[CPEO-MEF] EPA circulates draft IC guidance for comments

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Please excuse the cross-posting.

Several offices at U.S. U.S. EPA are circulating a draft guidance on
institutional controls. "Institutional Controls: A Guide to
Implementing, Monitoring, and Enforcing Institutional Controls at
Superfund, Brownfields, Federal Facility, UST and RCRA Corrective Action
Cleanups, February 2003," is available as a 644K PDF file from
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/action/ic/guide.htm. 
Comments are due by April 19, 2003.

According to EPA, "This guidance is intended to: (1) provide Superfund,
Brownfields, Federal Facility, Underground Storage Tank (UST) and
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective action site
managers and site attorneys with an overview of responsibilities for the
implementation, monitoring, and enforcement of institutional controls
(ICs) at their sites; and (2) discuss some of the common issues site
managers and site attorneys may encounter when carrying out these responsibilities."

There are no surprises in the draft guidance. It highlights the
importance of early planning, calls for the inclusion of institutional
controls in decision documents, and it encourages laying of the four
basic types of institutional controls. These include proprietary
controls, such as covenants, in which the control is legally a property
interest; government controls such as zoning or well permits;
information devices such as deed notices; and enforcement tools such as
consent degrees, orders, or permits.

The guidance attempts to standardize the development and implementation
of institutional controls in support of cleanup objectives, but its
repeated advice to consult legal experts serves as a constant reminder.
Not only does each cleanup program bring a unique set of rules to the
remediation process, but institutional controls - particularly
proprietary and government controls - are subject to state laws, and
thus vary enormously. Thus, the guidance is most valuable in helping
officials know which questions to ask, rather than supplying the answers.


-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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