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Texas Congressman Joe Barton said he doubts now that action on his legislation to set new cleanup standards for perchloroethylene will take place in Congress this year.
In a videotaped message he sent to the April 26-28 convention held by the Southeastern Fabricare Association in Atlanta convention, Barton said he was optimistic earlier this year "about making something happen" in 1996, but that time is quickly running out for Congressional hearings.
He remains optimistic about the long-range prospects of his plan, introduced last year as the Small Business Remediation Act (HR 2522) and known informally as the "Barton Bill."
"I am confident we will be able to get something done within the next year or two," he added.
The act would have EPA base its groundwater and soil contamination cleanup standards for perc on the maximum workplace exposure standards set by OSHA.
"It's just common sense that if one federal agency says a standard is safe for daily workplace exposure then it should be safe in the environment, too." Barton said on the tape.
His bill would ensure environmental safety by using one-tenth of the amount of exposure allowed by OSHA as the cleanup threshhold for perc in soil and groundwater. Currently OSHA's permissible exposure level is 100 parts per million. Under the Barton plan then, soil and groundwater would be considered in need for remediation if it contained more than 10 parts per million. OSHA is in the process of reevaluating its standards; if it lowers the perc standard for the workplace, the level for soil and groundwater level would decrease.
EPA currently applies the drinking water standard of 5 parts per billion to determine soil and groundwater contamination.
His legislation would set " a very defensible standard and a very common-sensical one that has been proven in the workplace to be safe," Barton said.
Barton said there are two Republicans and two Democrats sponsoring HR 2522. The bill has been assigned to the House Subcommittee on Health and Environment, chaired by Rep. Michael Bilirakis of Florida. Bilirakis is willing to hold a hearing on the proposal as part of another hearing, Barton said. For his own part, Barton said he would hold a hearing on it in his own committee, but not in this session of Congress.
Barton said it would help the cause if the industry's national association would write a letter endorsing either his bill or at least the concept that his bill embodies -- applying OSHA's workplace standards to soil and groundwater cleanup.
"The bottom line is to get something done as soon as possible to remove environmental liability and the threat of litigation," Barton concluded.
Date created: 5/6/96 Last modified: 5/6/96 Copyright © 1996, Blind Squirrel http://www.pond.com/~hhorning Hal Horning hhorning@pond.com