National Priorities List
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| National Priorities List | |
|---|---|
 skew-t · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source | |
| Name | National Priorities List |
| Jurisdiction | United States |
| Agency | United States Environmental Protection Agency |
| Established | 1980 |
National Priorities List
The National Priorities List is the United States Environmental Protection Agency's principal inventory for identifying hazardous waste sites eligible for long-term remedial action under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act; it coordinates responses that involve federal, state, and local actors such as the United States Department of Justice, United States Congress, Environmental Protection Agency regional offices, State environmental agencies, Department of Defense, and affected communities like those represented by Native American Tribes, city governments, and nonprofit organizations. The list influences funding, litigation, and planning involving parties such as the General Accounting Office, Government Accountability Office, National Academy of Sciences, United States Geological Survey, and stakeholders including chemical manufacturers, landowners, and environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council.
Overview
The program creates a prioritized catalog drawn from reports by entities including the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Energy, and state agencies such as the California Environmental Protection Agency and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, with technical support from institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Listing decisions reflect assessment tools developed with partners including the National Institutes of Health, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and research conducted by centers such as the Stockholm Environment Institute and World Health Organization collaborations.
History and Development
The NPL emerged after high-profile episodes such as the response to Love Canal, public attention driven by investigations in the 1970s, legislative action from the 96th United States Congress, hearings before committees like the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and advocacy by figures and organizations including Lois Gibbs, Kenneth Feinberg, Rachel Carson-era environmental movements, and journalists at outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post. The trajectory involves reinterpretations of the original Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act statute, amendments such as the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, executive orders by presidents including Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and court rulings from decisions in the United States Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States that shaped liabilities and remedies.
Listing Criteria and Process
Sites enter the NPL following scoring under the Hazard Ranking System developed with input from United States Geological Survey scientists, public health analyses from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and legal guidance from the Department of Justice and Environmental Law Institute; the process includes proposals in the Federal Register, periods for comment by parties such as state governors, tribal leaders, county executives, and groups like the American Bar Association environmental section, and final rules promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator. The system coordinates with databases and programs including the Toxic Release Inventory, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act regulatory framework, the CERCLIS archive, and interagency reviews involving the Department of the Interior, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Superfund Sites and Cleanup Activities
Cleanup activities at NPL sites follow remedial planning steps such as the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study process, negotiation of settlement agreements with potentially responsible parties like ExxonMobil, Dow Chemical Company, and DuPont, and implementation of remedies including containment, removal, and long-term monitoring performed by contractors and overseen by EPA regions and state partners like the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. High-profile sites connected to the NPL process include locations such as Times Beach, Missouri, Waukegan Harbor, Hudson River PCB sites, Love Canal, and complex federal sites like Hanford Site and Naval Shipyards. Remediation technologies and scientific collaborations draw on expertise from laboratories and programs including Argonne National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and university consortia.
Legal and Regulatory Framework
The NPL operates within statutory and regulatory structures created by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, guided by regulations promulgated in the Code of Federal Regulations and shaped by litigation before bodies like the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and precedent from the Supreme Court of the United States. Enforcement involves instruments such as consent decrees filed in federal courts, contribution claims under statutes like CERCLA and related tort actions litigated by counsel affiliated with law firms and organizations like the American Bar Association, with oversight by agencies including the Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, and state attorneys general offices.
Impact and Controversies
The NPL has prompted debates involving environmental justice advocates like Greenpeace USA, Earthjustice, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and community organizers such as those from Lois Gibbs's movements, about disproportionate impacts on neighborhoods represented by activists in places like Cancer Alley and industrial corridors near Chicago, Los Angeles, and Newark. Controversies involve disputes over site liability with corporations such as Chevron Corporation and Shell Oil Company, cost allocation disputes adjudicated in federal courts, prioritization criticisms from academic analysts at Harvard Kennedy School, Yale School of the Environment, Columbia Law School, and funding debates in United States Congress appropriations and budget negotiations involving the Office of Management and Budget. The program's outcomes affect public health assessments by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, property development decisions by municipal planners, and long-term stewardship responsibilities involving federal agencies like the Department of Energy and heritage organizations such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation.