Superfund: State Voluntary Programs Provide Incentives to Encourage
Cleanups (Chapter Report, 04/09/97, GAO/RCED-97-66).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the voluntary cleanup
programs that states have created to facilitate privately initiated
cleanups, focusing on: (1) the voluntary cleanup programs'
accomplishments; (2) these programs' organization, funding, and major
characteristics; and (3) the effects of federal hazardous waste policies
on voluntary cleanups and the types of federal assistance that could
further support voluntary programs.

GAO noted that: (1) voluntary programs' accomplishments include
identifying, evaluating, and cleaning up many contaminated sites that
would not have been addressed under other federal or state cleanup
programs for some time, if at all, according to the state managers GAO
surveyed; (2) because of these programs' cooperative nature and reduced
cleanup procedures, voluntary cleanups are also less costly for the
states and participants and take less time; (3) most of the 17 programs
are organized to supplement their state's enforcement program, but a few
are responsible for nearly all of the cleanups in their state; (4) all
of the programs allowed volunteers to come forward on their own, saving
their state from having to take time-consuming and costly enforcement
actions; (5) all of the programs received funding through the fees paid
by volunteers to participate, but most also relied on some federal and
state funds; (6) nearly all of the programs admitted any type of site,
including highly contaminated sites that could qualify for the federal
program; (7) as an incentive to encourage cleanups, all of the programs
gave volunteers some assurance of relief from future state liability at
a completed site, but the legal strength of this assurance varied
considerably; (8) in addition, to cut cleanup time and costs, all of the
programs reduced the requirements they imposed on voluntary cleanups;
(9) several programs balanced the requirements they implemented with
incentives to attract volunteers by tailoring the stringency of the
requirements to the risks and conditions at individual sites; (10) the
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) authority under Superfund to
ensure that any cleanup protects public health and the environment and
the federal law's stringent liability provisions deter participation in
voluntary programs because potential volunteers fear they could face
expensive and indefinite cleanup liability; (11) Congress and EPA have
supported voluntary programs by allowing the states to use a portion of
the funds they receive through the federal Superfund program to develop
and implement the voluntary programs; (12) to address liability issues,
EPA has been working with the states over the past year to develop final
guidance for negotiating agreements between EPA and the states, under
which EPA generally will not plan to take further action at sites in a
voluntary program that meets the agency's criteria for ensuring effecti*

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  RCED-97-66
     TITLE:  Superfund: State Voluntary Programs Provide Incentives to 
             Encourage Cleanups
      DATE:  04/09/97
   SUBJECT:  Environmental monitoring
             State programs
             Liability (legal)
             Hazardous substances
             Waste disposal
             Pollution control
             Environmental policies
             Environmental law
             Federal/state relations
             Cooperative agreements
IDENTIFIER:  Superfund Program
             EPA National Priorities List
             EPA State Voluntary Cleanup Program
             California
             Colorado
             Delaware
             Indiana
             Illinois
             Massachusetts
             Minnesota
             Missouri
             New Jersey
             Ohio
             Pennsylvania
             Tennessee
             Texas
             Washington
             Wisconsin
             Washington Independent Remedial Action Program
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Report to Congressional Requesters

April 1997

SUPERFUND - STATE VOLUNTARY
PROGRAMS PROVIDE INCENTIVES TO
ENCOURAGE CLEANUPS

GAO/RCED-97-66

State Voluntary Cleanup Programs

(160318)


Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  CERCLA - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
     Liability Act of 1980
  EPA - United States Environmental Protection Agency
  IRAP - Independent Remedial Action Program
  RCRA - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
  NPL - National Priorities List

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