Superfund Amendments of 1985

Superfund Amendments of 1985 - Title I: Provisions Relating Primarily to Response and Liability - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) (Superfund) to direct the Administrator of the Envronmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish reportable quantities for all hazardous substances by December 31, 1986. Directs the Administrator to give primary attention to releases which may present a threat to public health. Requires short-term removal actions undertaken by the Administrator to contribute to the degree possible to the efficient performance of any long-term action. Increases the maximum time and funding limit on short-term response actions when appropriate.

Limits the 50 percent State cleanup obligation to those facilities which are both owned and operated by the State. Credits States with expenditures made at National Priorities List (NPL) sites on cost-eligible response actions. Revises other State cost-sharing measures.

Grants EPA employees or contractors the necessary access to facilities and information to determine if the need for a response action exists.

Prescribes a cleanup schedule for Superfund, requiring an evaluation within two years of sites on the Emergency Response and Remedial Investigation System (ERRIS) list for possible inclusion on the NPL. Sets a schedule for the commencement of substantial and continuous onsite remedial action for a specified number of facilities.

Directs the Administrator to revise the National Contingency Plan (NCP) within 18 months to reflect this Act's amendments. Requires the review of the hazardous ranking system within one year. Permits individuals to petition the Administrator for a preliminary hazard assessment at a site. Includes contamination of the ambient air as a criterion for ranking a hazard. Eliminates the requirement that the NPL contain at least 400 sites.

Prohibits the Administrator from taking abatement action against any release resulting from an applied pesticide registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.

Makes liability for releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances requiring abatement actions strict, joint, and several.

Includes all vessels releasing hazardous substances within the jurisdiction of the United States under the liability provisions of CERCLA.

Makes certain investigatory and assessment costs recoverable from the responsible party. Exempts from liability for all but negligent actions government agencies responding to a hazardous substance emergency.

Directs the Administrator and each Governor to appoint Federal and State trustees, respectively, for natural resources, creating a rebuttable presumption that their assessment of damages to such resources is valid.

States that cleanup costs incurred in a response action constitute a Federal lien against the property of a responsible party.

Sets forth evidentiary requirements for establishing financial responsibility. Permits direct action against a financial guarantor if the person liable is financially or physically unavailable for redress.

Entitles such a guarantor to all rights and defenses available to the liable party. Limits the liability of such guarantor to its financial responsibility to the responsible party.

Increases criminal penalties and adds certain civil penalties for violations of this Act, including failure to provide accurate information at specified times.

Directs the Administrator to establish a program for alternative or innovative treatment technologies which can be used in remedial actions through research contracts and grants, information exchange, and demonstrations at NPL sites in each of the EPA regions. Requires the Administrator to revise the National Contingency Plan (NCP) to include the use of such technologies in remedial actions. Authorizes the use of Superfund monies for such research. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress an evaluation of the demonstration projects.

Establishes a total fund level of $2,020,000,000 for each of five years, through FY 1990. Authorizes the use of Superfund monies for the authorities created by this Act. Eliminates the use of Superfund for payment of natural resource damage claims.

Revises auditing procedures to require audits and reports to the Congress by the Inspector General.

Authorizes appropriations for Superfund for FY 1986 through 1990 at a level of $250,000,000 per year.

Establishes within Superfund the Underground Storage Tank Account to clean up petroleum leaks from underground storage tanks.

Establishes a six-year statute of limitations for Superfund claims, setting forth special rules for minors and incompetents.

Authorizes nationwide service of process under CERCLA. Establishes a three-year statute of limitations for the initiation of actions for contribution for response costs of damages and for recovery claims for damages to natural resources. Establishes a six-year statute of limitations for cost recovery actions.

Authorizes a State to require contributions to a fund to pay the costs of hazardous substance response actions or damages. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), to list and periodically revise a list of hazardous substances at NPL sites which pose the most significant potential threat to human health. Directs the Administrator to develop toxicological profiles for each such substance, assessing the current state of knowledge of their deleterious effects.

Authorizes individuals to petition the Administrator of EPA for a health assessment of a site where evidence of human exposure to hazardous substances exists.

Directs the Administrator of ATSDR to conduct a study of health effects of exposure whenever justified by an assessment.

Requires the Administrator of EPA to provide a reasonable opportunity for public comment on any proposed plan for remedial action before it is implemented. Requires the Administrator to publish an explanation of any divergences from such plan or public comments. Authorizes the Administrator to make assistance available to affected individuals to help them evaluate and assess technical information and data.

