53-619: The Frederica River is an 11.0-mile-long (17.7 km) tidal river in Glynn County, Georgia . It forms the western boundary of Saint Simons Island of the Georgia Sea Islands . Fort Frederica National Monument is located on the eastern bank of the river on Saint Simons Island. This article related to a river in the US state of Georgia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Glynn County, Georgia Glynn County
106-410: A Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). Natural resource trustees determine and quantify injuries caused to natural resources through either releases of hazardous substances or cleanup actions and then seek to restore ecosystem services to the public through conservation, restoration, and/or acquisition of equivalent habitat. Responsible parties are assessed damages for the cost of the assessment and
159-458: A Superfund site. In 1978, residents of the rural black community of Triana, Alabama were found to be contaminated with DDT and PCB , some of whom had the highest levels of DDT ever recorded in human history. The DDT was found in high levels in Indian Creek, which many residents relied on for sustenance fishing. Although this major health threat to residents of Triana was discovered in 1978,
212-530: A chemical or oil spill. From 2000 to 2015, Congress allocated about $ 1.26 billion of general revenue to the Superfund program each year. Consequently, less than half the number of sites were cleaned up from 2001 to 2008, compared to before. The decrease continued during the Obama administration , and since under the direction of EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Superfund cleanups decreased even more from 20 in 2009 to
265-456: A contribution action under the CERCLA. CERCLA liability has generally been judicially established as joint and several among PRPs to the government for cleanup costs (i.e., each PRP is hypothetically responsible for all costs subject to contribution), but CERCLA liability is allocable among PRPs in contribution based on comparative fault. An "orphan share" is the share of costs at a Superfund site that
318-559: A facility named "LCP Chemicals" in Glynn County just outside the corporate limits of Brunswick, was convicted of dumping 150 tons of mercury into Purvis Creek, a tributary of the Turtle River and surrounding tidal marshes between the mid-1980s and its closure in 1994. Three executives were sentenced to prison time over the incident. The LCP facility had been declared a Superfund site when it closed in 1994. It had been under scrutiny by
371-477: A lesser chance of successful listing and cleanup than areas with higher income levels. After the executive order had been put in place, there persisted a discrepancy between the demographics of the communities living near toxic waste sites and their listing as Superfund sites, which would otherwise grant them federally funded cleanup projects. Communities with both increased minority and low-income populations were found to have lowered their chances of site listing after
424-477: A mere 8 in 2014. In November 2021, Congress reauthorized an excise tax on chemical manufacturers, under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act . The new chemical excise tax is effective July 1, 2022, and is double the rate of the previous Superfund tax. The 2021 law also authorized $ 3.5 billion in emergency appropriations from the U.S. government general fund for hazardous site cleanups in
477-419: A polluter could not be identified, could not or would not pay (bankruptcy or refusal), consisted of about $ 1.6 billion and then increased to $ 8.5 billion. Initially, the framework for implementing the program came from the oil and hazardous substances National Contingency Plan. The EPA published the first Hazard Ranking System in 1981, and the first National Priorities List in 1983. Implementation of
530-412: A requirement by addressing low income populations and minority populations that have experienced disproportionate adverse health and environmental effects as a result of their programs, policies, and activities. The EPA regional offices had to apply required guidelines for its Superfund managers to take into consideration data analysis, managed public participation, and economic opportunity when considering
583-522: A site for the NPL is intended primarily to guide the EPA in: Despite the name, the Superfund trust fund has lacked sufficient funds to clean up even a small number of the sites on the NPL. As a result, the EPA typically negotiates consent orders with PRPs to study sites and develop cleanup alternatives, subject to EPA oversight and approval of all such activities. The EPA then issues a Proposed Plans for remedial action for
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#1732858119536636-418: A site on which it takes public comment, after which it makes a cleanup decision in a Record of Decision (ROD). RODs are typically implemented under consent decrees by PRPs or under unilateral orders if consent cannot be reached. If a party fails to comply with such an order, it may be fined up to $ 37,500 for each day that non-compliance continues. A party that spends money to clean up a site may sue other PRPs in
689-548: A state Superfund law and may perform NRDA either through state laws or through other federal authorities such as the Oil Pollution Act. CERCLA created the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The primary goal of a Superfund cleanup is to reduce the risks to human health through a combination of cleanup, engineered controls like caps and site restrictions such as groundwater use restrictions. A secondary goal
742-449: Is attributable to a PRP that is either unidentifiable or insolvent. The EPA tries to treat all PRPs equitably and fairly. Budgetary cuts and constraints can make more equitable treatment of PRPs more difficult. Upon notification of a potentially hazardous waste site, the EPA conducts a Preliminary Assessment/Site Inspection (PA/SI), which involves records reviews, interviews, visual inspections, and limited field sampling. Information from
