ARE 309 Topic 11: CERCLA and The Superfund

CERCLA, as a determined effort to clean up our hazardous waste messes of the past, applies a deliberate scheme of liability.  Which common law concept below best describes the standard of liability under CERCLA?

strict liability

CERCLA defines hazardous substances to include what substances?

Question 2Select one:

a.

That if released to environment the substance poses a “substantial danger” to human health or human welfare or the environment

b.

Any substances regulated under Clean Water Act

c.

Any Substance regulated under Toxic Substances Control Act

d.

Any Substance regulated under Clean Air Act

e.

Any substance regulated under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

f.

All of the above

all of the above

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is often thought of as                                                         regulation and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) is thought of as                                                   .

all of these

The CERCLA regulatory scheme governing the clean up of facilities contaminated with hazardous substances - which must be followed in order to ensure the financial liability of PRPs - is called the                                                             .

National Contingency Plan

Owners of Superfund sites are often listed as PRPs, and often a person purchasing an existing site (not yet identified as a Superfund site on the National Priorities List) can become a PRP.  

Consider this scenario:  Han was offered a great deal on a piece of land by his trusted friend Lando.  Han walked the site and could see some barrels in a ditch, but Lando, in a sworn affidavit, assured him they were empty.  Satisfied and still truly unaware, Han purchases the land but is thereafter visited by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality on a tip from a neighbor.  Upon investigation, it turns out the barrels were filled with and have been leaking chromium hexavalent.  

Which statement below best explains why Han cannot claim a "bona fide purchaser" defense to becoming a PRP?

Han cannot avoid becoming a PRP because his question about the barrels failed the appropriate inquiry standards outlined in EPA's CERCLA regulations?

CERCLA is expansive in doling out responsibility to various persons, known as Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs), involved in the release of hazardous waste from or upon a facility (Superfund site).  Who below would likely not be identified as a PRP?

A transporter of hazardous waste that followed the strict instructions of a hazardous waste generator to deposit the waste at the Superfund site, but had no business or personal relationship with the owners or operators of the Superfund site

If the EPA (or state) pays for the clean up costs of a Superfund site, it has the ability under §107 of CERCLA to seek restitution (payback) of the costs of clean up from the various PRPs, who are jointly and severally liable for the full amount of the payback.  What below best describes this scenario?

Question 7Select one:

Each PRP is liable for the full amount, and whoever pays that full amount is released from liability by settlement with EPA. The PRP who paid up has the legal right to seek contribution from the other PRPs.

Since its establishment, money in the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund (the Superfund) have come primarily from...

all of these (Excise tax on makers of hazardous substances (e.g. chemical companies)

b.

annual appropriations from Congress

c.

Restitution from potentially responsible parties)?

Following a site investigation, EPA determines whether a clean-up or remediation response is required by quantifying the risk using the                                                                   . 

Hazard Ranking System

If the EPA determines that substances on a certain facility pose a substantial danger, that facility is then placed on the                                               .

National Priorities List

Which below is a feature of EPA's evaluation of how to treat a Superfund site?

all of these (a.

Public input

b.

Evaluation of methods of clean-up

c.

Evaluate costs of clean-up

d.

seek clean up cost payment from identifiable Potentially Responsible Parties)