Meth lab cleanup bill now law
By Paul V. Beddoe
ASSOCIATE LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR
The president signed into law Dec. 21 the Methamphetamine Remediation Research Act of 2007, sponsored in the Senate by Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), and in the House by Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.). The bill requires the EPA to develop voluntary health-based cleanup guidelines for counties to use to ensure former meth lab sites are safe and free from contamination.
The bill also launches two research programs: the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is to develop meth-detection equipment for local enforcement agencies to use to detect active meth labs and measure their contamination levels, and the National Academy of Sciences is to study the long-term health impacts of meth exposure on first responders and children rescued from meth labs.
The measure also directs EPA to work with state and local agencies during all phases of implementation.
“On behalf of the nation’s counties, I want to thank Senator Baucus and my good friend Senator Smith for their leadership on this important legislation,” said Umatilla County, Ore. Commissioner Bill Hansell. “Methamphetamine abuse continues to destroy families and is costing county governments and taxpayers millions of dollars.
“The bill is critically important to counties because currently there are no federal standards on cleaning up a former meth lab,” said Hansell, who focused on the meth crisis during his year as NACo president. “As NACo’s five national surveys show, the devastating effects of meth abuse touch nearly every aspect of county government — from the county jails and court systems to the county hospitals and social services departments.”
Some support for cleanup already exists under EPA’s Local Governments Reimbursement Program (LGR). It reimburses local governments up to $25,000 for costs related to temporary emergency measures responding to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances. The program is intended as a “safety net” for local governments with limited capacity to pay for these response actions. For more information on the LGR program see www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/er/lgr/.
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