The National Contingency Plan (NCP) is the federal government's handbook governing responses to oil and hazardous substance releases endangering human health and the environment. Established by the 1972 Amendment's to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA)¹ as a framework for cleaning up spills of oil and hazardous substances into waterways, it was required to be revised by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)² to address onshore spills of toxic substances and releases from hazardous waste disposal sites. CERCLA ties the methods of government response, the recovery of response monies drawn from the "Superfund" established by CERCLA, and the liability of responsible parties to the procedural and substantive requirements of the NCP.

The NCP was to have been revised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)³ in June 1981, but EPA, hampered by administrative reorganization and Executive Order No. 12291's requirement for Office of Management and Budget review of federal regulations, failed to meet the statutory deadline. Concerned that EPA's inaction was stalling the Superfund program because of the absence of cleanup standards and procedures, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the state of New Jersey filed suit to compel promulgation of the plan. The district court agreed that EPA has a mandatory duty to issue the NCP, and set a publication timetable. On March 12, in keeping with the court's schedule, EPA proposed a revised NCP.⁴ The final plan is scheduled to be published by May 28.