production Network, 
Plutonium Challenge, and Heart of America Northwest. It has also been 
endorsed by the Oregon Department of Energy and the Oregon Department 
of Environmental Quality.
  At a time when the emphasis on America's nuclear weapons complex is 
shifting from production to cleanup, it's essential that we close these 
dangerous loopholes. Independent oversight of Federal facility 
discharges can prevent future accidents from happening and provide a 
means of cleanup enforcement when they do occur. I urge my colleagues 
to cosponsor this legislation and join me in this effort.

                          ____________________