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CERCLA “Superfund”. Karen Clement & Casey Branch . What is CERCLA. Comprehensive Environment Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. A fund to clean up abandoned and hazardous waste sites. Why?.
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CERCLA “Superfund” Karen Clement & Casey Branch
What is CERCLA • Comprehensive Environment Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. • A fund to clean up abandoned and hazardous waste sites.
Why? • Established in 1980 in the middle of discovering toxic waste dumps such as Love Canal & Times Beach • Love Canal, New York • Area was originally used to build a canal then sold area to Hooker’s Chemical & Plastics who over 10 years buried over 21,000 tons of toxic waste. Then location sold to NFBE that built schools and homes on area. Contamination leaked into drinking water of over 77,000. Effects: Lesions, burns, leukemia, birth defects. President Carter declared State of Emergency & evacuation. 2004 taken of NPL. • Times Beach, Missouri • Found contaminated oil as the cause of death for many dogs and birds. The use of oil waste was used to control dust on unpaved roads.
What it does • Creates tax on chemical, crude oil, petroleum, and hazardous waste used to clean up sites. • Sets up guidelines on how to clean up sites. • Allows the EPA to clean up such sites and to let responsible parties perform cleanups or reimburse the government for EPA-lead cleanups. • Locates dumps and sets priorities of worst – National Priority List. Ex: mining, nuclear, military, and industrial sites. • Has a liability scheme for parties to collect money to clean up sites, EPA can sue to recoup cleanup money.
Changes Over Time • 2001 Congress enacted the Small Business Liability Protection and Brownfield's Revitalization Act – amends liability scheme of CERCLA • De Micromis Exemption • Applies only for liability costs at NPL sites. Eligibility: must have released less than 110 gallons of waste before April 2001.
Sources • http://www.eoearth.org/article/Love_Canal,_New_York?topic=58075 • http://www.epa.gov/superfund/policy/cercla.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfund • http://www.greens.org/s-r/078/07-09.html • http://www.ehso.com/superfund.php