The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act—otherwise known as CERCLA or Superfund—is a federal statute that provides a trust fund to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites, as well as accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants into the environment. See 42 U.S.C. §9601.
This federal law created a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries and provided broad federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment. The tax money collected goes to the trust fund for cleaning up abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. Through CERCLA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was given power to seek out those parties responsible for any release and assure their cooperation in the cleanup.
Specifically, CERCLA:
• established prohibitions and requirements concerning closed and abandoned hazardous waste sites;
• provided for liability of persons responsible for releases of hazardous waste at these sites; and
• established a trust fund to provide for cleanup when no responsible party could be identified.
CERCLA authorizes two kinds of response actions:
• Short-term removals, where actions may be taken to address releases or threatened releases requiring prompt response.
• Long-term remedial response actions, that permanently and significantly reduce the dangers associated with releases or threats of releases of hazardous substances that are serious, but not immediately life threatening. These actions can be conducted only at sites listed on the EPA’s National Priorities List.
CERCLA also enabled the revision of the National Contingency Plan (NCP). The NCP provided the guidelines and procedures needed to respond to releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants. The NCP also established the National Priorities List.
Superfund Sites
EPA cleans up orphan sites when potentially responsible parties cannot be identified or located, or when they fail to act. Through various enforcement tools, EPA obtains private party cleanup through orders, consent decrees, and other small party settlements. EPA also recovers costs from financially viable individuals and companies once a response action has been completed.
EPA is authorized to implement the CERCLA in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Superfund site identification, monitoring, and response activities in states are coordinated through the state environmental protection or waste management agencies.
In Texas, as in all states, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund, is a federal law that addresses the cleanup of hazardous waste sites and the response to environmental emergencies involving pollutants. The statute empowers the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to identify responsible parties and ensure they contribute to the cleanup efforts. CERCLA established a trust fund, financed by taxes on the chemical and petroleum industries, to facilitate remediation when responsible parties are unknown, unable or unwilling to perform the cleanup. The law distinguishes between short-term removals for urgent situations and long-term remedial actions for significant but non-immediate threats, with long-term actions being implemented at sites on the EPA’s National Priorities List. In Texas, the EPA works in coordination with state agencies such as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to manage Superfund sites, ensuring that the state's environmental standards are met and that hazardous waste issues are addressed effectively.
