CERCLA
The federal Superfund law authorizing responses to hazardous-substance releases and recovery of cleanup costs from liable parties.
CERCLA is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, commonly called Superfund. It lets the EPA respond to actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances and recover response costs from parties within Section 107.
Potentially responsible parties include current owners or operators, owners or operators at the time of disposal, arrangers, and transporters that selected the site. Liability is strict and retroactive and may be joint and several when harm is indivisible.
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- SARA
The 1986 Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, which strengthened CERCLA and created EPCRA through Title III.
- Brownfield
Property whose expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by actual or potential environmental contamination.
- Phase I Environmental Assessment
A nonintrusive review of property history, records, interviews, and site conditions used to identify environmental concerns.
- Underground Storage Tank
A regulated tank system below ground whose release can contaminate soil or groundwater and create cleanup obligations.
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