[CPEO-BIF] Wisconsin-EPA sign agreement on One Cleanup Program

["Hersh, Robert" <hersh@WPI.EDU>]

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency recently signed an agreement between the two agencies that
will expedite cleanups of contaminated properties. 

"This agreement is great news," said DNR Secretary Scott Hassett. "It
confirms that our single, consolidated approach to cleaning up contaminated
areas in Wisconsin is consistent with EPA's One Cleanup Program Initiative.
It will not only help property owners, developers and citizens better
understand how meeting Wisconsin's standards will satisfy both agencies, it
will also help improve business creation and growth in those areas."

A Memorandum of Understanding, signed by Secretary Hassett and Mary A. Gade,
Regional Administrator of EPA Region 5, is significant in that it is the
first EPA-state agreement to fully address cleanup requirements across all
major federal programs, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund); Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act; Toxic Substances Control Act; and leaking underground storage
tanks. 

In announcing the agreement, Hassett noted that "Wisconsin's program
simplifies cleanups of contaminated sites under different regulatory programs
by providing a single, consolidated approach rather than using a range of
separate programs with potentially conflicting approaches and cleanup
standards." 

DNR and EPA Region 5 staff have a history of working cooperatively to clean
up and oversee the cleanup of contaminated properties. The original impetus
to create this agreement came through Wisconsin's Brownfields Study Group. 

A copy of the Memorandum of Understanding can be viewed on the DNR Web site:
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/rr/cleanup/ocp.htm



Bob Hersh
CPEO
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