SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR PUBLIC NOTICE OF REMOVAL 
OF ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS. 
Title I of the Comprehensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 
U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 129. REQUIREMENT FOR PUBLIC NOTICE OF RE-
MOVAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS. 
‘‘(a) 
REVISION
OF
NATIONAL
CONTINGENCY 
PLAN.—Not later than 12 months after the date of enact-
ment of this section, the President shall revise the national 
contingency plan in accordance with the requirements of 
this section to provide for improved public notification and 
community relations in the case of a response action. 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
ALL
RESPONSE
AC-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(1) APPLICABILITY.—The head of the lead 
agency for a response action shall take the actions 
specified in this subsection for each response action 
conducted by the lead agency. 
‘‘(2) DESIGNATION OF SPOKESPERSON; PRESS 
RELEASES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of the lead 
agency shall designate a spokesperson for the 
response action. 
‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The spokesperson shall— 
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‘‘(i) provide notice of the response ac-
tion to— 
‘‘(I) civil defense and emergency 
management agencies, as the head of 
the lead agency determines appro-
priate; 
‘‘(II) immediately affected resi-
dents; 
‘‘(III) other members of the com-
munity surrounding the response site; 
and 
‘‘(IV) State and local officials; 
‘‘(ii) respond to inquiries from the 
public concerning the response action; and 
‘‘(iii) provide information to the public 
concerning the release resulting in the re-
sponse action. 
‘‘(C) PRESS RELEASE.—The head of the 
lead agency shall— 
‘‘(i) issue a press release containing 
information about the response action not 
later than 10 days after the President de-
termines that the response action is appro-
priate; and 
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‘‘(ii) ensure the coordination of all 
press releases and other statements made 
by agencies participating in the response 
action with the on-scene coordinator or re-
medial project manager appointed for the 
response action under the national contin-
gency plan. 
‘‘(3) ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION 
OFFICE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of the lead 
agency shall establish a public information of-
fice for the response action. 
‘‘(B) LOCATION.—The public information 
office shall be located at or near the response 
site and may be housed in a trailer or other fa-
cility. 
‘‘(C) STAFFING.—The public information 
office shall be staffed by individuals selected by 
the head of the agency. 
‘‘(D) DUTIES.—Individuals staffing the 
public information office shall— 
‘‘(i) provide information to the public 
on the actions taken with regard to the re-
sponse action; 
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‘‘(ii) respond to inquiries from the 
public concerning the response action; and 
‘‘(iii) provide information to the public 
concerning the release resulting in the re-
sponse action. 
‘‘(E) DEADLINE.—The head of the lead 
agency shall establish the public information of-
fice not later than the date of initiation of on- 
site activities for the response action. The pub-
lic information office shall remain available to 
the public for the duration of the response ac-
tion. 
‘‘(4) INFORMATION REPOSITORY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of the lead 
agency shall establish, at or near the response 
site, at least one local information repository 
that contains items made available for public 
information. 
‘‘(B) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The head of the 
lead agency shall inform the public of the estab-
lishment of the information repository. 
‘‘(C) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The head of the 
lead agency shall ensure that all items in the 
information repository are available for public 
inspection and copying. 
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‘‘(D) DEADLINE.—The head of the lead 
agency shall complete all actions required by 
this paragraph on or before the last day of the 
60-day period beginning on the date of initi-
ation of on-site activities for the response ac-
tion. 
‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD FILE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of the lead 
agency shall make available for public inspec-
tion the administrative record file for the re-
sponse action. 
‘‘(B) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The head of the 
lead agency shall publish a prominent notice of 
availability of the administrative record file for 
public inspection and comment in a newspaper 
of general circulation in the area including the 
response site. The notice shall also include the 
following: 
‘‘(i) Information about the response 
site, including the location of the site and 
the hazardous substance present at the 
site. 
‘‘(ii) The location of the information 
repository established under paragraph (4) 
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and the hours that the repository is open 
to the public. 
‘‘(iii) The time, date, and location of 
the next scheduled public meeting to be 
conducted under paragraph (7). 
‘‘(iv) The dates of the public comment 
period established under paragraph (6). 
‘‘(v) The name of the agency contact 
to whom individuals may submit written 
comments concerning the response action. 
‘‘(C) LOCATION.—The head of the lead 
agency shall place the administrative record file 
in at least one of the information repositories 
established under paragraph (4). 
‘‘(D) DEADLINE.—The head of the lead 
agency shall publish the notice required by sub-
paragraph (A) on or before the last day of the 
60-day period beginning on the date of initi-
ation of on-site activities for the response ac-
tion. 
‘‘(6) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of the lead 
agency shall provide a public comment period 
that allows for the submission of written and 
oral comments concerning the response action. 
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‘‘(B) RESPONSE
TO
COMMENTS.—The 
head of the lead agency shall prepare a written 
response to significant comments submitted 
during the comment period. 
‘‘(C) LENGTH
OF
PERIOD.—The public 
comment period shall begin on the date the ad-
ministrative record file is made available for 
public inspection and continue for at least 30 
days. Upon timely request, the head of the lead 
agency shall extend the public comment period 
by a minimum of 15 days. 
‘‘(7) PUBLIC MEETINGS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of the lead 
agency for a response action shall conduct pub-
lic meetings concerning the response action. 
‘‘(B) LOCATION.—The meetings shall be 
held in a location in close proximity to the re-
sponse site. 
‘‘(C) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The head of the 
lead agency shall publish a prominent notice 
that informs the public about the public meet-
ing. The notice shall include the following: 
‘‘(i) Information about the response 
site, including the location of the site and 
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parable facility) of the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency. 
