State transportation departments (DOTs) are big land buyers and owners and they are constantly confronted with the possibility of acquiring or encountering hazardous waste problems. The Committee on Hazardous Wastes in Highway Rights-of-Way examined the systems and approaches that state DOTs have adopted for detecting and dealing with hazardous wastes to determine the elements that appear essential for an effective and efficient hazardous waste program. Through a series of case studies and a telephone survey, the committee assessed these approaches and developed recommendations for policies and procedures that help minimise the cost, uncertainty, delay, and liability from hazardous waste while fully satisfying the DOTs' environmental and public interest responsibilities. Although the report focuses on the highway development process, the approaches explored may be of particular interest to other public agencies and to large landholders and purchasers in general. (A) Appendix B materials (nearly 1,000 pages) contained in the final report as submitted by the study committee are not published in this report, but are available on loan or for purchase from the Transportation Research Board Business Office.
Samenvatting