Document 5Dbbqb1MJQR08VDO1nV2eB9BR

I The Conservation Foundation 1717 Massachusetts Avenue. N.W., Washington. D.C. 20036 Telephone (202)797-4300 Cable CONSERVIT FACT SHEET CLEAN SITES, INC. PRIVATE SECTOR ACTION TO SPEED THE CLEANUP OF HAZARDOUS WASTE SITES INACTIVE HAZARDOUS WASTE SITES -- A MAJOR NATIONAL CONCERN A major mismatch exists between the size of the hazardous waste site problem and the pace of cleanup. Since Superfund was enacted in 1980, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified over 16,000 potential problem sites. 552 sites have been or are on EPA's National Priority List (NPL), and EPA has estimated that the List will grow to between 1,400 and 2,200. To date, only a few of these sites have been cleaned up with public funds. The potential for more costly and dangerous pollution, particularly groundwater contamination, increases as cleanup is postponed. Four major obstacles have slowed waste site cleanup: 1) A n 1effective method for assessing liability among private parties has not been found. 2) Public policy has generally required too much technical certainty, too soon, in the cleanup process. 3) Not enough people have been involved who have the broad-based managerial skills required to accomplish the complex tasks in cleanup. 4) The current approach to cleanup has not allowed the cleanup process to be divided into discrete, manageable segments. -mor e- -2- CLEAN SITES, INC. -- A NEW APPROACH TO PRIVATE PARTY CLEANUP Clean Sites, Inc., a new nonprofit corporation, will increase private sector involvement in hazardous waste site cleanup, and speed tt)e overall pace of remedial action. Clean Sites' efforts will supplement, not supplant, EPA and other government work under Superfund: The objective is to clean up sites additional to those the government will clean up. CSI's priorities for selecting sites are still under development. All work by Clean Sites will conform to EPA policy and be approved by EPA. EPA retains full authority to recover cleanup costs from responsible parties. Clean Sites depends upon effective enforcement and cleanup action by EPA to encourage private cleanup. Clean Sites is no substitute for Superfund reauthorization. Clean Sites, as a private entity, may be asked to enlis.t other private resources to assist in overcoming obstacles in the cleanup process: o Companies involved at waste sites will be helped to apportion responsibility and map out cleanup plans in a more candid, less adversarial atmosphere than now exists. Industry's deep reservoir of engineering, scientific, and, most importantly, managerial skills can be enlisted in ways that assure public confidence. Clean Sites will perform three important functions: 1) It will coalesce responsible parties, resolve disputes among them, and present allocations to the government. 2) It will assure the public and the government that private party cleanups are acceptable through technical asssistance, review, and close contact with affected communities. 3) Subject to EPA approval of plans, it will oversee the cleanup of sites, especially those that may involve both private and public money. -more- -3- THE CLEAN SITES. INC.. ORGANIZATION Russell E. Train, EPA Administrator from 1973 to 1977, will chair the Board of Directors. Other Board members will include leaders from the industrial, environmental, and educational sectors, including: Douglas M. Costle, EPA Administrator from 1977 to 1981; Louis Fernandez, Chairman of the Board, Monsanto Company; William K. Reilly, President, The Conservation Foundation; Other Board members will be announced at the May 31 press conference. Dr. Charles W. Powers, Executive Director of the Health Effects Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will serve as President. The President is also a Board member. Three operating divisions will report to the President: 1) A coalescing/dispute resolution group; 2) A group to evaluate the technical and scientific . adequacy of cleanups; and 3) A group to oversee the management of actual cleanup. Each division will also have an advisory board composed of distinguished experts in relevant disciplines. Clean Sites will use both permanent staff members and experts on loan from industry: By the .end of its first year of operation, Clean Sites expects to have nearly 40 permanent and on-loan staff to begin work on 20 sites. By 1986, Clean Sites anticipates action on 60 sites annually. The bylaws and articles of incorporation for Clean Sites, Inc., have been filed in-the District of Columbia and are public documents. -more- 4- FUNDING FOR CLEAN SITES, INC Clean Sites' estimated operating budget will be $4.5 million during its first full year of operation rising to $12 to 15 million in the third year and beyond. Clean Sites will depend initially upon voluntary contributions -- up to 50% of operational funds has been committed by the chemical industry. The remainder will be contributed by the other waste generating industries, including the motor vehicles, aerospace, rubber, petroleum refining, metal manufacturing, electronics, appliance, office equipment, and computer industries. Contributions also will be sought from private * foundations. As Clean Sites develops a track record in accomplishing fast and effective cleanups, it expects to be increasingly supported by fees for its services. THE CONSERVATION FOUNDATION AND THE STEERING COMMITTEE PROCESS Clean Sites, Inc., is the product of ten months of discussions among chemical industry executives, leaders in the environmental community, and other prominent citizens. The Conservation Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based foundation devoted to research and analysis of environmental issues, offered its good offices and support to study the issue of private sector cleanup. The Foundation convened a Steering Committee, chaired by Dr. Fernandez and composed of, in addition to Mr. Costle and Mr. Reilly: -- Henry L. Diamond, Partner, Beveridge and Diamond, and former Commissioner, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; -- Robert C. Forney, Executive Vice President, E. I. duPont de Nemours & Company; -- Jay D. Hair, Executive Vice President, National Wildlife Federation; -- Edwin C. Holmer, President, Exxon Chemical Company; and -more- -5- -- Robert A* Roland, President, Chemical Manufacturers Association. A working group was co-chaired by Dr. Powers and by H. Eugene McBrayer, Executive Vice President, Exxon Chemical Company. The group was voluntary and had no sanction from the federal government but was encouraged by EPA Administrator William D. Ruckelshaus. In its deliberations, the Committee and Working Group met with a wide variety of state and local officials, citizens in affected communities, members of public interest organizations, attorneys, and federal officials. 0-