‘‘(D) DEADLINE.—The head of the lead 
agency shall make the Web site (or comparable 
facility) required by subparagraph (A) available 
to the public not later than 30 days after the 
date on which the President determines that 
the response action is appropriate. 
‘‘(10) VISITS
TO
RESIDENCES
AND
BUSI-
NESSES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of the lead 
agency shall ensure that each residence and 
business located within a 1⁄2 mile radius of the 
response site is visited by a representative of 
the lead agency. 
‘‘(B) 
DUTIES.—A 
representative 
con-
ducting a visit under subparagraph (A) shall— 
‘‘(i) provide the residence or business 
with information, including printed mate-
rials, on actions taken at the response site; 
‘‘(ii) respond to inquiries from the 
residence or business concerning the re-
sponse action; and 
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‘‘(iii) provide information to the resi-
dence or business concerning the release 
resulting in the response action. 
‘‘(C) DEADLINES.—The head of the lead 
agency shall ensure that— 
‘‘(i) the visits required by subpara-
graph (A) occur not later than 30 days 
after the President determines that the re-
sponse action is appropriate; and 
‘‘(ii) such visits reoccur quarterly 
throughout the duration of the response 
action. 
‘‘(11) PRINTED INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of the lead 
agency for a response action shall mail printed 
materials containing information about the re-
moval action to all residences and businesses lo-
cated within a 1⁄2 mile radius of the response 
site. 
‘‘(B) DEADLINES.—The head of the lead 
agency shall— 
‘‘(i) mail the materials required by 
subparagraph (A) not later than 30 days 
after the President determines that re-
sponse action is appropriate; and 
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‘‘(ii) update and mail the materials 
quarterly throughout the duration of the 
response action. 
‘‘(c) REQUIREMENT FOR RESPONSE ACTIONS WITH 
PLANNING PERIODS OF AT LEAST 180 DAYS.— 
‘‘(1) APPLICABILITY.—The head of the lead 
agency for a response action shall take the actions 
specified in this subsection, in addition to the ac-
tions specified in subsection (b), if the President de-
termines, based on a site evaluation, that a response 
action is appropriate and the head of the lead agen-
cy determines that a planning period of at least 180 
days exists prior to the date of initiation of on-site 
activities for the response action. If subsection (d) 
applies to the response action, the head of the lead 
agency shall also take the actions specified in that 
subsection. 
‘‘(2) ENGINEERING
EVALUATION
AND
COST 
ANALYSIS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of the lead 
agency shall make the engineering evaluation 
and cost analysis prepared for the response ac-
tion available to the public. 
‘‘(B) NOTICE.—The head of the lead agen-
cy shall publish a prominent notice of avail-
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ability of the engineering evaluation and cost 
analysis in a local newspaper of general circula-
tion in the community where the response site 
is located. Such notice shall contain a brief de-
scription of the contents of the engineering 
evaluation and cost analysis and a description 
of the location where the evaluation and anal-
ysis is located. 
‘‘(C) DEADLINE.—The head of the lead 
agency shall complete the actions required 
under subparagraphs (A) and (B) not later 
than the date on which an engineering evalua-
tion and cost analysis approval memorandum 
for the response action is signed. 
‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS FOR RESPONSE ACTIONS LAST-
ING MORE THAN 120 DAYS.— 
‘‘(1) APPLICABILITY.—The head of the lead 
agency for a response action shall take the actions 
specified in this subsection, in addition to the ac-
tions specified in subsection (b), for a response ac-
tion that the head of the lead agency determines will 
continue after the end of the 120-day period begin-
ning on the date of initiation of on-site activities for 
the response action. If subsection (c) applies to the 
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response action, the head of the lead agency shall 
also take the actions specified in that subsection. 
‘‘(2) INTERVIEWS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of the lead 
agency shall conduct interviews with local offi-
cials, community residents, public interest 
groups, and other interested or affected per-
sons, as appropriate, to solicit their concerns, 
information needs, and how and when such per-
sons would like to be involved in the response 
action. 
‘‘(B) DEADLINE.—The head of the lead 
agency shall complete the interviews required by 
subparagraph (A) on or before the last day of 
the 90-day period beginning on the date of ini-
tiation of on-site activities for the response ac-
tion. 
‘‘(3) COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of the lead 
agency shall prepare a formal community rela-
tions plan based on the interviews conducted 
under paragraph (2) and other relevant infor-
mation. 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The community rela-
tions plan shall specify the community relations 
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activities that the head of the lead agency ex-
pects to undertake during the response action. 
‘‘(C) DEADLINE.—The head of the lead 
agency shall develop the community relations 
plan on or before last day of the 120-day period 
beginning on the date of initiation of on-site ac-
tivities for the response action. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 
definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) ENGINEERING
EVALUATION
AND
COST 
ANALYSIS.—The term ‘engineering evaluation and 
cost analysis’ means an engineering evaluation and 
cost analysis required by section 300.415(a)(4)(i) of 
title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on 
October 1, 2007. 
‘‘(2) LEAD AGENCY.—The term ‘lead agency’ 
means the agency responsible for planning and im-
plementing a response action under the national con-
tingency plan. 
‘‘(3) SIGNIFICANT COMMENT.—The term ‘sig-
nificant comment’ means a public comment deter-
mined to be significant by the head of the lead agen-
cy responsible for the response action. 
‘‘(4) RESPONSE ACTION.—The term ‘response 
action’ means a response carried out under the na-
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tional contingency plan, including a response as de-
fined by section 101 of this Act and a removal as 
defined by section 311(a) of the Federal Water Pol-
lution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(a)). 
‘‘(5) RESPONSE SITE.—The term ‘response site’ 
means the location of a response.’’. 
Æ 
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