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OREGON <br /> .A TWICE-MONTHLY DIGEST OF ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS , <br /> - HAZARDOUS WASTE CONFERENCE <br /> FEDERAL INITIATIVES <br /> Inside.. by the Editor . <br /> Hazardous Waste Several presentations at the 12th Annual Hazardous Waste Law and Management <br /> Conference (Northwestern School of Law, Dec. 7 -8) dealt with anticipated EPA budget cuts <br /> Conference ...... ...... »... :... 1 and increased agency emphasis on compliance activities. <br /> • - J. Carter Webb (ESCO), calling for a more common sense approach to regulation, <br /> } ' wondered if anticipated cuts to EPA's budget would result in tougher enforcement. , . <br /> Chuck Findley (Deputy Regional Administrator, EPA Region 10), outlined •Region 10's <br /> Upcoming Hazwaste response to the changing political environment. He reported that twenty-five of the Region's <br /> s Rule Adoptions »............• 2 seventy-five manager positions have been eliminated, .and over one hundred positions have <br /> been rearranged. Part of the rearrangement involves a shift from time spent on enffoitement to • <br /> increased technical assistance and compliance. In the past up to seventy percent of overall staff <br /> time was spent on enforcement, tllt chief measure of success being how many enforcement <br /> actions were taken up by the Dept. of Justice. As reorganized, better than sixty percent of staff <br /> Coos Bay : .> time will be spent on helping regulated industry achieve or maintain compliance. A new <br /> Toxics Study . ....:........ ».. 4 s success measure is being work.. ed on.' <br /> Findley's presentation also emphasized increased regulatory flexibility. EPA's draft self <br /> ;;:<: 1. disclosure policy for industry seeks to greatly reduce or even eliminate punitive fines against <br /> °4 companies who come forward with non- compliance problems they are willing to correct.. A <br /> C onstructed Wetlands 1 grace period for achieving compliance is being considered (DEQ's Portland VOCs compliance <br /> v & Waste Water .......... ». 7 grace period, initiated last summer, was spoken of with favor). Any economic gain realized <br /> ... 0 due to past non - compliance may remain subject to fines, however. EPA's draft Environmental - <br /> :, Self Audit policy should appear in the Federal Register this month. <br /> Ernesta Barnes Ballard (former R Region 10 Administrator, currently a private consultant) <br /> if • K expressed concern that the "round table cooperation" envisioned by EPA and the Clinton <br /> n administration didn't provide enough protection from third party lawsuits. , <br /> Findley went on to describe changes in EPA Superfund activ inclining:linking <br /> economic development with the National Priority List clarifying agency oversight vis -a -vis . <br /> state agencies; working to lower remedy costs; de- emphasizing "de minim's" and "orphan" <br /> . �: shares; requiring fewer feasibility studies when dealing with obvious remedies; and having • <br /> : - EPA be less active in states with delegated cleanup programs. • <br /> !ii.", Lisa Friedman (Assoc. Gen. Counsel, EPA, Washington, D.C.) noted that the Clinton <br /> Administration's "Reinventing Environmental Regulation" document combines performance <br /> and market based regulation with realistic risk assessment, while taking a more cooperative - <br /> Enviro Briefs 8 : view on obtaining compliance. Many outgrowths of these efforts are in the works. EPA <br /> 1 policies concerning small businesses ( <100 employees) and small communities dispense with <br /> _ : := criminal actions and eliminate penalties in return for good faith efforts as substantiated by <br /> _ '.1 participation in an assistance program. Project XL is,promoting pilot projects to allow <br /> V Calendar 11 . > :: facilities to demonstrate better environmental protection than strict adherence to regulation <br /> k .: <br /> ,.. provides. <br /> >; • Charles Openchowski (Attorney, Office of General Council, EPA, Washington D.C.) <br /> :e r, outlined the new proposed EPA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) policy. <br /> .,,,,,.,:o : t. • r.. :. z t _ : r , ;� § p , k s }< _ The policy creates "exit levels" allowing for 401 of 408 RCRA listed wastes to exit the RCRA <br /> �, { -, rya 0, $ ; y ! y� , 0 y hazardous waste system at certain levels and a "multi- pathway risk assessment" that's not <br /> <N` >a::. �;>::y;v<S:;•:::« Nry .:»::::>:::; based on a wo rst case scenario. The approach involves expanded self -re <br /> ::::�: •�::..aY,:.��..:' ::: r�.tt.::.0 >; <: w ; ..�,.:xs:� ; ° <: PP P� self-regulation and contin- <br /> <��< >:k<s:�:v�> : �> t.>:. �;.:•, t�::: ri, .....:....... .,.:..........:.:.............. gent management in return for public notice and periodic testing. States with delegated <br /> Issue #142 Printed on Recycled Paper With Soy Ink December 15, 1995 <br />