IB
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4916
To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 8, 1994
Mr. SWIFT (for himself, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. MINETA, Mr. GIBBONS, Mr. AP-
PLEGATE, and Mr. BOEHLERT) introduced the following bill; which was
referred jointly to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Public
Works and Transportation, and Ways and Means
A BILL
To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com-
pensation, and Liability Act of 1980, and for other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Superfund Reform Act
of 1994’’.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. References to Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,
and Liability Act of 1980.
TITLE I—COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND HUMAN HEALTH
Sec. 101. Public participation.
Sec. 102. Community working groups.
Sec. 103. Hazard ranking system.
Sec. 104. Disease registry and medical care providers.
Sec. 105. Substance profiles.
Sec. 106. Determining health effects.
Sec. 107. Public health at NPL facilities.
Sec. 108. Health studies.
Sec. 109. Distribution of materials to health professionals and medical centers.
Sec. 110. Grant awards, contracts, and community assistance activities.
Sec. 111. Public health recommendations in remedial actions.
Sec. 112. Clarification of ATSDR authority.
Sec. 113. Recruitment and training demonstration program.
Sec. 114. Transition.
TITLE II—STATE ROLES
Sec. 201. Contracts or cooperative agreements with States.
Sec. 202. State cost share.
Sec. 203. Siting.
Sec. 204. The State registry.
Sec. 205. Conforming and miscellaneous amendments.
Sec. 206. Study of authorization of States to carry out Superfund.
Sec. 207. State role at Federal facilities.
TITLE III—VOLUNTARY RESPONSE
Sec. 301. Voluntary response program.
TITLE IV—LIABILITY AND ALLOCATION
Sec. 401. Information gathering and access.
Sec. 402. Compliance with administrative orders.
Sec. 403. Limitations to liability for response costs.
Sec. 404. Liability.
Sec. 405. Civil proceedings.
Sec. 406. Limitations on contribution actions.
Sec. 407. Scope of rulemaking authority.
Sec. 408. Response action contractors.
Sec. 409. Enhancement of settlement authorities.
Sec. 410. Professional services.
Sec. 411. Final convenants.
Sec. 412. Expedited final settlements.
Sec. 413. Allocation procedures.
Sec. 414. Recycling transactions.
TITLE V—REMEDY SELECTION AND CLEANUP STANDARDS
Sec. 501. Cleanup standards.
Sec. 502. Remedy selection.
Sec. 503. Miscellaneous amendments to section 121.
Sec. 504. Response authorities.
Sec. 505. Removal actions.
Sec. 506. Hazardous substance property use.
Sec. 507. Transition.
TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS
Sec. 601. Interagency agreements at mixed ownership and mixed responsibility
facilities.
Sec. 602. Contents of certain deeds.
Sec. 603. Transfers of uncontaminated property.
Sec. 604. Agreements to transfer by deed.
Sec. 605. Alternative or innovative treatment technologies.
Sec. 606. Definitions.
Sec. 607. Response claims procedures.
Sec. 608. Small business ombudsman.
Sec. 609. Consideration of local government cleanup priorities.
Sec. 610. Consistent application among regional offices.
Sec. 611. Study of participants.
Sec. 612. Public comment.
Sec. 613. Certification of environmental training and certification organiza-
tions.
Sec. 614. Savings clause.
Sec. 615. Federal entities and facilities.
Sec. 616. Worker training and education grants.
Sec. 617. Report and oversight requirements.
Sec. 618. Remedial technologies.
Sec. 619. Reimbursement to State and local governments.
Sec. 620. Study of small disadvantaged business goals.
Sec. 621. Conforming amendment.
TITLE VII—FUNDING
Sec. 701. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 702. Orphan share funding.
Sec. 703. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Sec. 704. Limitations on research, development, and demonstration programs.
Sec. 705. Authorization of appropriations from general revenues.
Sec. 706. Additional limitations.
Sec. 707. Uses of the fund.
TITLE VIII—ENVIRONMENTAL INSURANCE RESOLUTION FUND
Sec. 801. Short title.
Sec. 802. Definitions.
Sec. 803. Environmental Insurance Resolution Fund.
Sec. 804. Resolution offers.
Sec. 805. Documentation of claims and insurance coverage.
Sec. 806. Amount of resolution offers.
Sec. 807. Acceptance of resolution offer.
Sec. 808. Resolution payments.
Sec. 809. Rejection of resolution offer and reimbursement to insurer.
Sec. 810. Financial Statements, audits, investigations, and inspections.
Sec. 811. Stay of pending litigation.
Sec. 812. Regulations.
Sec. 813. Court jurisdiction and penalties.
Sec. 814. Miscellaneous provisions.
Sec. 815. Reports.
Sec. 816. Effective date.
Sec. 817. Termination of authority to offer and accept resolution.
Sec. 818. Termination of fund.
TITLE IX—TAXES
Sec. 901. Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Sec. 902. Environmental fees and assessments on insurance companies.
