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Land Use & Environmental

CERCLA

The federal Superfund law authorizing responses to hazardous-substance releases and recovery of cleanup costs from liable parties.

Quick flashcard

What does CERCLA mean on the Texas real estate exam?

Answer: The federal Superfund law authorizing responses to hazardous-substance releases and recovery of cleanup costs from liable parties.

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CERCLA definition

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.

Source basis

Definition checked against the official sources below on .

On the exam

Connect CERCLA to EPA, hazardous substances, Superfund, four PRP classes, strict liability, and pre-acquisition due diligence.

Exam trap

CERCLA generally excludes petroleum. A gasoline tank leak commonly starts with the UST program, not an automatic CERCLA answer.

Tested in

Disclosures & Environmental (9 of 80 National)

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This definition is Texas real estate exam-prep education, not legal, tax, or professional advice. Verify current rules against the official source before relying on them for a real transaction. Back to the full glossary.