Hazardous Waste: EPA Cleanup Requirements - DOD Versus Private Entities
Abstract
The types of environmental problems posed by RCRA facilities and Superfund sites are essentially the same. Current and past practices at the individual sites are likely to cause contamination of the groundwater, surface water, soil, and air. Both RCRA and Superfund have programs to clean up contamination. The corrective action program under RCRA is designed to get the facility owners or operators to pay for cleaning up the contamination caused by their operations. The Superfund program is intended to address environmental problems caused by abandoned or inactive sites in which the former owners and operators are unavailable, unwilling, or financially unable to clean up the contamination caused by their companies' operations. The federal and state governments can use enforcement authority to force responsible parties to clean up Superfund sites or use trust funds to pay for the cleanup required and then try to recover the funds from the former owners. Amendments to RCRA in 1984 greatly expanded EPA's authority to implement corrective actions at hazardous waste facilities covered by RCRA. The expanded RCRA corrective action program is a cleanup program for all RCRA hazardous waste facilities, whether they will continue to operate or are in the process of closing. The cleanup program is similar in purpose to the Superfund program, and its corrective action provisions apply to all treatment, storage, and disposal facilities that have accepted hazardous waste since November 19, 1980.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- AD1175086
Entities
People
- George Wooditch
- Harry R. Finley
- Jacob Sprouse
- Michele Grgich
- Paul L. Jones
- Robert W. Jr Brown
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office