Sec. 903. Funding provisions for Environmental Insurance Resolution Fund.
Sec. 904. Resolution Fund not subject to tax.
SEC. 3. REFERENCES TO COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRON-
MENTAL RESPONSE, COMPENSATION, AND LI-
ABILITY ACT OF 1980.
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in
this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms
of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi-
sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a
section or other provision of the Comprehensive Environ-
mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980 (commonly known as ‘‘Superfund’’) (42 U.S.C. 9601
and following).
TITLE I—COMMUNITY PARTICI-
PATION AND HUMAN HEALTH
SEC. 101. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
Section 117 (42 U.S.C. 9617) is amended by striking
subsection (e) and inserting the following:
‘‘(e) GRANTS FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—In accordance with the rules
promulgated by the Administrator, the Adminis-
trator may make grants available to any group of in-
dividuals which may be affected by the release or
threatened release of hazardous substances, pollut-
ants, or contaminants at any facility on the State
Registry or the National Priorities List. Such grants
shall be known as Technical Assistance Grants. To
ensure that the application process is accessible to
all affected citizens, the Administrator shall periodi-
cally review such process and, based on such review,
shall implement appropriate changes to the applica-
tion process to improve access.
‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES.—No matching contribu-
tion shall be required for a Technical Assistance
Grant. The Administrator shall make a portion of
the grant available to the grant recipient, in advance
of the expenditures to be covered by the grant, in
$5,000 installments.
‘‘(3) REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMUNITY.—
The Administrator shall publish guidance for deter-
mining that the recipient of any Technical Assist-
ance Grant award is a legitimate representative of
the community affected by the facility.
‘‘(4) LIMIT PER FACILITY.—Not more than one
grant may be made under this subsection with re-
spect to a single facility, but the grant may be re-
newed to facilitate public participation at all stages
assessment and contamination data gathering
efforts and response activities, (iv) to hire a
community liaison to potentially responsible
parties and government agencies, (v) to hire ex-
perts to file comments with governmental agen-
cies and generate other documents as necessary
to ensure full participation by the grant recipi-
ent, (vi) to hire experts to provide input to the
design of any health studies that a government
agency performs, and (vii) for training funds
for interested affected community members to
enable them to more effectively participate in
the remedy selection process.
‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Grants awarded under
this section may not be used for the purposes
of collecting field sampling data.
‘‘(9) USE OF EXPERTS.—Technical or other ex-
perts hired by grant recipients under this subsection
shall be hired by such recipients pursuant to guide-
lines developed by the Administrator.
‘‘(10) NON-SITE-SPECIFIC GRANTS.—In accord-
ance with the rules promulgated by the Adminis-
trator, the Administrator may make Technical As-
sistance Grant funds available to nonprofit organiza-
tions and citizens groups to enhance their participa-
tion in consensus-based rulemaking processes carried
out in accordance with this Act. Total funding for
all such grants shall not exceed $100,000.
‘‘(f) IMPROVING CITIZEN AND COMMUNITY PARTICI-
PATION
IN
THE SUPERFUND DECISIONMAKING PROC-
ESS.—(1)(A) In order to provide an opportunity for mean-
ingful public participation in every significant phase of re-
sponse activities under this Act, the President shall pro-
vide the opportunity for public meetings and publish a no-
tice of such meetings before or during performance of each
of the following:
‘‘(i) The health assessment and the preliminary
assessment and site inspection, as appropriate.
Where the President determines a meeting is not ap-
propriate at the preliminary assessment and site in-
spection stage, the President shall provide adequate
public notice of that decision.
‘‘(ii) The Remedial Investigation and Feasibility
Study (RI/FS).
‘‘(iii) The announcement of the preferred reme-
dial alternative.
‘‘(iv) The completion of the work plan for the
RI/FS, Remedial Design and Remedial Action.
‘‘(B) Public meetings shall be designed to obtain in-
formation from the community and disseminate informa-
tion to the community concerning the President’s facility
activities and pending decisions.
‘‘(2) The President also shall provide reasonable no-
tice of an opportunity for public participation in meetings
in which—
‘‘(A) the participants include Federal officials,
or State officials where the State is conducting re-
sponse activities, with authority to make significant
decisions affecting a response action, and any other
person or persons, unless the other person or per-
sons are all coregulators that are not potentially re-
sponsible parties, or government contractors; and
‘‘(B) the subject of the meeting involves the de-
velopment of the work plan for the preliminary as-
sessment and site inspection, the RI/FS, Remedial
Design or Remedial Action, or any other phase of
the remedial process for facilities on the National
Priorities List or in the State Registry.
‘‘(3) To the extent practicable, before or during the
health assessments and site inspection, the President shall
solicit and evaluate concerns, interests, and information
from the community likely affected by the facility. The
evaluation shall include, as appropriate, face-to-face com-
munity surveys to identify the location of private drinking
water wells, historic and current or potential use of water,
and other environmental resources in the community; a
public meeting; written responses to significant concerns;
and other appropriate participatory activities.
