The Environmental Protection Agency outlined hazardous waste cleanup procedures and standards on Monday that it said could cost private industry as much as $42 billion to carry out. EPA administrator William K. Reilly called the plan ``a pragmatic approach for correcting existing problems'' and said it will ensure ``to the extent practical'' prevention of releases that might threaten human health and the environment. The proposed standards and procedures, affecting a wide range of industries and federal facilities regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, will be published later this month in the Federal Register. The public will have 60 days from publication date to comment on them. Public hearings have been scheduled in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. in October. EPA said the new regulations would affect 3,000 to 4,000 facilities, including several hundred owned by the federal government. The agency estimated it could cost privately owned facilities between $7 billion and $42 billion to meet the requirements. The price tag for federal facilities would total $3 billion to $18 billion, EPA said in a statement. ``The scope of the work that needs to be done under this program underscores the value of preventing, rather than having to clean up, pollution,'' Reilly said. The wide range of the cost estimates is due to markedly varied conditions from site to site involving uncertain levels of ground water monitoring and cleanup, the agency said. EPA said its plan allows corrective actions to be tailored to site-specific conditions and sets health-based standards for the cleanup of pollutants. The plan also contains requirements on how wastes must be stored, treated or disposed of during cleanups. Remedies would have to be consistent with those required under the agency's Superfund cleanup program. Industries affected would include petroleum refiners, wood preservers, metal finishers and auto manufacturers. Further information on the proposal can be obtained from EPA by calling 1-800-424-9346.
