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Title: Applicability of environmental laws to the remedial investigation and cleanup of a site at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5971014· OSTI ID:5971014

A hazardous waste remedial investigation is currently being performed at 21 sites at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon in Fallon, Nevada. One of these sites, a fuel tank farm, is the subject of a lead agency controversy. The discovery, in August 1986, of JP-5 jet fuel floating on the water table at the bases' fuel tank farm prompted the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (NDEP) to issue a finding of alleged violation of a state statute prohibiting discharge of pollutants without a permit and an order for remediation. Application of confusing and sometimes ambiguous state and federal regulatory standards to the jet fuel contamination leads to problems with interpretation. Does jurisdiction belong to the state, to the Department of Defense (DOD), or to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) If EPA has jurisdiction, does the site fall under the program to manage past waste disposal sites, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), or does it fall under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which was promulgated to control current activities Furthermore, is JP-5 jet fuel a hazardous waste, or is it exempt because it is classified as a petroleum hydrocarbon This report attempts to answer these questions by presenting the chronology of events that created a lead agency controversy at this site and by examining both the basis and application of environmental regulations. Also addressed are the elements of human risk and threat to the environment pertaining to remediation at this site. 16 refs.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-84OR21400
OSTI ID:
5971014
Report Number(s):
ORNL/TM-11802; ON: DE91010752
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English