Cercla - Why the Law Was Enacted

Unit VIII Research Paper – CERCLA

Why the Law Was Enacted

Congress established the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), for remediation of the most critical hazardous waste locations throughout the nation, as well as to allocate liability to the rightful parties. National attention on numerous abandoned waste sites prompted Congress to take action by legislating this act. (Mintz, 2012) Congress enacted CERCLA, frequently referred to as Superfund due to a multibillion-dollar trust fund generated through industry taxes, which ensured those responsible for these sites would also be responsible for their abatement. CERCLA provided for this need by:

• Instituting standards related to abandoned or closed sites containing hazardous materials.

• Recognizing facilities responsible for the release of hazardous substances, as well as those sites where a release may occur.

• Initiating remedies for those releases or potential releases.

• Holding those responsible for such releases or potential releases accountable.

The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 allowed for the continuation of abatement across the nation. SARA included numerous site-specific revisions, clarified definitions, and specified the EPA’s authority to enforce requirements. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides oversight to CERCLA, and has the authority to enforce the Act in all 54 states and territories. State environmental quality or waste management agencies are responsible for the identification, monitoring, and cleanup operations of Superfund sites through coordination with the EPA. (Mintz, 2012)

Controversies Pertaining to the Act

Though CERCLA allowed for remediation of the worst hazardous waste locations, the act has received its fair share of criticism. Political and professional organizations on both sides tend to agree the Act is tedious, inefficient, and even unfair to an extent. (Zoltowski, 1998)

The financial authority granted by CERCLA generates scrutinization from government, industry, and even the public. Appropriations have increased exponentially since the Act’s first decade, though they do appear to have leveled off in recent years. (Zoltowski, 1998)

The time required to complete cleanup operations increased significantly in CERCLA’s second decade. Sites that required approximately four years in completing remediation prior to 1990 increased to over ten and a half years by 1996, upon