Problems and limitations of voluntary cleanup programs

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:205356

Johnson, S F ^[1]

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1. Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, New Castle, DE (United States). Superfund Branch

At least a dozen states have already implemented voluntary cleanup programs (VCPs). Provisions to promote state VCPs were prominent in the EPA`s 1994 proposed revisions to CERCLA and in current legislative initiatives. Under the VCP, property owners voluntarily enroll to investigate and remediate contaminated sites with the aegis of a state agency and thus avoid involvement with the federal Superfund program. When the state agency is satisfied with the condition of the site, it issues a certificate to the owner. The VCP is meant to mitigate unintended consequences of CERCLA such as the economic abandonment of urban industrial sites in favor of unpolluted suburban sites. The VCP concept has been combined with other reforms including cleanup standards, financial incentives, and independent action. The effectiveness of voluntary cleanup programs is limited by the costs of investigation and cleanup relative to the value of the property in question. It is also limited when property has environmental problems outside the traditional focus of state Superfund agencies on soil and groundwater contamination. VCPs also have potential unintended consequences of their own. The VCP concept is consistent with a 15 year trend of increasing government attention and involvement with sites of diminishing health and environmental significance. VCP may reinforce the perception of liability and unwittingly raise the standard of due diligence in property assessments, especially if combined with generic cleanup standard.

• OSTI ID: 205356
• Report Number(s): CONF-951139--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
COST
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
IMPLEMENTATION
LEGAL ASPECTS
LIABILITIES
REMEDIAL ACTION
US SUPERFUND
WASTE MANAGEMENT