I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1782

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to

apply the hazard ranking system under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to areas

in the Chesapeake Bay Program in the same manner as such system

is applied to areas in the National Estuary Program.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 21, 1993

Mr. GILCHREST (for himself, Mrs. BENTLEY, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. BARTLETT of

Maryland, Mr. MFUME, Mr. HOYER, Mrs. MORELLA, and Mr. WYNN) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees

on Public Works and Transportation and Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to apply the hazard ranking system under

the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to areas in the Chesapeake Bay Program in the same manner as such system

is applied to areas in the National Estuary Program.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chesapeake Bay

5 Protection Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) The Environmental Protection Agency

4 (EPA) has adopted revisions to the Hazard Ranking

5 System, the principal mechanism for placing sites on

6 the National Priorities List (NPL) under the Com7 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,

8 and Liability Act of 1980. These revisions took ef9 fect March 14, 1991.

10 (2) The revised ranking system made changes

11 in the way EPA evaluates potential threats to

12 human health and the environment from hazardous

13 waste sites.

14 (3) Within the revised ranking system, EPA ex15 panded the list of sensitive environments. The most

16 sensitive environments, like critical habitats for fed17 erally designated endangered or threatened species,

18 and sensitive areas identified under the National Es19 tuary Program, are granted additional points.

20 (4) The Chesapeake Bay Program, established

21 to coordinate a Federal program to clean up the

22 Chesapeake Bay, designates a sensitive estuarine en23 vironment with respect to which Federal resources

24 have been invested. These areas deserve the same

25 protection as the protection provided for estuaries

26 under the National Estuary Program.
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1 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT TO RANK CHESAPEAKE BAY PRO2 GRAM AREAS IN SAME MANNER AS NATIONAL

3 ESTUARY PROGRAM AREAS UNDER

4 SUPERFUND HAZARD RANKING SYSTEM.

5 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 60 days after the

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of

7 the Environmental Protection Agency shall by rule pro8 mulgate an amendment to the hazard ranking system

9 under section 105(c) of the Comprehensive Environmental

10 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42

11 U.S.C. 9605(c)) to require that such system be applied

12 to areas under the Chesapeake Bay Program in the same

13 manner as the system is applied to areas under the Na14 tional Estuary Program by, at a minimum, considering

15 areas in the Chesapeake Bay Program to be environ16 mentally sensitive and by assigning such areas the same

17 rating value as areas under the estuary program.

18 (b) REEVALUATIONS.—After the amendment is pro19 mulgated under subsection (a), the Administrator of the

20 Environmental Protection Agency shall reevaluate the

21 hazard ranking of any area in the Chesapeake Bay Pro22 gram which was evaluated in accordance with the criteria

23 under the hazard ranking system before the effective date

24 of the amendment required by subsection (a).

25 (c) CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM DEFINED.—For

26 purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘Chesapeake Bay Pro-
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1 gram’’ means the program referred to in section 117 of

2 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.

3 1267).

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