44
Environmental and Health
federal and state is 50:50. States
are
not required to contribute matching
funds to the cleanup of federal facilities.
Who Are Responsible Parties and
What Are Their Liabilities?
Superfund includes extensive provisions for the identification of parties
responsible for site contaminations. EPA and state agencies seek to
identify "potentially responsible parties" (PRPs) and ultimately
"responsible parties" who can be required to finance cleanup activities,
either directly or through reimbursement of expenditures from the federal
Superfund.
Owners and operators of vessels or facilities from which releases
occur are considered PRPs. These owners and operators are usually
discovered through the release reporting requirements discussed above.
However, PRPs may also be identified through the hazardous waste
disposal site notification requirements.
A PRP may be any person who.
• Currently owns or operates a facility where hazardous substances
have been or are being released.
• Owned or operated a facility when the disposal of hazardous
materials occurred.
• Arranged for the treatment, disposal, or transportation of a
hazardous substance to the facility from which the release has
occurred or may occur.
• Transported a hazardous waste to a facility from which a release
or threatened release occurs.
Responsible parties are strictly liable under CERCLA. Thus,
CERCLA requires only a past or present release or threatened release
from a facility to impose liability. This means that negligence or other
wrongdoing is not required. Parties identified may be held liable for
cleanup costs even if procedures followed at the time of disposal were
reasonable and met then-current regulatory requirements. It is because
of the strict liability nature of CERCLA that site assessments have
become routine practice in the transfer of any commercial property.
Purchasers that ignore this practice may be subjecting themselves to
potential liabilities.
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