Number: 1984-16
WHEREAS, more than 16,000 inactive and uncontrolled hazardous waste sites have been identified in the U.S. and require evaluation (and this number could grow to 22,000 sites or more), with some 5,000 of these sites ultimately requiring some degree of cleanup; and
WHEREAS, present and realistically available governmental resources fall far short of being able to clean up more than a small fraction of these sites in the near future; and
WHEREAS, private industry has the opportunity and the ability to clean up many uncontrolled hazardous waste sites for which it bears responsibility, and should be encouraged to actively meet this responsibility; and
WHEREAS, people who live, work, and recreate in the vicinity of uncontrolled hazardous waste sites have a strong and legitimate interest in ensuring that such sites are rapidly and effectively cleaned up and detoxified; and
WHEREAS, uncontrolled hazardous waste sites can seriously harm fish, wildlife, and other natural resource values;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 15-18, 1984, in Atlanta, Georgia, urges the Congress of the United States to enact on a basis of urgency a reauthorized and strengthened Superfund law which includes the following elements:
- An extended and greatly enlarged trust fund;
- A taxing mechanism designed in part to discourage undesirable waste disposal practices (and thereby minimize the production of future uncontrolled disposal sites, but only to the extent this can be done without compromising the ability to preserve a stable Superfund funding base);
- Expanded citizen participation and citizen suit opportunities;
- Increased federal agency accountability for uncontrolled hazardous waste sites under the ownership or control of federal facilities;
- The requirement that any “hazard ranking system” used to rate Superfund sites for inclusion on the National Priorities List give appropriate consideration to food chain contamination impacts and the potential for other types of natural resource damage;
- Extension of the statute of limitations for taking action to recover for natural resource damages resulting from uncontrolled hazardous waste sites;
- Accelerated promulgation of natural resource damage assessment regulations by the Department of the Interior;
- A requirement that all federal land-managing and owning agencies systematically assess the extent of natural resource damage resulting from uncontrolled hazardous waste sites on lands under their jurisdiction or control; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation welcomes and encourages the greatest possible effort and commitment by responsible private industry to voluntarily clean up and remedy uncontrolled hazardous waste sites, under appropriate governmental and private supervision, and subject to suitable sanctions, safeguards, and inducements.