Rep. Frank Wolf (R- 10th) is prodding a key Republican ally on Capitol Hill to address troubling liability issues for civic groups such as the Warren County Redevelopment Board and its members in the next reauthorization of federal Superfund legislation.

The WCRB has expressed concern that it could be held financially liable for remediation of the Avtex Superfund site, because of its plans to redevelop and reuse buildings there, Wolf said in a recent letter to Rep, Michael Oxley, chair of the House Commerce Trade and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee.

Wolf asked for an exemption from Superfund liability to be applied to groups such as the WCRB, which are acting in the public interest.

The retroactive liability standard under Superfund seeks to hold past, present and future owners and operators of Superfund sites accountable for illegal hazardous waste activities. The definition of "owners and operators" has not been fully explained in federal legislation or regulations, according to Wolf.

"The problem of when and how a party becomes an operator is sufficiently complicated and vague that the members of the Warren County Redevelopment Board are unwilling to risk their personal net worth by becoming entrapped in a liability situation as a result of performing their civic duties as members of the Board," the congressman said.

"Also, the County is concerned that it could be held to be an owner or operator, and, therefore, be subject to liability,'' Wolf added.

Congress is attempting to reauthorize the 1988 Superfund law this year. Several earlier attempts in previous sessions failed to construct a bill that both House and Senate leaders could agree on.

A proposed new bill has not yet been introduced, according to Lauren Mical, spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"I'm sure there are several piecemeal approaches, but there is no comprehensive bill yet," she said.

Hearings on matters related to Superfund were recently wrapped up in the Senate, which could put out its draft version of a bill as early as next month, she said.

The House will continue holding hearings on Superfund later this month, Mical added. Superfund liability was scheduled to be the topic of Thursday's hearing in Oxley's subcommittee, according to House Commerce Committee spokesman Michael Collins. David Whitestone, press secretary for Wolf, said he is not aware of any currently pending language or legislation on the Hill that would deal directly with exemptions for liability under Superfund.