The BLM will comply with all federal, state, and local environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations governing storage, handling, use, and of hazardous materials and/or waste. BLM will minimize releases of hazardous materials, and when such materials are released into the environment, will assess their impacts on each resource and determine the appropriate response, removal, and remedial actions to take.
BLM employees or the public may encounter solid waste and hazardous materials while on BLM-administered lands. Such materials or waste may include clandestine drug lab waste, domestic solid waste dumping, and transportation accidents, including hazardous material incidents on Interstate 17 and major roads. BLM employees who may encounter such situations while in the field will be trained as mandated by the BLM and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements to recognize, retreat, and report any discovery. The BLM will notify state and federal agencies responsible for hazardous materials or waste responses and cleanups.
Other procedures include:
Cooperate with other agencies which have expertise or jurisdiction in efforts to remove and remediate any hazardous materials that are illegally dumped on public land. These efforts will be carried out only by adequately trained and qualified personnel or contractors.
Identify parties responsible for contamination who will be liable for cleanup and resource damage costs, as prescribed by law.
Complete site-specific inventories when lands are being acquired. It is departmental policy to minimize potential liability of the Department and its bureaus by acquiring property that is not contaminated unless directed by Congress, court mandate, or as determined by the Secretary.
Educate the public about the risks associated with waste dumping and hazardous materials through signs, bulletin boards, and/or kiosks.
Inventory abandoned mine lands to determine old mining features that pose the greatest risk to public health and safety.
Inspect abandoned mine land sites to identify all physical hazards presenting a safety risk to the public, and take appropriate action to mitigate any hazards and prevent public access to abandoned mine land contaminated areas.
Where surveys indicate the potential for important bat habitat , the BLM and its partners will take appropriate actions, such as bat gates, to preserve the habitat while addressing the public hazards.
In cases where abandoned mine land remediation actions may affect biological, cultural, or historical resources, the impacts are mitigated by recording the resources, relocating the resources, or stabilizing significant resources, consistent with reducing the threat to public health and safety. Methods of closure will vary and be identified during site-specific NEPA analysis.