What is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)?

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is a federal environmental law enacted by Congress in 1980 and mainly deals with cleanup of hazardous waste sites. This law provides the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broad authority to respond to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances into the environment. CERCLA also creates a fund that is used to pay for the cleanup of releases or threatened releases of hazardous materials. CERCLA generally imposes liability for the costs of cleanup on those responsible for a release or threatened release of the hazardous material. This is known as the “superfund” provision. Under this provision, the EPA can compel responsible parties to clean up sites themselves or sue them for cleanup costs. CERCLA also imposes liability on businesses that arrange for the disposal of hazardous substances on other businesses, or for the transport of hazardous substances. This liability exists even if the business that arranged for the disposal or transport of hazardous substances did not know there were any hazardous materials present. CERCLA is a very powerful environmental law and has been extremely effective in helping to clean up hazardous waste sites. It has been used extensively in Washington State to clean up many hazardous waste sites, many of which were created before the law was passed in 1980. Cleanup efforts under CERCLA have helped protect human health and the environment across the state.

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What is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)?

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