[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 20, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E82]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO AMEND THE COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL 
           RESPONSE, COMPENSATION, AND LIABILITY ACT OF 1980

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                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 19, 1999

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation 
to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). My bill would remove the authority for 
contracting oversight from the purview of the Environmental Protection 
Agency and place it solely under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of 
Engineers.
  Mr. Speaker, this change makes sense given the expertise of each 
agency. The Army Corps of Engineers is far better suited to handle 
contracting work and oversight of construction at a Superfund site than 
the more technical, environmental orientation of the EPA.
  The reason why I am introducing this legislation today is in direct 
response to an incident that happened in my district during an already 
lengthy and tumultuous cleanup. Hopefully, passage of this legislation 
will prevent future situations, such as the one I am about to describe, 
from happening again.
  The asbestos dump site in Millington, NJ is comprised of two 
residential farms and part of the Great Swamp National Wildlife 
Reserve. It contains large amounts of asbestos that was dumped on the 
property. On one of these two residential sites, the homeowners (a 
family of five), were involved in a lengthy clean-up with the EPA and 
had been relocated several times, for months at a time. The EPA had 
contracted out for the construction of the design. The EPA's contractor 
then hired a subcontractor, with a less than perfect track history, to 
complete construction of the design.
  The EPA subcontractors, instead of bringing in clean fill to top the 
asbestos on the family's property, brought in contaminated soil from 
another site. This horrendous mistake has added additional years to the 
cleanup.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I believe that the Army Corps is far better 
equipped to handle the details of the physical cleanup and to oversee 
the contracting work of these Superfund sites. This mistake in 
Millington added not only time and money, but additional grief for a 
family who wanted nothing less than to raise their children in the home 
of their dreams. I believe that my bill would prevent more situations 
like this and improve the efficiency of site clean-ups.

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