This bill lets the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, carry out certain water projects to remove or clean up contaminated sediment when those projects follow a joint remediation plan approved by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). If the Army follows an approved joint plan, the Secretary is not liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for releases of hazardous substances or pollutants that result from the covered activity.
The joint plan must protect human health and the environment and include relevant parts of the National Contingency Plan, a description of the work, the planned disposal method for dredged material, the roles of the Army and the non-Federal partner, and sources of funding. The Secretary must consult with federal, state, and local officials and allow public comment when developing the plan. Before work begins, the Secretary must document hazardous substances present in the sediment and try to identify parties potentially responsible for the contamination. The bill says the federal government can still seek to recover response costs from responsible parties under CERCLA. "Covered activity" means sediment removal or remediation under a Congress-authorized water resources project or section 312(f) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1990.
No publicly available information on estimated costs or specific appropriations is included in the bill text. The joint plan must identify sources of funding. The bill preserves the federal government’s ability to seek cost recovery from responsible parties under CERCLA.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.