795-481: Is designed to investigate and clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Sites managed under this program are referred to as Superfund sites . Of all the sites selected for possible action under this program (and there are tens of thousands across the U.S.), 1178 (as of 2024) remain on the National Priorities List (NPL) that makes them eligible for cleanup under the Superfund program. Sites on
848-596: Is land and 165 square miles (430 km ) (28.3%) is water. The majority of Glynn County is located in the Cumberland - St. Simons sub-basin of the St. Marys- Satilla River basin. Most of the county's northern and northwestern border area is located in the Altamaha River sub-basin of the basin by the same name. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 84,499 people, 34,614 households, and 22,352 families residing in
901-521: Is located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia . As of the 2020 census , the population was 84,499. The county seat is Brunswick . Glynn County is part of the Brunswick, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area . Glynn County, one of the state's original eight counties created on February 5, 1777, was named after John Glynn , a member of the British House of Commons who defended
954-411: Is often pointed to as the roots of the environmental justice movement. PCBs were illegally dumped into the community and then it eventually became a PCB landfill . Community leaders pressed the state for the site to be cleaned up for an entire decade until it was finally detoxified. However, this decontamination did not return the site to its pre-1982 conditions. There has been a call for reparations to
1007-733: Is presented in a Proposed Plan for public review and comment, followed by a selected alternative in a ROD. The site then enters into a Remedial Design phase and then the Remedial Action phase. Many sites include long-term monitoring. Once the Remedial Action has been completed, reviews are required every five years, whenever hazardous substances are left onsite above levels safe for unrestricted use. As of December 9, 2021 , there were 1,322 sites listed; an additional 447 had been delisted, and 51 new sites have been proposed. Historically about 70 percent of Superfund cleanup activities have been paid for by potentially responsible party (PRPs). When
1060-590: Is the Church Rock uranium mill spill on the Navajo Nation. It was the largest radioactive spill in the US but received a long delay in government response and cleanup after being placed as a lower priority site. Two sets of five-year cleanup plans have been put in place by US Congress, but contamination from the Church Rock incident has still not been completely cleaned up. Today, uranium contamination from mining during
1113-543: Is to return the site to productive use as a business, recreation or as a natural ecosystem. Identifying the intended reuse early in the cleanup often results in faster and less expensive cleanups. EPA's Superfund Redevelopment Program provides tools and support for site redevelopment. CERCLA was enacted by Congress in 1980 in response to the threat of hazardous waste sites, typified by the Love Canal disaster in New York , and
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#17328581195361166-467: Is unable to pay for the cleanup. In these circumstances, taxpayers had been paying for the cleanup operations. Through the 1980s, most of the funding came from an excise tax on petroleum and chemical manufacturers. However, in 1995, Congress chose not to renew this tax and the burden of the cost was shifted to taxpayers in the general public. Since 2001, most of the cleanup of hazardous waste sites has been funded through taxpayers generally. Despite its name,
1219-490: The EPA after Service biologists discovered mercury poisoning in endangered wood storks on St. Simons Island . Fish, shellfish, crabs, and shrimps taken in coastal waters, as well as other bird species, also contained the toxic metal. The Service traced the source of the contamination to the LCP plant and documented the extent of the damage to wildlife resources. Their effort resulted in
1272-565: The Valley of the Drums in Kentucky . It was recognized that funding would be difficult, since the responsible parties were not easily found, and so the Superfund was established to provide funding through a taxing mechanism on certain industries and to create a comprehensive liability framework to be able to hold a broader range of parties responsible. The initial Superfund trust fund to clean up sites where
1325-574: The Cold War era remains throughout the Navajo Nation, posing health risks to the Navajo community. The data in the Superfund Program are available to the public. While the simple and relatively easy sites have been cleaned up, EPA is now addressing a residual number of difficult and massive sites such as large-area mining and sediment sites, which is tying up a significant amount of funding. Also, while
1378-441: The NPL are considered the most highly contaminated and undergo longer-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanups). The state of New Jersey , the fifth smallest state in the U.S., is the location of about ten percent of the priority Superfund sites, a disproportionate amount. The EPA seeks to identify parties responsible for hazardous substances released to the environment (polluters) and either compel them to clean up
1431-524: The PA/SI is used by the EPA to develop a Hazard Ranking System (HRS) score to determine the CERCLA status of the site. Sites that score high enough to be listed typically proceed to a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS). The RI includes an extensive sampling program and risk assessment that defines the nature and extent of the site contamination and risks. The FS is used to develop and evaluate various remediation alternatives. The preferred alternative
