What is the Superfund Act?

The Superfund Act, or the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), is a law that was passed by the United States Congress in 1980. The law’s purpose is to clean up and provide for the containment of hazardous substances that are released into the environment. It affects all of the states in the U.S., including South Carolina. The Superfund Act requires any owner, past or present, of a polluted site to take responsibility for the contamination and clean it up. It also allows the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to fine any person or company responsible for releasing a hazardous substance. Under the act, toxic waste sites must be identified and cleaned up. The EPA is responsible for establishing Superfund sites, which are sites contaminated by hazardous substances that require special cleanup and containment. In South Carolina, the EPA has established several Superfund sites, including the three areas of the Congaree River that have been contaminated by industrial pollution. The state has also closed several hazardous waste sites, including an abandoned oil storage facility. The Superfund Act has helped to keep South Carolina’s environment safe by requiring polluters to clean up their hazardous waste sites and pay for any damages that their actions have caused. It has also provided a way for the EPA to track and monitor the progress of cleanup efforts.

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