15 U.S.C. § 2629 — Annual report

Page 1908 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 2629 § 2629. Annual report The Administrator shall prepare and submit to the President and the Congress on or before Jan- uary 1, 1978, and on or before January 1 of each succeeding year a comprehensive report on the administration of this chapter during the pre- ceding fiscal year. Such reports shall include— (1) a list of the testing required under sec- tion 2603 of this title during the year for which the report is made and an estimate of the costs incurred during such year by the persons required to perform such tests; (2) the number of notices received during such year under section 2604 of this title, the number of such notices received during such year under such section for chemical sub- stances subject to a section 2603 rule, order, or consent agreement, and a summary of any ac- tion taken during such year under section 2604(g) of this title; (3) a list of rules issued during such year under section 2605 of this title; (4) a list, with a brief statement of the issues, of completed or pending judicial ac- tions under this chapter and administrative actions under section 2615 of this title during such year; (5) a summary of major problems encoun- tered in the administration of this chapter; and (6) such recommendations for additional leg- islation as the Administrator deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. (Pub. L. 94–469, title I, § 30, Oct. 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 2050; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 99–519, § 3(c)(1), Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2989; amended Pub. L. 114–182, title I, § 19(s), June 22, 2016, 130 Stat. 510.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2016—Par. (2). Pub. L. 114–182 substituted ‘‘rule, order, or consent agreement’’ for ‘‘rule’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1977, see section 31 of Pub. L. 94–469, set out as a note under section 2601 of this title. TERMINATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS For termination, effective May 15, 2000, of provisions in this section relating to submitting annual report to Congress, see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and page 163 of House Document No. 103–7. SUBCHAPTER II—ASBESTOS HAZARD EMERGENCY RESPONSE § 2641. Congressional findings and purpose (a) Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) The Environmental Protection Agency’s rule on local educational agency inspection for, and notification of, the presence of friable asbestos-containing material in school build- ings includes neither standards for the proper identification of asbestos-containing material and appropriate response actions with respect to friable asbestos-containing material, nor a requirement that response actions with re- spect to friable asbestos-containing material be carried out in a safe and complete manner once actions are found to be necessary. As a result of the lack of regulatory guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency, some schools have not undertaken response action while many others have undertaken expensive projects without knowing if their action is necessary, adequate, or safe. Thus, the danger of exposure to asbestos continues to exist in schools, and some exposure actually may have increased due to the lack of Federal standards and improper response action. (2) There is no uniform program for accred- iting persons involved in asbestos identifica- tion and abatement, nor are local educational agencies required to use accredited contrac- tors for asbestos work. (3) The guidance provided by the Environ- mental Protection Agency in its ‘‘Guidance for Controlling Asbestos-Containing Material in Buildings’’ is insufficient in detail to ensure adequate responses. Such guidance is intended to be used only until the regulations required by this subchapter become effective. (4) Because there are no Federal standards whatsoever regulating daily exposure to asbes- tos in other public and commercial buildings, persons in addition to those comprising the Nation’s school population may be exposed daily to asbestos. (b) Purpose The purpose of this subchapter is— (1) to provide for the establishment of Fed- eral regulations which require inspection for asbestos-containing material and implementa- tion of appropriate response actions with re- spect to asbestos-containing material in the Nation’s schools in a safe and complete man- ner; (2) to mandate safe and complete periodic re- inspection of school buildings following re- sponse actions, where appropriate; and (3) to require the Administrator to conduct a study to find out the extent of the danger to human health posed by asbestos in public and commercial buildings and the means to re- spond to any such danger. (Pub. L. 94–469, title II, § 201, as added Pub. L. 99–519, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2970.) § 2642. Definitions For purposes of this subchapter— (1) Accredited asbestos contractor The term ‘‘accredited asbestos contractor’’ means a person accredited pursuant to the provisions of section 2646 of this title. (2) Administrator The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad- ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. (3) Asbestos The term ‘‘asbestos’’ means asbestiform va- rieties of— (A) chrysotile (serpentine), (B) crocidolite (riebeckite), (C) amosite (cummingtonite-grunerite),