Prohibits the Administrator from taking a response action to certain types of releases unless such releases constitute a public health or environmental emergency. Prohibits response to releases: (1) of naturally occurring substances; (2) of building products; (3) into drinking water supply systems due to expected deterioration; and (4) from coal mining sites when a response action is available under the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. Grants highest cleanup priority to releases which have contaminated or closed a sole or principal drinking water source. Requires the consideration of certain factors when adopting offsite remedies, including the long-term risks and uncertainties of land disposal.

Exempts response-action contractors from liability for nonnegligent cleanup activities if they would not otherwise have been liable.

Includes Federal facilities under CERCLA as if they were private facilities, except for certain financial responsibility and time period provisions. Requires the Administrator to establish a Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket for each Federal agency and department which will include information on off-site contamination and monitoring data, and releases of reportable quantities of hazardous substances. Requires that such information be made available to the public. Requires the Administrator to evaluate certain Federal facilities by January 31, 1987, for placement on the NPL, using NCP criteria. Requires the commencement of a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RIFS) within six months of a Federal site's placement on the NPL. Directs the Administrator to review the RIFS and enter into interagency agreements for cleanup when necessary, allowing for public participation. Requires each agency to report annually to the Congress on its implementation progress. Requires Federal agencies to notify buyers or transferees of Federal land where hazardous substances were disposed of or stored.

Permits States to be the on-scene coordinators for Federal projects within their boundaries.

Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a research program to reduce the quantities and toxicity of hazardous waste generated by defense activities. Requires the Secretary to notify the Administrator of ATSDR of the most widely used substances for which no other Federal standard is in place. Authorizes appropriations.

Requires the Administrator to select appropriate cost-effective remedial actions in accordance with the NCP. Requires remedial actions selected to provide sufficient control or amelioration of the hazardous substance so as to protect human health and the environment. Requires such measures to take into account the long-term effectiveness of the solution and the alternative technologies available to the maximum extent possible. Requires a standard of control at least as strict as that provided by any other applicable Federal environmental law. Requires offsite disposal to be in compliance with the relevant provisions of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Permits the waiver of certain requirements as specified.

Authorizes the Administrator to enter into agreements whereby the releasor or any potentially responsible person conducts the remedial response. Permits the Administrator to fund part of such response. Limits the liability of the cleanup party to that specified in the agreement. Permits the Administrator to take action against any person not a party to such agreement. Enters such agreements in the appropriate U.S. district court as consent agreements, enforceable as such.

Directs the Administrator to notify potentially responsible parties of each other's identities and of the seriousness of the necessary cleanup, providing a moratorium on the commencement of remedial action for a specified period after such notice has been given. Grants notified persons an opportunity to submit a proposal to the Administrator for the undertaking or financing of remedial action. Permits the Administrator to commence remedial action if no good faith proposal is forthcoming within a specified period. Authorizes the Administrator to proceed on remedial actions where a significant public health threat exists regardless of the status of negotiations. Authorizes the Administrator to agree to refrain from pursuing any future liability of a person if an approved response action would be expedited and the person is in full compliance with the consent decree. Permits such an agreement only in the public interest after an evaluation of the effectiveness of the remedy and the nature of the remaining risks. Places premiums from such agreements into a contingency fund for future remedial actions at other facilities. Permits the Administrator to settle with persons whose share of response costs is not substantial.

Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - Terminates the Post-closure Liability Fund's responsibility to fund the cleanup of already closed sites where hazardous waste was stored in compliance with the Solid Waste Disposal Act.

Requires the promulgation of natural resource assessment damage claims regulations within six months of this Act's enactment.

Requires the Department of Transportation to promulgate regulations requiring shippers to notify transporters whenever hazardous substances are offered for transportation.

Holds responsible parties strictly, jointly, and severally liable in State court actions for personal damages caused by exposure to any hazardous substance released.

Establishes a federally-required commencement date for the running of State statutes of limitations for injury or diseases caused by exposure to a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Makes such date the time a plaintiff should reasonably have known exposure to such a substance caused or contributed to a personal injury.

Directs the Administrator to provide for the cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks, establishing a separate Tank Priorities List under the NCP. Requires the Administrator to use funds in the Underground Storage Tank Account of Superfund for such purposes. Authorizes the Administrator to utilize the response authorities available under CERCLA. Directs the Administrator to promulgate interim financial responsibility regulations which permit owners or operators or others to assume financial responsibility for leaks. Authorizes the Administrator to issue corrective action orders when a release or threatened release presents an imminent and substantial endangerment. Establishes a one-year moratorium on liability and abatement action coverage for leaks, but subjects owners and operators to such provision afterwards to the extent they have agreed to assume financial responsibility and have complied with specified provisions of the Solid Waste Disposal Act.

