State officials are raising concerns that time-sensitive removal actions could become delayed under a memo EPA recently issued that stresses the agency's policy of enforcing to recoup money from polluters before conducting cleanups using taxpayer dollars. The memo emphasizes that the policy applies to removal, and not just remedial, actions. At issue is the Aug. 4 memo to EPA regional officials, signed by Cynthia Giles, EPA's assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance, and Mathy Stanislaus, the agency's assistant administrator for solid waste and emergency response. The memo was sent partly in an effort to overcome the reluctance of some regional officials to apply the potentially time-consuming policy to removal actions, since they are typically considered more urgently needed than remedial actions, an EPA source has said.
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