1484-478: The Superfund program, the EPA and state agencies use the HRS to calculate a site score (ranging from 0 to 100) based on the actual or potential release of hazardous substances from a site through air , surface water or groundwater . A score of 28.5 places the site on the National Priorities List, making the site eligible for long-term remedial action (i.e., cleanup) under the Superfund program. Federal actions to address
1537-464: The actual or potential release of hazardous substances from a site. A score of 28.5 places a site on the National Priorities List, eligible for long-term, remedial action (i.e., cleanup) under the Superfund program. As of March 23, 2022 , there were 1,333 sites listed; an additional 448 had been delisted, and 43 new sites have been proposed. Superfund also authorizes natural resource trustees, which may be federal, state, and/or tribal, to perform
1590-540: The addition of Endangered Species Act charges to those that would be brought against Hanlin and its officers. In 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation ranked the Brunswick metropolitan area (which includes the counties of Glynn, Brantley and McIntosh ) as the 7th most dangerous metropolitan area in the state of Georgia. On August 29, 2009, Glynn County resident Guy Heinze Jr. murdered eight members of his extended family including his father, Guy Heinze Sr. in
1643-791: The cause of the American Colonies before the American Revolution . The Battle of Bloody Marsh was fought in Glynn County. James Oglethorpe built Fort Frederica , which was used a base in the American Revolutionary War. Glynn Academy , established to educate boys, is the second oldest school in Georgia. Glynn County includes the most prominent of the Sea Islands of Georgia, including Jekyll Island , St. Simons Island , and Sea Island . The Georgia poet Sidney Lanier immortalized
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1696-415: The cleanup of the lead-contaminated hot spots. It wasn't until 1993 that the site was declared a Superfund site, and at the time it was one of the largest ones. However, it was not until 2004 when the EPA completed the clean-up efforts and eliminated the lead pollutant sources from the site. The Afton community of Warren County, North Carolina is one of the most prominent environmental injustice cases and
1749-632: The community which has not yet been met. Bayview-Hunters Point, San Francisco , a historically African American community, has faced persistent environmental discrimination due to the poor remediation efforts of the San Francisco Naval Shipyard , a federally declared Superfund site. The negligence of multiple agencies to adequately clean this site has led Bayview residents to be subject to high rates of pollution and has been tied to high rates of cancer, asthma, and overall higher health hazards than other regions of San Francisco. One example
1802-543: The county. In terms of European ancestry, 40.8% were English , 10.6% were "American" , 10.2% were Irish , and 7.9% were German . Glynn County's public schools are operated by Glynn County School System . Glynn County is home to four Superfund sites. Those include the "LCP Chemicals Georgia" site, the "Brunswick Wood Preserving" site, the "Hercules 009 Landfill" site, and the "Terry Creek Dredge Spoil Areas/Hercules Outfall" site. The Hanlin Group, Inc., which maintained
1855-427: The disproportionate health and environmental disparities that minority and low-income populations face through Executive Order 12898 required federal agencies to make environmental justice central to their programs and policies. Superfund sites have been shown to impact minority communities the most. Despite legislation specifically designed to ensure equity in Superfund listing, marginalized populations still experience
1908-517: The end of FY 2003. Since that time Superfund sites for which the PRPs could not pay have been paid for from the general fund. Under the 2021 authorization by Congress, collection of excise taxes from chemical manufacturers will resume in 2022. The Hazard Ranking System is a scoring system used to evaluate potential relative risks to public health and the environment from releases or threatened releases of hazardous wastes at uncontrolled waste sites. Under
1961-401: The executive order, while on the other hand, increases in income led to greater chances of site listing. Of the populations living within 1 mile radius of a Superfund site, 44% of those are minorities despite only being around 37% of the nation's population. As of January 2021, more than 9,000 federally subsidized properties, including ones with hundreds of dwellings, were less than a mile from
2014-600: The family's trailer located in New Hope Plantation Mobile Home Park near Brunswick. Two others were critically injured, with one dying later in a hospital in Savannah . Heinze Jr. avoided the death penalty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole on October 30, 2013. Similar to Southeast Georgia , Glynn County is heavily Republican, having last voted Democratic in 1980 , when the Democratic nominee
2067-456: The federal government did not act until 5 years later after the mayor of Triana filed a class-action lawsuit in 1980. In West Dallas, Texas , a mostly African American and Latino community, a lead smelter poisoned the surrounding neighborhood, elementary school, and day cares for more than five decades. Dallas city officials were informed in 1972 that children in the proximity of the smelter were being exposed to lead contamination. The city sued
2120-505: The geography of toxic waste site remediation. Some environmentalists and industry lobbyists saw the Clinton administration's environmental justice policy as an improvement, but the order did not receive bipartisan support. The newly elected Republican Congress made numerous unsuccessful efforts to significantly weaken the program. The Clinton administration then adopted some industry favored reforms as policy and blocked most major changes. Until
