Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-005982",
  "term": "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definitions": [
    "To provide for liability, compensation, cleanup, and emergency response for hazardous substances released into the environment and the cleanup of inactive hazardous waste disposal sites.",
    "1. The NCP defines CERCLIS, in part, as \"EPA's comprehensive data base and management system that inventories and tracks released addressed or needing to be addressed by the Superfund program. CERCLIS contains the official inventory of CERCLA sites and supports EPA's planning and tracking functions.\" See also Superfund.\n\n2. This law, enacted by Congress on December 11, 1980, created the Superfund program. Specifically, CERCLA (1) established prohibitions and requirements concerning closed and abandoned hazardous waste sites, (2) provided for liability of persons responsible for releases of hazardous waste at these sites, and (3) established a trust fund to provide for cleanup when no responsible party could be identified.\n\n3. Enacted in 1980 and nicknamed Superfund, this law provides the authority through which the Federal government can compel people or companies responsible for creating hazardous waste sites to clean them up. It also created a public trust fund, known as the Superfund, to assist with the cleanup of inactive and abandoned hazardous waste sites or accidentally spilled or illegally dumped hazardous materials.\n\n4. A Federal law passed in 1980 and modified in 1986 by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act. The Acts, which can be found starting at Section 9601 of Title 42 of the U.S. Code, created a special tax that goes into a Trust Fund, commonly known as Superfund, which may be used to investigate and cleanup abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. Under the program, EPA can: 1) make agreements with potentially responsible parties to undertake investigation and cleanup of Superfund designated sites under EPA supervision, or 2) use the funds from the Superfund to pay for investigation and cleanup of Superfund sites. If EPA uses Superfund money to pay for site investigation and cleanup when parties responsible for the contamination cannot be located or are unwilling or unable to perform the work, then EPA may take legal action against the potentially responsible parties to reimburse the Superfund for those \"response costs.\" In addition, EPA has authority under the Superfund law to administratively order potentially responsible parties to undertake certain investigatory or clean-up actions. The Superfund law also allows natural resource trustees to recover damages for injuries to natural resources resulting from the contamination.\n\n5. 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. Through CERCLA, EPA was given power to seek out those parties responsible for any release and ensure their cooperation in the cleanup.\n\n6. See http://www.epa.gov/superfund/policy/cercla.htm. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, was enacted by Congress on December 11, 1980. This law created a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries and provided broad Federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment.\n\n7. The Act that authorizes EPA to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites and respond to accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of hazardous substances. CERCLA provides EPA with enforcement authority to ensure that responsible parties pay the cleanup costs of remediating a site contaminated with hazardous substances.\n\n8. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, was enacted by Congress on December 11, 1980. This law created a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries and provided broad Federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment. DWMAPS includes sites on the National Priority List (see National Priority List)."
  ],
  "abbreviation": "CERCLA",
  "subject": "Land, waste and cleanup",
  "references": [
    "P.L. 96-510",
    "Waste and Cleanup Risk Assessment Glossary",
    "Superfund Reforms Glossary",
    "Superfund for Students and Teachers Glossary",
    "Region 5 Cleanup Sites Glossary",
    "School Siting Guidelines Glossary",
    "Superfund Acronyms",
    "RCRA Orientation Manual 2008 Glossary",
    "DWMAPS Glossary"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/comprehensive-environmental-response-compensation-and-liability-act/"
}