What is the Superfund Act?

The Superfund Act, officially known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, is an environmental law passed by the U.S. Congress in order to protect public health and the environment from hazardous materials and pollutants released into the environment by industrial and commercial activities. The Superfund Act established a tax on industry and commercial activity in order to create the Superfund, a federal fund that is used to clean up uncontrolled hazardous waste sites in the state of Washington and across the U.S. The Superfund Act requires that industries, including those in Washington, take responsibility for the clean-up of hazardous waste they generate, while allowing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to also work to clean up hazardous waste sites. Under the Superfund Act, the EPA is authorized to identify and develop standards for hazardous waste sites, hire contractors to clean up these sites, and determine the level of clean-up required for each hazardous waste site. In some cases, the EPA enters into legal agreements with responsible parties to ensure that clean-up responsibilities are met. In addition, the Superfund Act encourages companies to take voluntary steps to clean up hazardous waste sites, and gives citizens the right to sue companies and responsible parties in order to hold them financially responsible for any clean-up costs the EPA is incurring. The Superfund Act also requires companies to report any new releases of hazardous waste into the environment. Finally, the Superfund Act requires state governments to develop their own hazardous waste clean-up programs and enforce national standards.

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