42 U.S.C. § 6908 : US Code - Section 6908: Small town environmental planning

Search 42 U.S.C. § 6908 : US Code - Section 6908: Small town environmental planning

(a) Establishment
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
(hereafter referred to as the "Administrator") shall establish a
program to assist small communities in planning and financing
environmental facilities. The program shall be known as the "Small
Town Environmental Planning Program".
(b) Small Town Environmental Planning Task Force
(1) The Administrator shall establish a Small Town Environmental
Planning Task Force which shall be composed of representatives of
small towns from different areas of the United States, Federal and
State governmental agencies, and public interest groups. The
Administrator shall terminate the Task Force not later than 2 years
after the establishment of the Task Force.
(2) The Task Force shall -
(A) identify regulations developed pursuant to Federal
environmental laws which pose significant compliance problems for
small towns;
(B) identify means to improve the working relationship between
the Environmental Protection Agency (hereafter referred to as the
Agency) and small towns;
(C) review proposed regulations for the protection of the
environmental and public health and suggest revisions that could
improve the ability of small towns to comply with such
regulations;
(D) identify means to promote regionalization of environmental
treatment systems and infrastructure serving small towns to
improve the economic condition of such systems and
infrastructure; and
(E) provide such other assistance to the Administrator as the
Administrator deems appropriate.
(c) Identification of environmental requirements
(1) Not later than 6 months after October 6, 1992, the
Administrator shall publish a list of requirements under Federal
environmental and public health statutes (and the regulations
developed pursuant to such statutes) applicable to small towns. Not
less than annually, the Administrator shall make such additions and
deletions to and from the list as the Administrator deems
appropriate.
(2) The Administrator shall, as part of the Small Town
Environmental Planning Program under this section, implement a
program to notify small communities of the regulations identified
under paragraph (1) and of future regulations and requirements
through methods that the Administrator determines to be effective
to provide information to the greatest number of small communities,
including any of the following:
(A) Newspapers and other periodicals.
(B) Other news media.
(C) Trade, municipal, and other associations that the
Administrator determines to be appropriate.
(D) Direct mail.
(d) Small Town Ombudsman
The Administrator shall establish and staff an Office of the
Small Town Ombudsman. The Office shall provide assistance to small
towns in connection with the Small Town Environmental Planning
Program and other business with the Agency. Each regional office
shall identify a small town contact. The Small Town Ombudsman and
the regional contacts also may assist larger communities, but only
if first priority is given to providing assistance to small towns.
(e) Multi-media permits
(1) The Administrator shall conduct a study of establishing a
multi-media permitting program for small towns. Such evaluation
shall include an analysis of -
(A) environmental benefits and liabilities of a multi-media
permitting program;
(B) the potential of using such a program to coordinate a small
town's environmental and public health activities; and
(C) the legal barriers, if any, to the establishment of such a
program.
(2) Within 3 years after October 6, 1992, the Administrator shall
report to Congress on the results of the evaluation performed in
accordance with paragraph (1). Included in this report shall be a
description of the activities conducted pursuant to subsections (a)
through (d) of this section.
(f) "Small town" defined
For purposes of this section, the term "small town" means an
incorporated or unincorporated community (as defined by the
Administrator) with a population of less than 2,500 individuals.
(g) Authorization
There is authorized to be appropriated the sum of $500,000 to
implement this section.