Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA; German mutatis mutandis Comprehensive law to respond to, compensation and liability for environmental damage ) is a the end of 1980 came into force the Federal Law of the United States .
It is the legal basis of the Superfund program of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which finances and organizes the investigation, securing and remediation of areas with soil or water pollution . CERCLA, together with the Toxic Substances Control and Resource Conservation and Recovery Acts (RCRA) passed in 1976, forms the basis of American federal legislation on substances and waste that are harmful to the environment and health.
history
CERCLA was designed in 1980 in response to a number of publicly debated toxic waste scandals such as the Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York and the Valley of the Drums in Bullitt County, Kentucky . At that time, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act included federal legislation on the handling of hazardous waste, which also provided for the obligation to remove damage that had already occurred. However, in numerous cases the perpetrators of environmental damage could not be identified or due to other circumstances such as insolvency, they could no longer be prosecuted. Federal funds for eliminating or even preventing the further spread of environmental damage through waste and accidents were hardly included in the budget. Only for the elimination of oil pollution in seas and navigable inland waters could up to 35 million US dollars per year be obtained through the regulations of the Clean Water Act ; an additional $ 10 million annually was made available for the general clearance of toxic substances through the same act.
CERCLA was therefore designed to expand the possibilities of holding polluters liable for remedying the damage and, on the other hand, to provide funds for cases in which this is not possible or not immediately possible. The bill was introduced to the House of Representatives on April 2, 1980 under the title Hazardous Waste Containment Act of 1980 by James Florio . After deliberation and amendment, including a simple resolution introduced by Gillis Long , CERCLA was passed in the House of Representatives on September 23, 1980 with 351 to 23 votes. The Senate approved the law on November 24, 1980 with an amendment which was in turn confirmed by the House of Representatives on December 3, 1980 with 274 votes to 94. When signed by President Jimmy Carter , the law was adopted on December 11, 1980 and became legally effective.
The proposed law and the law passed differed, among other things, in the amount of funds available: Instead of six billion US dollars over a period of six years, 1.6 billion US dollars were available. In addition, some liability requirements were made less stringent and oil spills were removed from the text after the Republican Party congressmen threatened a filibuster .
In 1986, CERCLA was supplemented by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) , with which, in particular, adjustments were made to further clean up contaminated sites.
Super find
With CERCLA, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was able to set up the so-called superfund . This program is used to organize the identification, securing and remediation of contaminated areas with contaminated sites .
CERCLA and the Superfund program contain provisions to hold those who cause environmental damage liable for their removal. However, the program also includes the name-giving fund for cases in which this is not or no longer possible. Until the mid-1990s, the necessary funds were obtained from a special tax on the mineral oil and chemical industry based on the polluter pays principle ; since then from general tax revenue.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Based on the CERCLA regulations which was on April 19, 1983 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSTR German mutatis mutandis authority for registration of toxins and diseases established). The main task of the ATSTR, which has been an independent authority of the Ministry of Health since June 11, 1985 , is to examine areas contaminated with soil or water toxins - in particular superfund sites, since 1984 also toxic waste storage sites in accordance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) - for their effects on health of the population in order to advise other federal and state agencies. With the SARA Act of 1986, the powers of the ATSTR were expanded to include the possibility of more general analyzes of harmful environmental influences, the establishment of toxicological databases and the implementation of training measures.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b H.R.7020 - An act to provide for liability, compensation, cleanup, and emergency response for hazardous substances released into the environment and the cleanup of inactive hazardous waste disposal sites. United States Congress , accessed February 2, 2020 (Full Legislative Text and Brief Legislative History).
- ^ John A. Hird: Superfund: The Political Economy of Risk . Johns Hopkins University Press , Baltimore 1994, ISBN 978-0-8018-4807-0 , pp. 6 (English).
- ^ A b c John A. Hird: Superfund: The Political Economy of Risk . Johns Hopkins University Press , Baltimore 1994, ISBN 978-0-8018-4807-0 , pp. 9-14 (English).
- ^ To suspend the rules and pass HR 7020, Hazardous Waste Containement. (Motion Passed; 2/3 Required). GovTrack; Civic Impulse, LLC, accessed February 2, 2020 .
- ^ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Retrieved on February 2, 2020 (English): “[...] investigating emerging environmental health threats; conducting research on the health impacts of hazardous waste sites; and building capabilities of and providing actionable guidance to state and local health partners "
- ↑ a b ATSDR Background and Congressional Mandates. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, accessed February 2, 2020 .
