Defense Environment Alert

an exclusive biweekly report on defense policies for cleanup, compliance and pollution prevention

Vol. 14, No. 24

November 28, 2006

KEY HOUSE DEMOCRAT TO PRESS FOR MORE EPA ENFORCEMENT AT DOD SITES

Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) - the likely chair of a key House Energy & Commerce Committee oversight panel in the next Congress - plans to press for greater EPA oversight and enforcement at contaminated military sites, especially those where DOD is overseeing cleanup, she said in a Nov. 17 interview.

The focus is part of House Democrats' plans to increase oversight of EPA and its enforcement of environmental laws as a way to bolster EPA enforcement of existing requirements before considering changes to current laws. Solis is expected to chair the environment subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over a host of environmental issues relevant to military facilities.

Solis plans to investigate instances where DOD has usurped EPA oversight authority of military cleanup's and press for a greater EPA role at these sites, including through legislative changes or direct pressure if necessary. "[W]e need to go back and reclaim our authority," she said.

Under Superfund law, EPA has the authority to order DOD to conduct cleanup actions, provided concurrence is given by the U.S. attorney general. But cleanup authority is generally delegated to the head of the federal agency with jurisdiction over a federal facility, EPA says in a 1999 enforcement guidebook on federal facilities. EPA and DOD in the past have differed on how to interpret the Superfund law's designation of DOD as the lead agency for its cleanups in situations concerning post-record of decision (ROD) enforcement and formerly used defense sites (FUDS). But an EPA source says the dispute over post-ROD activities was settled without the agency losing any of its authority, and recently there have been no major issues related to this at FUDS.

Her focus on EPA oversight will attempt to pressure the agency to step up enforcement of current rules before she considers reforming existing environmental laws.

"We don't necessarily need to come up with all new legislation. I think we need to find out where we are [first]," Solis said. "We have to make clear we want EPA to abide by the rules they are bound to enforce," she later said, noting she would likely hold many oversight hearings.

As part of the increased oversight, Solis said she will ask EPA to provide a complete outline of its priorities and to justify its budget, noting such reviews have been absent in recent years. She reiterated Democrats' concerns over the agency's budget, noting that many areas - especially enforcement and environmental justice - have suffered because of EPA's shrinking budget. The agency's funding decreased from $8.1 billion in 2005 to the Bush administration's request for FY07 of $7.3 billion, which is a $300 million cut from last year.

Earlier this year, Solis told Inside EPA, "God willing, if we take back the House, we can put meat on the bones of programs that have been starved, especially at EPA ... Boosting EPA's [budget] is at the top of the agenda."

Focusing on EPA's budget is likely going to include a focus on the agency's leaking underground storage tank program, which Solis said "has not been used appropriately" to clean up tanks. "We should be there to help" ensure that leaking tanks are cleaned up, she said, including providing incentives to ensure that tanks are "fortified" to prevent groundwater contamination.

Solis also cited concerns that cuts to EPA's library budget will have a devastating impact because it will decrease information access by researchers and others wishing to review agency materials. EPA enforcement officials raised similar concerns earlier this year.

In addition, Solis expressed concern about other EPA programs that address water contamination, such as the agency's program to set drinking water and other cleanup standards for contaminants.

Perchlorate contamination will be a key issue for Solis, whose district includes at least 136 drinking water wells that have been shut down because of the presence of the rocket fuel and munition component. The lawmaker, who previously sponsored legislation to require EPA to set a drinking water standard for perchlorate by 2007, will press EPA on setting water standards using the best data, "not fabricated science," she said.

Other areas Solis plans to investigate - and possibly introduce legislation on - are environmental justice, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and Superfund law.

Solis said, for example, that TSCA is out of step with the current science on many toxics. "Why are we [still] litigating over asbestos, for example, where the evidence is clear ... but we can't seem to get a decision from EPA to regulate toxins," she said.

When asked if TSCA reform was on the table, Solis said: "I think that's something we will look at. It is under our jurisdiction."

Similarly, she criticized the administration for cutting Superfund enforcement, a development she said has slowed cleanup at many sites and delayed returning contaminated land to productive use." Many communities need to reuse that land," she said, noting that laws should be enforced and that "this administration has been lax."

She also suggested coming up with "better procedural ways" of getting EPA and liable parties to settle in Superfund cases earlier. However, she cautioned that the committee's examination of Superfund issues is likely to be contentious.

She suggested expanding penalties or fees on entities at fault for contamination. When asked whether this meant a push for reinstating the Superfund tax, she said, "I wouldn't call it a tax. I'd say fees or penalties," but added that she would be open to other ideas.

Solis said she will also consider environmental justice legislation, citing the environmental impact Hurricane Katrina had on communities in Louisiana as an impetus for bringing the issue to the fore. She also plans to try to "restore the integrity" of the agency's environmental justice office and expand grants the office formerly offered. As a California state lawmaker, she wrote the first law in the country to codify environmental justice into state agencies' responsibilities, her Web site says.

While a tough oversight agenda aimed at pushing EPA to bolster enforcement could rankle many Republicans and moderate Democrats, Solis says she is also looking for bipartisan and moderate approaches to address environmental issues. "I think there will be opportunities for us to work across the aisle" and with some of the new Democrats from moderate areas, she said. Solis also suggested she may seek to provide tax incentives to encourage development of environmentally beneficial products. - Suzanne Yohannan