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THE MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION COMPENDIUM

BILATERAL / THE NETHERLANDS
Volume(s) 1-3; pages 3381-3384


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Memorandum of Understanding Between the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States of America and the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning, and Environment of The Netherlands, Paris, 1985


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Done at Paris 17 June 1985


Entered into force 17 June 1985


Primary source citation: TIAS 11161


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MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING, PHYSICAL PLANNING, AND ENVIRONMENT OF THE NETHERLANDS

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States of America and the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning, and Environment (the Ministry) of the Netherlands, recognizing that strong national environmental programs contribute not only to the protection of national environments but to that of the global environment as well, that cooperation between national environmental authorities is of mutual benefit at both the national and global level, that sound economic and social policies require the development and application of anticipatory environmental controls, and that harmonious policies, regulations, and practices contribute to the social and economic well-being of states and groups of states;

Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE I

EPA and the Ministry will maintain and enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of environmental affairs on the basis of equality, reciprocity, and mutual benefit.

ARTICLE II

EPA and the Ministry will provide each other with information on environmental issues and on significant common policy, research, and economic and regulatory elements of their respective programs. A list of such common interests will be developed, and will be modified in line with future program and priority changes. Unless otherwise agreed, information on toxic substances and radioactive waste will be transferred through the OECD and other multilateral organizations.

ARTICLE III

Information on toxicity of substances, premanufacturing testing, legislative aspects of toxic substance control, and other specific topics related to the control of toxic substances which may be agreed upon in the future, may be exchanged on a bilateral basis in accordance with the laws and regulations of the country providing the information.

ARTICLE IV

In addition to exchanges of information, other forms of cooperation may be undertaken appropriate to the nature of the topic. The terms of such activities shall be established through exchange of letters between appropriate officials of EPA and of the Ministry. At the outset, the following subjects have been identified as having mutually high priority and are being pursued at appropriate levels of effort:

(A) environmental management issues such as environmental impact assessment, risk assessment and management benefit-cost analysis, and integrated environmental planning and modeling, drawing particularly on the results of the US-Netherlands Seminar which was held in Washington in April, 1984, including consideration of incorporation of environmental considerations in physical planning and economic development;

(B) regulatory reforms, including trading approaches in air and water pollution control, pesticides reforms, and environmental auditing;

(C) hazardous waste management, including health and environmental hazards arising from waste sites;

(D) emergency preparedness, response mechanisms, and contingency planning for management of hazardous waste sites and spills;

(E) legal and enforcement issues and problems arising from implementation of environmental management and control programs, initially focused on hazardous waste sites;

(F) research on acid deposition resulting from air pollution, including photochemical oxidants;

(G) groundwater protection;

(H) environmental and regulatory aspects of biotechnology and bioengineering;

(I) air quality standards for criteria pollutants and hazardous air pollutants, including identification, scientific data bases, priority setting methodology, and regulation;

(J) research on global CO2 buildup, the greenhouse effect, and possible associated sealevel rise;

(K) research on indoor air pollution;

(L) health and environmental effects of chemicals, especially substitute chemicals for known toxic chemicals;

(M) economic assessment of chemical regulation, including trade impacts of regulatory actions;

(N) use of structure-activity relationships as predictive methods for estimating health and environmental hazard and exposure;

(O) development of techniques to measure low-level chemical exposure to tissues;

(P) contaminants, health aspects, and quality control for drinking water;

(Q) radiation protection standards for non-ionizing radiation and low-level waste, and related emergency preparedness activities; and

(R) evaluation and development of environmental technology in areas such as control of hazardous waste sites and air pollution from stationary sources.

Work in these areas may include exchanges of personnel and joint projects on research and development of environmental techniques and technologies.

ARTICLE V

Unless otherwise agreed, there shall be no exchange of funds, each side providing resources adequate to carry out its responsibilities. It is expressly understood that the ability of each side to carry out long-term activities is subject to the availability of appropriated funds, and that both sides will seek to ensure long-term funding for projects and activities which are of necessity of a long-term nature. No financial commitment can be made without concurrence of appropriate authorities on each side.

ARTICLE VI

The heads of the international offices of EPA and the Directorate-General for Environment of the Ministry shall be responsible for the management of this cooperative program. They shall make an annual review of cooperation, addressing in addition future policy directions and research plans. They shall also be responsible for furthering the appropriate participation of other US and Dutch organizations (governmental, business, and academic) in the activities conducted under this Memorandum.

ARTICLE VII

This Memorandum shall enter into force upon signature and shall remain in force for five years, and be automatically renewed for further five year periods unless either party notifies the other three months prior to the expiration of one of those five year periods of its desire that the Memorandum be terminated. The termination of this Memorandum shall not affect the validity of any arrangements initiated under its provisions, but not yet completed at the time of termination.

ARTICLE VIII

This Memorandum may be amended at any time by mutual agreement of EPA and the Ministry in writing.

ARTICLE IX

The Memorandum of Understanding between the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States of America and the Ministry of Health and Environmental Protection of the Netherlands, done at Leidschendam on November 25, 1980, is hereby terminated.

DONE at Paris, in duplicate, in the English and Dutch languages, both texts being equally authentic, this seventeenth day of June, 1985. FOR THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: Lee M. Thomas ADMINISTRATOR

FOR THE NETHERLANDS MINISTRY OF HOUSING, PHYSICAL PLANNING, AND ENVIRONMENT: Peter Winsemius MINISTER