What is liability under the Superfund is?
The Superfund law (officially the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, (CERCLA)) imposes liability on parties responsible for, in whole or in part, the presence of hazardous substances at a site. If a PRP sent some amount of the hazardous waste found at the site, that party is liable.
Who is liable under CERCLA?
CERCLA clearly imposes liability on the person or entity that actually owns the contaminated facility. Indeed, courts have imposed liability on the owner of the facility despite arguments that the owner had no responsibility or control over the disposal activity. See, e.g., United States v. Monsanto Co., 858 F.
What is CERCLA liability protection?
Historically, under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, commonly known as Superfund), the owner or operator of a contaminated property could be held responsible for the property’s cleanup, based solely on their current ownership of the property.
Can you sue a Superfund site?
In a 7-2 decision in Atlantic Richfield v. Christian the Supreme Court held that landowners located on a Superfund site who wanted additional remedies beyond the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plan to clean up the site could not sue in state court.
What is CERCLA responsible for?
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act — otherwise known as CERCLA or Superfund — provides a Federal “Superfund” to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous-waste sites as well as accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants into the environment …
Who is responsible for Superfund cleanup?
the Department of Toxic Substances Control
Program Sunsets. California’s “Superfund” program, enacted in 1981 to clean up contaminated hazardous substance sites, sunsets on January 1, 1999. Much cleanup work remains to be done, with upwards of 700 sites requiring cleanup action by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).
Does CERCLA impose strict liability?
CERCLA imposes strict liability for the costs associated with cleanup of hazardous substances upon certain statutorily defined parties known as PRPs (potentially responsible parties).
How does the CERCLA Act work?
Why is CERCLA called Superfund?
CERCLA is informally called Superfund. It allows EPA to clean up contaminated sites. It also forces the parties responsible for the contamination to either perform cleanups or reimburse the government for EPA-led cleanup work.
How does CERCLA relate to the Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act?
The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), passed on October 17, 1986, amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or Superfund), which the U.S. Congress passed in 1980 to help solve the problems of hazardous-waste sites.
Do taxpayers pay for Superfund?
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adding more sites to the NPL every year. The Superfund Trust Fund provides tax money to pay the Federal share of site cleanups, but whenever possible EPA forces those responsible for contaminating a site to clean it up.
How is Superfund funded?
The Superfund trust fund receives money from three major sources annually: • $553 million from petroleum excise taxes; • $273 million from chemical feedstock excise taxes; and • $504 million from environmental income taxes.