National Public Notification of Environmental Hazards Act of 2007
Latest action · Nov 16, 2007 Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedNov 15, 2007
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
National Public Notification of Environmental Hazards Act of 2007 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to require the President to revise the national contingency plan to provide for improved public notification and community relations in the case of a response action.
Requires the head of the lead agency for a response action to: (1) designate a spokesperson, who shall provide notice of the action, respond to inquiries, and provide information to the public; (2) issue a press release within a specified time frame; (3) ensure coordination of press releases and other statements; (4) establish a public information office at or near the response site; (5) establish at least one local information repository; (6) make the administrative record file available for public inspection; (7) provide a public comment period; (8) conduct public meetings; (9) establish a toll-free telephone number and a public Internet website; (10) ensure that each residence and business within a half-mile radius of the response site is visited by a lead agency representative; and (11) mail printed materials containing information about the removal action to such residences and businesses.
Directs the head: (1) to take specified actions if the President determines, based on a site evaluation, that an action is appropriate and the head determines that a planning period of at least 180 days exists prior to initiation of on-site activities, including making the engineering evaluation and cost analysis available to the public; and (2) for actions lasting more than 120 days, to interview local officials, community residents, and specified others about their concerns, information needs, and how they would like to be involved and prepare a formal community relations plan.
Cosponsors 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Dec 12, 2007 to Feb 13, 2008.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Dec 12, 2007 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Feb 13, 2008 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Nov 15, 2007 |
| Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee | Referred Nov 15, 2007 | |
| House | Transportation and Infrastructure Committee | Referred Nov 15, 2007 |
| Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee | Referred Nov 16, 2007 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 16, 2007Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
- Nov 15, 2007Introduced in House
- Nov 15, 2007Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Nov 15, 2007Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to improve public notification and community relations concerning actions for the removal of environmental hazards.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- National Public Notification of Environmental Hazards Act of 2007
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Environmental Protection.
- Citizen participation
- Cost accounting
- Economics and Public Finance
- Electronic government information
- Environmental Protection
- Executive reorganization
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government publications
- Government publicity
- Hazardous wastes
- Law
- Liability for environmental damages
- Public meetings
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Telephone
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Nov 15, 2007Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
