Making the Program Faster, Fairer, and More Efficient (Continued)

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STEPS FOR ENFORCEMENT AT SUPERFUND SITES
The general approach taken by EPA to get PRPs to clean up a site is detailed below. Each box represents a different step in the process (e.g., initiate PRP search; issue general notice letters). The first entry in each box provides a general description of the enforcement activity. The second entry (and the one in italics) provides a description of how the particular step was implemented at the Avtex Fibers site in Front Royal, Virginia.

The Avtex Fibers site, on 340 acres on the Shenandoah River, operated since 1940 as a rayon-manufacturing center. After cleanup, a portion of the site will be reused as soccer fields as a result of a partnership between EPA, the U.S. Soccer Foundation, and the Front Royal community.

INITIATE PRP SEARCH

General description:
To search for individuals, companies, or other parties potentially liable for cleanup costs, EPA reviews State and Federal agency records, conducts title searches, interviews site operators, and performs PRP financial assessments.

Enforcement at the Avtex Fibers site:
EPA identified FMC Corporation (FMC) and Avtex Fibers, Inc., (Avtex) as potential PRPs contributing to site contamination. FMC owned the company from 1963 until 1976. Avtex purchased the site in 1976 and continued manufacturing operations until 1989, when they closed the plant and declared bankruptcy.

ISSUE GENERAL NOTICE LETTERS

General description:
EPA notifies identified PRPs of their potential liability, usually through General Notice Letters.

Enforcement at the Avtex Fibers site:
EPA issued a Notification of Illegal Hazardous Waste Activity to Avtex in 1980. On March 8, 1985, EPA sent a Notification of Potential Liability to FMC.

EXCHANGE INFORMATION

General description:
EPA begins an informal information exchange concerning site conditions, PRP connections to the site, and the identification of other PRPs.

Enforcement at the Avtex Fibers site:
The PRPs and EPA regularly exchanged information from 1980 through 1985.

ISSUE SPECIAL NOTICE LETTERS (SNLs)

General description:
Special Notice Letters (SNLs) are issued to PRPs identifying the names and addresses of other PRPs as well as, if available, the volume and nature of substances each PRP contributed.

Enforcement at the Avtex Fibers site:
On February 13, 1985, EPA notified Avtex that FMC Corporation was a potential PRP.

NEGOTIATE SETTLEMENT

General description:
Issuance of SNLs trigger a moratorium, ceasing EPA response and abatement actions for 60 days. The goal of the moratorium is to reach a settlement in which all the PRPs agree to conduct or finance response activities.

Enforcement at the Avtex Fibers site:
EPA negotiated with both Avtex and FMC.

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