42 U.S.C. § 7913 — State cooperative agreements
submitted 48 years ago by Pub. L. 95-604 to r/title-42-THE-PUBLIC-HEALTH-AND-WELFARE · 684 words · no verdicts yet
After designating a site, the Secretary may sign a cooperative agreement with the state to clean it up, following the priority order already set. Each agreement sets the terms, requires written consent from property owners, and gives inspectors permanent right of entry. The Secretary can also reimburse certain owners for cleanup they already paid for themselves.
(a) Authority of Secretary*; prompt commencement of preparations. Once the Secretary notifies a state* that a site there has been designated, the Secretary may sign a cooperative agreement with that state to clean up each designated site in it — except sites on Indian lands, which are handled under section 7915. The Secretary must follow the priority order set under section 7912 as much as possible, and must start preparing each agreement as soon as practical after a site is designated.
(b) Terms and conditions; limitation of Federal assistance. Each agreement includes whatever terms the Secretary thinks fit this chapter's purposes, including limiting federal money to costs that are directly needed for the cleanup chosen under section 7918.
(c) Written consent of record interest holder; waiver. Unless the state must acquire the site outright under section 7914(a), each agreement must require the state to get written consent — in a form the Secretary sets — from anyone with a recorded ownership interest in the site, allowing the Secretary (or someone the Secretary picks) to do the cleanup. That written consent must also include a waiver in which that person*, for themselves and their heirs, releases the United States* from any liability over the cleanup and agrees not to bring claims arising from it.
(d) Inspection entries; termination of right of entry. Each agreement must require the state to guarantee the Secretary, the Commission*, and the Administrator* (and their representatives) a permanent right to enter and inspect the site — and any related disposal site — at any time, to carry out the agreement and enforce this chapter. That right of entry into certain nearby contaminated properties described in section 7911(6)(B) ends once the Secretary decides the cleanup there is complete.
(e) Effective date. An agreement under this section only takes effect once the Commission agrees to its terms.
(f) Reimbursement. The Secretary may agree to reimburse the actual costs of cleanup that a property owner* already completed on nearby contaminated land described in section 7911(6)(B), but only if: that cleanup was finished before November 8, 1978, the owner applied within one year after the state's agreement with the Secretary and Commission was approved, and the Secretary is satisfied the cleanup met this chapter's purposes and the Administrator's standards.
After notifying a State* of the designation referred to in section 7912 of this title, the Secretary subject to section 7923 of this title, is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with such State to perform remedial actions at each designated processing site* in such State (other than a site located on Indian lands referred to in section 7915 of this title). The Secretary shall, to the greatest extent practicable, enter into such agreements and carry out such remedial actions in accordance with the priorities established by him under section 7912 of this title. The Secretary shall commence preparations for cooperative agreements with respect to each designated processing site as promptly as practicable following the designation of each site.
Each cooperative agreement under this section shall contain such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems appropriate and consistent with the purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, a limitation on the use of Federal assistance to those costs which are directly required to complete the remedial action selected pursuant to section 7918 of this title.
Except where the State is required to acquire the processing site as provided in subsection (a) of section 7914 of this title, each cooperative agreement with a State under this section shall provide that the State shall obtain, in a form prescribed by the Secretary, written consent from any person* holding any record interest in the designated processing site for the Secretary or any person designated by him to perform remedial action at such site.
Such written consent shall include a waiver by each such person on behalf of himself, his heirs, successors, and assigns—
releasing the United States* of any liability or claim thereof by such person, his heirs, successors, and assigns concerning such remedial action, and
holding the United States harmless against any claim by such person on behalf of himself, his heirs, successors, or assigns arising out of the performance of any such remedial action.
Each cooperative agreement under this section shall require the State to assure that the Secretary, the Commission*, and the Administrator* and their authorized representatives have a permanent right of entry at any time to inspect the processing site and the site provided pursuant to section 7914(b)(1) of this title in furtherance of the provisions of this subchapter and to carry out such agreement and enforce this chapter and any rules prescribed under this chapter. Such right of entry under this section or section 7916 of this title into an area described in section 7911(6)(B) of this title shall terminate on completion of the remedial action, as determined by the Secretary.
Each agreement under this section shall take effect only upon the concurrence of the Commission with the terms and conditions thereof.
The Secretary may, in any cooperative agreement entered into under this section or section 7915 of this title, provide for reimbursement of the actual costs, as determined by the Secretary, of any remedial action performed with respect to so much of a designated processing site as is described in section 7911(6)(B) of this title. Such reimbursement shall be made only to a property owner* of record at the time such remedial action was undertaken and only with respect to costs incurred by such property owner. No such reimbursement may be made unless—
such remedial action was completed prior to November 8, 1978, and unless the application for such reimbursement was filed by such owner within one year after an agreement under this section or section 7915 of this title is approved by the Secretary and the Commission, and
the Secretary is satisfied that such action adequately achieves the purposes of this chapter with respect to the site concerned and is consistent with the standards established by the Administrator pursuant to section 2022(a) of this title.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 95–604, title I, § 103, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3024.)
- 1978Enacted · Pub. L. 95-604 · 92 Stat. 3024
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 95-604 on 1978-11-08.
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