‘‘(4) During the remedial investigation and feasibility
study, the President shall solicit the views and preferences
of the affected community on the remediation and disposi-
tion of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants
at the facility. The views and preferences of affected com-
munity members shall be described in the remedial inves-
tigation and feasibility study and considered in the screen-
ing of remedial alternatives for the facility.
‘‘(5) Members of the affected community may pro-
pose remedial alternatives to the President, and the Presi-
dent shall consider such alternatives in the same manner
as the President considers alternatives proposed by poten-
tially responsible parties.
‘‘(6) The President, with the assistance of the Citizen
Information and Access Office (as provided for in sub-
section (h)), shall provide information to the community
and seek comment from affected citizens throughout all
significant phases of the response action at the facility.
The President shall ensure that information gathered from
affected citizens during community outreach efforts
reaches appropriate technical staff in a timely and effec-
tive manner. The President also shall ensure reasonable
written or other appropriate responses to such informa-
tion.
‘‘(7) The President shall make all nonprivileged infor-
mation available to the public throughout all phases of re-
sponse action at the facility. Such information shall be
made available to the public for inspection and copying
without the need to file a formal request subject to reason-
able service charges as appropriate.
‘‘(8)(A) The President, in carrying out responsibil-
ities under this Act, shall ensure that the presentation of
information on risk is unbiased and informative. To the
extent feasible, documents made available to the general
public which purport to describe the degree of risk to
human health shall, at a minimum, state—
‘‘(i) the population or populations addressed by
any risk estimates;
‘‘(ii) the expected risk or central estimate of
risk for the specific population;
‘‘(iii) any appropriate upperbound and lower-
bound estimates; and
‘‘(iv) the reasonable range or other description
of uncertainties in the assessment process.
‘‘(B) To the extent practical and appropriate, the Ad-
ministrator shall provide comparisons of the level of risk
from hazardous substances found at facilities to com-
parable levels of risk from hazardous substances ordinarily
encountered by the general public through other routes of
exposure.
‘‘(9) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sub-
section, in the case of a removal action taken in accord-
ance with section 104 which is expected to extend beyond
180 days, the President shall comply with the require-
ments of this section. Whenever the planning period for
a removal action is expected to be greater than 6 months,
the Administrator shall provide the community with notice
of the anticipated removal action and a public comment
period of no less than 30 days.’’.
SEC. 102. COMMUNITY WORKING GROUPS.
Section 117 (42 U.S.C. 9617) is amended by adding
after subsection (f) (as added by this Act) the following
new subsections:
‘‘(g) COMMUNITY WORKING GROUPS.—
‘‘(1) CREATION AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The
President shall provide the opportunity for the es-
tablishment of a representative public forum, known
as a Community Working Group (CWG), to achieve
direct, regular, and meaningful consultation with all
interested parties throughout all stages of a response
action whenever—
‘‘(A) the President determines such a
group will be helpful; or
‘‘(B) 50 citizens, or at least 20 percent of
the population of a locality in which the Na-
tional Priorities List facility is located, petition
for a Community Working Group to be estab-
lished.
‘‘(2) 
DUTIES.—Each 
Community 
Working
Group shall provide information and views to the
President, and, as appropriate, any or all of the fol-
lowing: the Agency for Toxic Substances and Dis-
ease Registry, State regulatory agencies, Federal
and State natural resource trustees, and potentially
responsible parties conducting response actions. The
information and views reported shall include the var-
ious subjects related to facility remediation, includ-
ing facility health studies, potential remedial alter-
natives, and selection and implementation of reme-
dial and removal actions. The Community Working
Group shall attempt to achieve consensus among its
members before reporting positions to agencies or
potentially responsible parties. In cases in which
consensus cannot be reached, the Community Work-
ing Group shall allow the presentation of divergent
views.
‘‘(E) Local representatives of citizen, envi-
ronmental, or public interest groups with mem-
bers residing in the community.
‘‘(F) Local government which may include
pertinent city or county governments, or both,
and any other governmental unit which regu-
lates land use in the vicinity of the facility.
‘‘(G) Workers at the facility who will be in-
volved in actual response operations.
‘‘(H) Workers employed at the facility dur-
ing facility operation.
‘‘(I) Facility owners and local representa-
tives of the significant Potentially Responsible
Parties (PRPs), who represent, wherever prac-
ticable, a balance of PRP interests.
‘‘(J) Members of the local business com-
munity.
‘‘(6) TECHNICAL
AND
ADMINISTRATIVE
SUP-
PORT
FOR
COMMUNITY
WORKING
GROUPS.—The
President shall provide administrative services and
meeting facilities for Community Working Groups.
The Administrator of Environmental Protection
Agency, the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry and the State, as
appropriate, shall participate in Community Work-