Superfund

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

Superfund is a lengthy, complex piece of legislation, as might be expected from a law attempting to deal with such a multifaceted problem, often in circumstances where it is impossible to identify the source of the problem or pin blame for it on a particular enterprise. The essence of the law is to establish requirements and procedures for developing cleanup plans for (usually) abandoned hazardous waste sites, including mines, landfills, electroplating businesses, and chemical plants. The law also provides for establishing the liability of those responsible for the hazardous waste at these sites to the extent that it is possible to do so. Finally, Superfund set up a trust fund to finance cleanup when no responsible party could be identified. Responsible parties might include current owners of the site, the owner of the site when the hazardous substances were disposed there, the person who arranged for the contaminant to be dumped at the site, or the person who actually transported the contaminants to the site. The part of the law establishing the trust fund through a tax was created by Title II, “Hazardous Substance Response Revenue Act.”

Superfund authorized two types of action on the part of the federal and state governments. One is short term, taken in response to the release of hazardous substances—or threatened releases of hazardous substances—that call for immediate action. The other type of response is long term, encompassing remedial actions taken when the pollution is serious but does not represent an immediate threat to life. These remedial sites are listed on a National Priorities List. In the years following the passage of the Superfund Act, numerous sites were identified; as of late 2010 the Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List contained 1,280 sites slated for cleanup. Some 347 sites had been deleted from the list because cleanup operations were complete.