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The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is commonly known as “Superfund,” and gives the federal government a mandate to deal with hazardous wastes that have been spilled, stored, or abandoned. The Superfund requires the EPA to (1) identify sites in the U.S. where hazardous wastes had been disposed, stored, abandoned, or spilled and (2) rank these sites regarding the severity of the risk. The EPA has the authority to clean up hazardous priority or non-priority sites quickly to prevent fire, explosion, contamination of drinking water, or other imminent danger. The Superfund provides for the creation of a fund to finance the cleanup of hazardous waste sites (hence the name Superfund). The fund is financed through taxes on chemicals, feedstocks, motor fuels, and other products that contain hazardous substances. The EPA can order a responsible party to clean up a hazardous waste site. If that party fails to do so, the EPA can clean up the site and recover the cost of the cleanup. The Superfund imposes strict liability, which means liability without fault. The EPA can recover the cost of the cleanup from (1) the generator who deposited the wastes, (2) the transporter of the wastes to the site, (3) the owner of the site at the time of the disposal, and (4) the current owner and operator of the site. Liability is joint and several; that is, a person who is responsible for only a fraction of the hazardous waste may be liable for all the cleanup costs. The Superfund permits states and private parties who clean up hazardous waste sites to seek reimbursement from the fund.
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