In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). It was developed to offer a framework for the removal of hazardous waste from sites all around the US. When referring to the trust fund that was set up to pay for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites, CERCLA is sometimes referred to as Superfund.
A law known as CERCLA was created to address the threats that hazardous waste sites bring to the environment and human health. The law offers a framework for identifying and cleaning up locations where hazardous waste has been dumped. The liability system established by CERCLA enables the government to hold negligent parties liable for the expenses of remediation.
Each provision of the law, which is broken up into multiple subsections, deals with a separate component of hazardous waste removal. For instance, the National Contingency Plan (NCP), which is a framework for reacting to leaks or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants, is established by Section 101 of CERCLA. The NCP offers instructions on how to locate and assess hazardous waste sites as well as create and carry out cleaning programs.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are two government organizations that implement CERCLA. The Superfund program and the cleanup of hazardous waste sites are under the control of the EPA. The DOJ is in charge of enforcing CERCLA’s liability clauses.
As a federal law, CERCLA was passed to create a framework for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites across the country. The law’s common name, Superfund, alludes to the trust fund that was created to pay for the remediation of hazardous waste sites. The government can hold responsible companies accountable for the expenses of cleanup under CERCLA, which established a framework for the identification and remediation of hazardous waste sites. Several federal agencies, including the EPA and DOJ, are responsible for enforcing it.