CERCLA

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is a United States federal law enacted in 1980 to address the cleanup of sites contaminated by hazardous substances. It authorizes the federal government to respond to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, establishes a mechanism to finance cleanup actions, and imposes liability on potentially responsible parties (PRPs) for cleanup costs. The law is commonly known as the Superfund, a reference to the national trust fund created to fund emergency and long-term responses.

Key provisions of CERCLA established the framework for identifying and prioritizing hazardous sites. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains the National Priorities List (NPL), a roster of sites requiring comprehensive evaluation and cleanup. When a release occurs, EPA can undertake emergency removal actions and pursue long-term remedial actions, which typically follow a process of investigation, risk assessment, and feasibility studies. Cleanup decisions are documented in records of decision (RODs) and implemented through remedial actions, operation and maintenance, or institutional controls.

Liability under CERCLA is broad and often retroactive. PRPs—including current and former owners or operators of a site, generators of hazardous wastes, and transporters—may be responsible for cleanup costs and related damages. In many cases, PRPs share liability through joint and several obligations. The act provides defenses for innocent landowners and assumes that certain purchasers acting in good faith and exercising due diligence (bona fide prospective purchasers) may not be held liable, subject to specific conditions.

Funding for the Superfund originally came from a dedicated tax on chemical and petroleum industries; since those taxes expired in the 1990s, funding has come from other sources, including the general fund and EPA appropriations. CERCLA remains a central tool for risk reduction, site cleanup, and enforcement in the United States.