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The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) amended the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and stressed the importance of permanent remedies and innovative treatment technologies for cleaning up hazardous waste sites.
Scope
On October 17, 1986, Congress passed amendments to CERCLA, called SARA. SARA increased the size of the CERCLA Trust Fund to $8.5 billion and refined its financing. SARA also stressed developing and using permanent remedies. In addition, SARA provided new enforcement authorities and settlement tools, required changes in the system used to determine which sites should be addressed, and increased state involvement in the Superfund process.
SARA included a free-standing statute, Title III, also known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA). This statute increased community awareness and access to information regarding the presence of extremely hazardous chemicals in the community. With this information, communities can develop a local emergency response plan to help mitigate the effects of a chemical incident.
Regulatory citations
29 CFR 1910.120 — Hazardous waste operations and emergency response
29 CFR 1926.65 — Hazardous waste operations and emergency response
40 CFR Part 311 — Worker protection
40 CFR Parts 350–372
Key definitions
Hazard Ranking System (HRS): The principal screening tool used by the Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate relative risks to public health and the environment associated with abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. The HRS is a screening tool, not a site-specific risk assessment.
Hazard Ranking System Package: A numeric estimate of the relative severity of a hazardous substance release or potential release based on (1) the relative potential of substances to cause hazardous situations, (2) the likelihood and rate at which the substances may affect human and environmental receptors, and (3) the severity and magnitude of potential effects. The score is computed using the HRS. A score of 28.5 or higher makes the site eligible to be placed on the National Priorities List.
National Priorities List: The list of national priorities among the known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States and its territories.
Summary of requirements
SARA consists of five titles:
- Title I (101 to 127) — Provisions related primarily to response and liability,
- Title II (201 to 213) — Miscellaneous provisions,
- Title III (301 to 330) — Emergency planning and community right-to-know,
- Title IV (401 to 405) — Radon gas and indoor air quality research, and
- Title V (501 to 531) — Amendments of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
SARA required the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a regulation for the health and safety of employees engaging in hazardous waste operations. In response, OSHA created two regulations:
- 29 CFR 1910.120, which took effect in 1990 for general industry; and
- 29 CFR 1926.65, which took effect in 1993 for the construction industry.
SARA also called for the protection of employees of state and local governments who are engaged in hazardous waste operations. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted OSHA 1910.120 to cover state and municipal employees in states that do not have a state agency to protect them. The EPA regulation is found at 40 CFR Part 311, the Worker Protection standard.
SARA improved the following removal and remedial actions:
- The limits on removal actions financed by the trust fund were raised from six months/$1 million to one year/$2 million (although these limits may be exceeded if an exception is justified).
- All removal actions were required to be consistent with any long-term remedial action.
- New cleanup goals and schedules were established. Goals were set for the completion of preliminary assessments of sites on the EPA’s inventory of potentially hazardous sites.
- Mandatory deadlines were set for the completion of critical phases of remedial work at priority sites.
- A preference was established for remedies that reduce the toxicity mobility or volume of waste through treatment as a primary element.
- EPA was ordered to select remedies that are cost-effective and utilize permanent solutions to the maximum extent practicable.
- The statute established off-site land disposal without treatment as the least-preferred alternative.