2173-639: The immediate future. CERCLA authorizes two kinds of response actions: A potentially responsible party (PRP) is a possible polluter who may eventually be held liable under CERCLA for the contamination or misuse of a particular property or resource . Four classes of PRPs may be liable for contamination at a Superfund site: The liability scheme of CERCLA changed commercial and industrial real estate, making sellers liable for contamination from past activities, meaning they can't pass liability onto unknowing buyers without any responsibility. Buyers also have to be aware of future liabilities. The CERCLA also required
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2226-444: The lead smelters in 1974, then reduced its lead regulations in 1976. It wasn't until 1981 that the EPA commissioned a study on the lead contamination in this neighborhood and found the same results that had been found a decade earlier. In 1983, the surrounding day cares had to close due to the lead exposure while the lead smelter remained operating. It was later revealed that EPA Deputy Administrator John Hernandez had deliberately stalled
2279-515: The mid-1990s, most of the funding came from an excise tax on the petroleum and chemical industries, reflecting the polluter pays principle. Even though by 1995 the Superfund balance had decreased to about $ 4 billion, Congress chose not to reauthorize collection of the tax, and by 2003 the fund was empty. Since 2001, most of the funding for cleanups of hazardous waste sites has come from taxpayers. State governments pay 10 percent of cleanup costs in general, and at least 50 percent of cleanup costs if
2332-506: The party either cannot be found or is unable to pay for the cleanup, the Superfund law originally paid for site cleanups through an excise tax on petroleum and chemical manufacturers. The last full fiscal year (FY) in which the Department of the Treasury collected the excise tax was 1995. At the end of FY 1996, the invested trust fund balance was $ 6.0 billion. This fund was exhausted by
2385-677: The program in 1986 through an act amending CERCLA. The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA) added minimum cleanup requirements in Section 121 and required that most cleanup agreements with polluters be entered in federal court as a consent decree subject to public comment (section 122). This was to address sweetheart deals between industry and the Reagan-era EPA that Congress had discovered. In 1994 President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order 12898, which called for federal agencies to make achieving environmental justice
2438-476: The program in early years, during the Ronald Reagan administration , was ineffective, with only 16 of the 799 Superfund sites cleaned up and only $ 40 million of $ 700 million in recoverable funds from responsible parties collected. The mismanagement of the program under Anne Gorsuch Burford , Reagan's first chosen Administrator of the agency, led to a congressional investigation and the reauthorization of
2491-517: The program suffered from under-funding, and by 2014 Superfund NPL cleanups had decreased to only 8 sites, out of over 1,200. In November 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act reauthorized an excise tax on chemical manufacturers, for ten years starting in July 2022. The EPA and state agencies use the Hazard Ranking System (HRS) to calculate a site score (ranging from 0 to 100) based on
2544-679: The restoration of ecosystem services. For the federal government, EPA, US Fish and Wildlife Service, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may act as natural resource trustees. The US Department of Interior keeps a list of the natural resource trustees appointed by state's governors. Federally recognized Tribes may act as trustees for natural resources, including natural resources related to Tribal subsistence, cultural uses, spiritual values, and uses that are preserved by treaties. Tribal natural resource trustees are appointed by tribal governments. Some states have their own versions of
2597-546: The revision of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan 9605(a)(NCP). The NCP guides how to respond to releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances , pollutants, or contaminants. The NCP established the National Priorities List, which appears as Appendix B to the NCP, and serves as EPA's information and management tool. The NPL is updated periodically by federal rulemaking. The identification of
2650-487: The seacoast there in his poem, " The Marshes of Glynn ", which begins: During World War II, Naval Air Station Glynco , named for the county, was a major base for training for blimps and anti-submarine warfare . The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) now uses a substantial part of the former NAS as its main campus. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 585 square miles (1,520 km ), of which 420 square miles (1,100 km )
2703-438: The sites, or it may undertake the cleanup on its own using the Superfund (a trust fund) and seek to recover those costs from the responsible parties through settlements or other legal means. Approximately 70% of Superfund cleanup activities historically have been paid for by the potentially responsible parties (PRPs), reflecting the polluter pays principle . However, 30% of the time the responsible party either cannot be found or
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#17328581195362756-424: The state operated the facility responsible for contamination. By 2013 federal funding for the program had decreased from $ 2 billion in 1999 to less than $ 1.1 billion (in constant dollars). In 2001, the EPA used funds from the Superfund program to institute the cleanup of anthrax on Capitol Hill after the 2001 anthrax attacks . It was the first time the agency dealt with a biological release rather than
2809-599: Was Georgia native Jimmy Carter . 31°13′N 81°29′W / 31.22°N 81.49°W / 31.22; -81.49 Superfund (environmental law) Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 ( CERCLA ). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The program
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