What is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)?
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is a federal law passed in 1980 to address the cleanup of sites contaminated with hazardous materials. It is commonly referred to as the Superfund Law. CERCLA created a fund to help finance hazardous environmental cleanups in areas affected by contamination and it also allows the government to take legal action against polluters for the cost of the cleanup. CERCLA requires that parties responsible for the contamination of a site, known as Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs), clean up the site or fund the cleanup. The parties responsible for the contamination may be individuals, owners of a property, or companies that operated the site. If a PRP cannot be identified, the government can use money from the Superfund to pay for the cleanup. In California, CERCLA is overseen by the California Environmental Protection Agency and Regional Water Quality Control Boards. They are responsible for identifying hazardous and contaminated sites that require cleanup, determining who is responsible, and overseeing the clean up process. The goals of CERCLA are to protect human health and the environment by cleaning up hazardous sites and to hold responsible parties accountable for contamination. CERCLA is an important law in California and is essential to ensuring the health and safety of residents living near hazardous waste sites.
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