§ 691. Environmental Compliance and Restoration Program

(a) The Secretary shall carry out a program of environmental compliance and restoration at current and former Coast Guard facilities.

(b) Program goals include:

(1) Identifying, investigating, and cleaning up contamination from hazardous substances and pollutants.

(2) Correcting other environmental damage that poses an imminent and substantial danger to the public health or welfare or to the environment.

(3) Demolishing and removing unsafe buildings and structures, including buildings and structures at former Coast Guard facilities.

(4) Preventing contamination from hazardous substances and pollutants at current Coast Guard facilities.

(c)

(1) The Secretary shall respond to releases of hazardous substances and pollutants—

(A) at each Coast Guard facility the United States owns, leases, or otherwise possesses;

(B) at each Coast Guard facility the United States owned, leased, or otherwise possessed when the actions leading to contamination from hazardous substances or pollutants occurred; and

(C) on each vessel the Coast Guard owns or operates.

(2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection does not apply to a removal or remedial action when a potentially responsible person responds under section 122 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9622).

(3) The Secretary shall pay a fee or charge imposed by a state authority for permit services for disposing of hazardous substances or pollutants from Coast Guard facilities to the same extent that nongovernmental entities are required to pay for permit services. This paragraph does not apply to a payment that is the responsibility of a lessee, contractor, or other private person.

(d) The Secretary may agree with another Federal agency for that agency to assist in carrying out the Secretary’s responsibilities under this chapter. The Secretary may enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, and grant agreements with State and local governments to assist in carrying out the Secretary’s responsibilities under this chapter. Services that may be obtained under this subsection include identifying, investigating, and cleaning up off-site contamination that may have resulted from the release of a hazardous substance or pollutant at a Coast Guard facility.

(e) Section 119 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9619) applies to response action contractors that carry out response actions under this chapter. The Coast Guard shall indemnify response action contractors to the extent that adequate insurance is not generally available at a fair price at the time the contractor enters into the contract to cover the contractor’s reasonable, potential, long-term liability.

(Added Pub. L. 101–225, title II, § 222(a), Dec. 12, 1989, 103 Stat. 1917.)