what is cercla?
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The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or CERCLA, was established in 1980 as a response to alarming and unacceptable waste managment practices in the USA. Among the most notable, the Love Canal Tragedy. In the 1920s, in Niagra Falls (New York), a ditch that was supposed to become a canal became a municipal and industrial dumpsite. The site was not regulated or managed properly. In the 1950s Hooker Chemical Company, the owners of the property, covered the site with earth and then sold it to the city. The property was then used to build about 100 homes and a school. With time and increased levels of rain fall the hazardous substances "contained" in the dump began to leach into the basements and yards of residents as well as the playground of the school. By 1978, the residents of Love Canal were suffering from a variety of illnesses as well as abnormally high rates of birth defects and miscarriages. Residents of Love Canal were very active in bringing awareness to the environmental tragedy that affected their homes and families. Eventually, families were evacuated and a plan was created to remediate the site. As a result, Congress enacted the CERCLA statute in 1980.
The establishment of CERCLA gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to establish prohibitions and requirements concerning closed or abandoned hazarous waste sites. The EPA was given the authority to identify Potential Responsible Parties (PRPs) for contamination of a site and assure their cooperation in the clean up. If a PRP cannot be identified CERCLA is able to use the Federal "Superfund" to cover the costs of the clean up. CERCLA is implemented in all 50 states however, Superfund site identification, monitoring and response activities are coordinated through state environmental protection or waste management agencies.
The establishment of CERCLA gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to establish prohibitions and requirements concerning closed or abandoned hazarous waste sites. The EPA was given the authority to identify Potential Responsible Parties (PRPs) for contamination of a site and assure their cooperation in the clean up. If a PRP cannot be identified CERCLA is able to use the Federal "Superfund" to cover the costs of the clean up. CERCLA is implemented in all 50 states however, Superfund site identification, monitoring and response activities are coordinated through state environmental protection or waste management agencies.