Because Congress is required to reauthorize the U.S. Clean Water Act and the "Superfund" in the current session and time running short, the assumption has been that only the water bill could be passed.
But last week a compromise brightened the prospects for a re-write of the 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liabilities Act. That's the so called Superfund.
Of all the environmental laws on the books, Superfund is the biggest failure. The program, financed by a fee on oil, has cleaned up fewer than 150 of 1,200 possible sites and is being drained by administrative and legal costs.
A COMPROMISE
Now the Clinton administration, chemical firms, environmentalists, and lawmakers have agreed on a compromise bill, which they will seek to pass without crippling amendments.
It sets more flexible standards for cleaning up chemical dump sites, encourages community involvement, and allocates cleanup costs more realistically among responsible firms.
Also on the environmental front and just in time for summer the General Services Administration has decided the energy crisis is over.
It will adjust thermostats in 7,200 federal buildings it owns or leases to the 72 76 range year round. It had been operating buildings at 76 80 in the summer and 65 70 in the winter.
GSA Administrator Roger Johnson said, "The strict temperature guidelines are relics of the 1976 energy crisis and an impediment to the productivity of the federal workers in our buildings."
Separately, President Clinton gave federal agencies a few landscaping tips. Well, orders.
He said agencies must use regionally native plants and follow landscaping practices that conserve water and reduce fertilizer or pesticide needs.
PARKING TICKETS
Meanwhile, two U.S. agencies plan to use the "parking ticket" approach for minor environmental violations.
In a 6 month test, the Coast Guard will issue tickets for oil spills of less than 100 gal and other minor environmental violations in the ports of Charleston, S.C., Galveston, Tex., and Long Beach, Calif.
Violators could either pay the fine within 30 days to close the case or contest the ticket and request a hearing.
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a rule to allow its field inspectors to write tickets for minor Clean Air Act violations.
More radical is a second proposed rule, permitted by law, that would let EPA give rewards of as much as $10,000 to citizens who voluntarily provide detailed information that leads to a criminal conviction or fine.
EPA said the program would safeguard against frivolous or invalid charges against industry. A company's employees would not be eligible for a reward if they failed to take corrective action or inform management of a violation.
Copyright 1994 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