Authorizes citizen suits against violators of this Act, including the Administrator and other Government officials who have failed to perform nondiscretionary duties. Permits citizen suits against nongovernment officials in the Federal district court in which the violation occurred. Permits citizen suits against any Federal official only in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Empowers such courts to impose civil penalties and to order the performance of required acts. Requires plaintiffs to give notice to the Administrator, the alleged violator, and the State in which the violation occurred before commencing proceedings. Prohibits citizen suits where the Administrator has commenced and is pursuing an enforcement action. Permits the awarding of court costs to the substantially prevailing party. States that the United States may intervene as a matter of right in all citizen suits to which it is not otherwise a party.

Requires the Federal Government to provide the assurances that it will pay a share of the remedial action and maintenance costs of a cleanup on Indian lands that is otherwise required to be made by a State. Authorizes Indian tribes to recover damages for injury to natural resources from hazardous substance releases, except as specified. Includes Indian tribes on the same basis as States under certain provisions of CERCLA.

Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress within one year an evaluation on the threat to human health of radon gas and radon daughters forming from naturally occurring deposits of uranium and collecting in residences.

Directs the Administrator to conduct a demonstration program testing methods of reducing or eliminating the threat, reporting periodically to the Congress on the results. Authorizes appropriations.

Title III: Community Right to Know and Emergency Planning - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act by adding a new title II concerning communities' right-to-know, emergency planning, and liability. Requires each covered manufacturer or processor of a covered hazardous substance (potential releasors) to prepare and update a fact sheet for such substance for distribution to local police, fire, and health officials. Requires the fact sheet to include the name, physical properties of, and hazards posed by the substance, including potential routes of human exposure to such substance, symptoms of such exposure, and appropriate emergency and first aid procedures.

Requires status sheets on the same basis as fact sheets, with each status sheet to include the maximum inventory and method of storage of the substance, the quantity of its emission into the environment, and the quantity and method of disposal. Requires the Administrator to establish a toll-free hotline for such information.

Requires the releasor of a covered hazardous substance in an emergency situation to provide an emergency bulletin to the State and local police and other local officials. Requires the bulletin to identify the name and amount of the substance released and the response actions taken. Requires fact and status sheets and emergency bulletins to be made available for public inspection with public notice of such availability at the facility of the potential releasor. Requires the Administrator to publish a uniform format for fact and status sheets.

Authorizes a State's Governor to identify local officials to receive covered hazardous substance release information, with the Administrator doing so in the absence of the Governor's identification.

Requires the potential releasors to maintain records of information required by this Act. Requires manufacturers or processors to transmit fact sheets to covered distributors or users upon shipping of a covered hazardous substance.

Provides protection for trade secrets while continuing to make necessary information available to the appropriate persons. Excludes listed or possible carcinogens from such protection. Sets forth application and substantiation procedures for trade secret claims. Permits affected citizens to petition disclosure of nonsubstantiated trade secrets through the Administrator.

Authorizes the Administrator to grant exemptions from the basic notification requirements of this Act through specified procedures open to the public based upon a cost-benefits analysis where there is no reasonable likelihood of harm.

Directs each covered major manufacturer to develop within two years of the enactment of this Act a comprehensive evacuation and emergency response plan which addresses the health and safety issues applicable to such manufacturer's particular situation. Requires the plan to include designations of the appropriate government officials to be notified, mitigation measures, evacuation routes, notification plans, and evaluation of community support services.

Authorizes each Governor to designate emergency response districts within 18 months of the enactment of this Act or the Administrator will do so. Permits each Governor to appoint an Emergency Response Committee per district or the Administrator will be treated as such Committee. Requires such Committees to review the manufacturers' plans, revising them where necessary.

Directs the Administrator, within 18 months of the enactment of this Act, to develop uniform national mandatory labeling requirements for pipes, storage tanks, or containers not otherwise required to be labeled which could reasonably be presumed to release a covered hazardous substance. Requires the label to indicate the appropriate response to a release.

Sets forth categories of substances to be considered covered hazardous substances and procedures for adding additional substances. Directs the Administrator of ATSDR to compile and update a digest of all such substances. Exempts certain substances for this Act's purposes, based upon the form, amount, and other regulation of such substances.

Establishes civil and criminal penalties, limiting criminal penalties to the knowing violation of emergency requirements. Authorizes citizens' suits to enforce this Act.

Permits States to adopt more stringent right-to-know standards.

Title IV: Internal Revenue Code Provisions - Imposes taxes of $1,770,000,000 for each of FY 1986 through 1990 for deposit in the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund.