A Series of Firsts (continued)

Finding the Responsible Parties Liable in Court

CERCLA provided strong authorities to make the responsible parties pay for cleanup. But EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) had to create a structure to enforce those provisions and develop a body of legal precedent in the Federal courts. One of the first major cases under CERCLA was "United States v. Monsanto," involving the South Carolina Recycling & Disposal, Inc. site (a.k.a. "Bluff Road") in South Carolina.

A complaint was brought against the site owners prior to the enactment of CERCLA, under a provision of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, to restrain an imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment. In 1981, notices were sent under CERCLA to the potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and a settlement was reached with some of the PRPs in 1982. Later that year, the United States brought suit against the non-settling PRPs, and the chemical industry picked the Bluff Road site as the test case for challenging CERCLA's liability provisions.

Both the United States district court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed CERCLA's liability provisions, most particularly that responsible parties could be found retroactively liable for actions that took place before CERCLA was enacted, and that each responsible party was jointly and severally liable for the entire cost of a Superfund cleanup.

The settlers are responsible for cleaning up the Bluff Road site. This is standard practice now, but Bluff Road represents the first time this was done. What's more, the "Monsanto" court precedent has been crucial for later successful enforcement actions under CERCLA.

Preventing and Preparing for Chemical
Emergencies and Terrorist Acts

In the early hours of December 3, 1984, toxic gas leaked from a chemical plant in Bhopal, India, killing 3,800. A year later, a smaller leak from a pesticide plant in Institute, West Virginia, injured plant personnel and local residents -- showing that the United States was not immune to a serious chemical industrial accident.

In 1986, Congress passed the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA) as Title III of SARA. EPCRA requires public records of chemicals managed at a facility, and provides EPA with authority to work with States and communities to prevent accidents and develop emergency plans in case of dangerous releases of chemicals.

EPA works with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and 15 other Federal agencies to respond to national environmental emergencies. After the 1995 bombing of a Federal building in Oklahoma City killed 168, EPA supported the Nation's effort to plan for prevention and preparedness of chemical, biological, and nuclear releases due to terrorist acts. EPA also provides technical advice to foreign countries facing major environmental emergencies.