June 15, 1995

Tenth District Rep. Frank R. Wolf is seeking legislation that would ease a liability problem that has stalled redevelopment of the closed Avtex Fibers plant in Front Royal.

The plant was forced to close in 1989 after more than 2,000 violations of environmental laws and is now a federal Superfund site.

Wolf has written to 7th District Rep. Thomas J. Bliley Jr., chairman of the House Commerce Committee, and Rep. Michael G. Oxley of Ohio, chairman of that panel's Trade and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, asking for legislation to address the problem.

Wolf is seeking an amendment to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, a bill aimed at reforming the current process used for assigning responsibility for cleanup of Superfund sites.

He asks that "state organizations working in the public interest on the rehabilitation and reuse of Superfund sites" be exempted from future liability for pollution that has already occurred. He specifically cites in his letters Warren County's Avtex Redevelopment Corp., which is working to have portions of the site released for reuse.

Under current law, anyone who becomes the owner of a Superfund site can be held liable for pollution that has already occurred but isn't discovered until ownership changes hands.

Members of the redevelopment corporation "are unwilling to risk their personnel net worth by becoming entrapped in a liability situation as a result of performing their civic duties as members of the board," Wolf's letters say.

The county government also is concerned that it could be held liable, he wrote.

"Because this problem exists in just about every place there is a Superfund site, legislation that makes it clear that members of public committees ... and the city, county or state that authorized the public committee would not be held liable under the Superfund statute would be a great step in the right direction," Wolf says.

Wolf's amendment would be to a bill being co-sponsored by Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan and 9th District Rep. Frederick C."Rick^' Boucher. That bill doesn't directly address the problem of what is termed "retroactive liability." It would require that polluters be held responsible only for their share of the cleanup costs at a Superfund site.

Charles Boesel, Bliley's press secretary, said the congressman is "very much aware" of the problem of retroactive liability and the need to ease liability for those who aren't responsible for pollution discovered after the fact.

"He feels the only beneficiaries in this whole Superfund debate have been lawyers," Boesel said. "It's the sites that need to be cleaned up."

He said Bliley feels it's unfair to hold people liable for pollution they had no responsibility for creating.

According to an article in an environmental trade magazine provided by Wolf's press office, Oxley's sentiments toward retroactive liability lean in the same direction.

The article in Environment Week cites Oxley as saying that retroactive liability will be eliminated by Superfund reform legislation being considered in his subcommittee.

Redevelopment corporation members also are seeking guarantees from the Justice Department and the state that they won't be held liable if they take over portions of the Avtex site.

Wolf said those guarantees won't be necessary if the amendment he is seeking passes Congress.