EPA May Add 26 Sites to Priority List of Dumps

The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday proposed to add 26 sites to its priority list of abandoned hazardous waste dumps to bring the list of Superfund cleanup sites to 812.

Adding a site to the priority list permits federal funds to be used in long-term cleanup. Studies can begin before formal listing if the site has been proposed for addition. Of the 812 sites, 540 have been formally listed.

The 26 sites include landfills, industrial sites, a pig farm and a house used by a physics professor to manufacture radiation therapy equipment. The EPA asked for public comment on its proposal.

Military Sites Cited

The agency also asked for public comment on six military sites--one of which is in California--but did not formally propose them for listing, because they are not eligible for Superfund money. The agency has not often listed such sites in the past and said it would not do so again until it decided whether to list sites of government agencies.

The California site is Moffett Naval Air Station near Sunnyvale, where the ground water is contaminated by solvents.

Of the 32 sites involved in Friday’s announcement, ground water is contaminated at 27.

The agency also requested public comment on a policy change that would disqualify closed portions of operating landfills for cleanup under Superfund, a move that an agency critic said would make those sites harder to clean.

Operators Responsible

Amendments last November to the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act, which covers landfills, made landfill operators responsible for cleaning up releases from their closed areas.

The agency would consider listing closed parts of operating landfills if the operator showed “inability or unwillingness” to pay for cleanup, and inactive landfills would always be eligible.

Hugh Kaufman, the agency’s toxic waste specialist, said the effect of handling closed parts of open landfills under the new law would weaken the agency’s authority.