used oil, an important re-usable resource. Second, I am being asked to prove a negative. It was clearly shown that I could not have contributed the huge amounts of used oil that was alleged. Something is clearly wrong with a system that forces a small business to bear the burden of proof that it didn't contribute an alleged amount of waste, especially when often there are few, if any, reliable records. To restore fairness and equity to the Superfund law, NADA believes that liability should be eliminated for small contributors, such as automobile dealers, who sent used oil to recycling facilities that later became Superfund sites.

With this in mind, I am pleased to note that the legislation you have sponsored, Mr. Chairman, is a major step toward providing liability relief for those who sent their used oil to be recycled. As I understand it, H.R. 1300 includes two provisions that address small contributors' concerns about used oil recycling. First, subject to certain burdens of proof, it would eliminate liability, prospectively, for those persons who arrange for the recycling of used oil. Second, and more importantly, it expands the protections under current law for "service station dealers” to include used oil collected for recycling from vehicle oil changes and from do-it-yourselfers in earlier

years.

As you may be aware, the 1986 amendments to Superfund recognized the environmental benefits of recycling used oil and included protection against liability for so-called "service station dealers.” Under current law, the term “service station dealer" is very limited in scope, essentially covering only those businesses, such as service stations and automobile dealerships, that arrange for the recycling of used oil that results from servicing and maintaining customers' vehicles and that is collected from do-it-yourselfers. To qualify for the protection against liability, “dealers”

are required not to mix their used oil with hazardous substances and must comply with used oil management standards issued by the U.S. EPA. Unfortunately, the EPA has taken the position that the exemption, which became effective in 1993, applies only to used oil collected for recycling after that date.

By changing the effective date, H.R. 1300 simply affirms that if a "service station dealer” qualifies for the exemption from liability by complying with the management standards, then the exemption also applies to used oil sent off-site for recycling in earlier years. This is a very important provision and it would be consistent with the Superfund law itself, which has been interpreted to impose liability on persons who arranged to send certain waste materials off-site prior to the enactment of the Superfund statute.

In closing, I would like to emphasize that like many of my fellow dealers in Delaware and across the nation, I sent my used oil to a legitimate recycling facility. The used oil was stored in compliance with all applicable regulations in effect at the time. It was not mixed with any hazardous substances, and it was transported by a legitimate waste hauler to a licensed facility established to recycle oil into a reusable resource.

Quite frankly, I don't know what steps our dealership could have taken to be more responsible or environmentally sensitive in the way we disposed of our used oil. If dealers are discouraged from sending used oil to recycling centers for fear of becoming entangled in Superfund's complex liability scheme, what other steps can they possibly take to dispose of their oil in a way that contributes to protecting the environment? That's why I strongly urge the Subcommittee to

support the bipartisan Boehlert-Rahall Superfund reform bill and thereby relieve the burden of liability that has been imposed on those persons who sent their used oil to recycling or re-refining facilities. Doing so would not only help restore equity to the Superfund program, it would also prevent innocent parties from being penalized for acting responsibly. My plea is this: Please don't allow the law to continue punishing persons who were not negligent themselves and who made sincere efforts to act in an environmentally responsible manner.

My experience is not that different from many other dealerships across the nation that have been unjustifiably burdened by an unfair system. I hope my statement will give you and your colleagues a clearer picture of the devastation that the current Superfund law has wreaked on America's small business community. I also hope that the members of this subcommittee and the numerous bipartisan co-sponsors who have signed-on to H.R. 1300 will continue to insist that the incredible inequities placed on small business owners by this law be corrected without any further delay.

Thank you again, Congressman Boehlert, for the opportunity to express my views. I will be pleased to respond to your questions.

BEFORE THE HOUSE TRANSPORTATION
AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE
WATER RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
SUBCOMMITTEE

ON

H.R. 1300, THE RECYCLE AMERICA'S LAND ACT

MAY 12, 1999

700 - 11th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001

STATEMENT OF

THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

BEFORE THE HOUSE TRANSPORTATION

AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE

WATER RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT SUBCOMMITTEE

ON

H.R. 1300, THE RECYCLE AMERICA'S LAND ACT

MAY 12, 1999

Thank you for the opportunity to present the views of the

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) on H.R. 1300,

the Recycle America's Land Act. I wish to thank Chairman Boehlert for

his continued and determined leadership in building bi-partisan

consensus on this very important issue.