CERCLA's Major Emphasis

1
CERCLA's Major Emphasis

• Cleanup inactive hazardous waste sites and
  distribute costs among the parties who generated
  and handled hazardous substances at the site.

2
Superfund Site Selection Process

• Notice to EPA of contaminated site
• EPA preliminary assessment and site
  investigation- Those sites with the highest
  potential risk to human health or the environment
  make the National Priorities List (NPL)
• Comprehensive Site Study - Analyze contamination
  develop potential cleanup remedies.
• Formal site cleanup plan - engineering design for
  the selected remedies
• Construction of the remedy

3
Assessing Risks at Superfund Sites 3 Steps

• Exposure Assessment - Are people at or near the
  site at risk from contaminants? How will such
  people come in contact wit the contaminants?
• Toxicity Assessment - Could the contaminants on
  site have harmful effects on human health?
• Risk Characterization - What is the likelihood
  that individuals at or near the site could
  develop cancer or some other health problem

4
Uncertainties Associated With These Steps

• Exposure Assessment - How will the site be used
  in the future?
• Toxicity Assessment - Extrapolating from results
  of animal studies to harmful effects on humans.
• Risk Characterization - How does EPA risk
  assessment process account for uncertainty?

5
EPA Policies Involved in Assessing Risk

• Assume future use of land will be residential,
  unless substantial evidence to the contrary.
• Use standardized national studies to assess risk
• Any amount of exposure to a cancer causing
  contaminant carries some risk of developing
  cancer.
• For non-carcinogens - adjust toxicity to provide
  an extra margin of safety.
• Err on the side of caution when in doubt
  overstate rather than understate.

6
Cleanup Remedies Available to EPA Under CERCLA

• Treat or destroy contaminated waste material
• Dispose of contaminated waste offsite
• Treat contaminated groundwater
• Contain waste at the site

7
CERCLA Response Actions

• Removal Action - Deal with emergencies. Just
  about any actions that tend to decrease the
  threat of a hazardous waste site and that can be
  done promptly qualifies as a removal
• Remedial Action - Long term, permanent cleanup.
  Some still in progress. Some in stage of
  completed construction...still monitoring
  groundwater.

8
Purpose of an Abatement Action

• Require a PRP to bring an end to an imminent and
  substantial hazard to public health and welfare
  or the environment due to an actual or threatened
  release of a hazardous substance from a facility.

9
Who is a Potentially Responsible Party (PRP)
Under CERCLA?

• A person who has some involvement with the
  creation, handling or disposal of a hazardous
  substance at a site. Liable parties include
• 1. Current owners/operators of the facility
• 2. Former owners/operators who were involved when
  any hazardous substances were disposed of at the
  facility
• 3. Persons who arranged for disposal or treatment
  of hazardous substances they owned or possessed
• 4. Persons who accepted hazardous substances for
  transport to disposal or treatment facilities

10
Defenses to Liability Under CERCLA

• 1. An Act of God - exceptional events
• 2. An act of war - releases caused by combat
• 3. Acts or omissions solely caused by a third
  party, provided the defendant exercised due care
  and took precautions against foreseeable acts of
  third parties

11
What is an Act of God?

• An unanticipated and grave natural event.
• Natural phenomena of exceptional character, the
  effects of which could not be avoided or
  prevented by exercise of due care or foresight.

12
Transaction Costs in Superfund Cases

• Allocating responsibilities among several parties
  is expensive and time consuming
• Lawsuits between potentially responsible parties
• Disputes between responsible parties and their
  insurance companies

13
Federal Facilities and CERCLA

• Full compliance required, however, federal
  agencies must use their own appropriated funds to
  fund the cleanup.    Superfund monies are not
  available.
• Of the sites on the NPL, over 800 are federal
  facilities.

14
CERCLA Citizen Suit Opportunities

• To enforce a standard, regulation or requirement
• To order a government official to perform a
  nondiscretionary act
• Requires 60 days advance notice of intended
  action. A "jurisdictional" requirement