Editors' Summary: With its long history of industrialization and high population density, Europe faces serious environmental problems. Initiatives developed by the European Community (EC) are serving as catalysts and frameworks for addressing these problems. One initiative that the EC is currently considering is the proposed Directive on Civil Liability for Damage From Waste. This proposed directive would create a far-reaching toxic tort and cleanup liability regime. It would hold waste producers strictly and jointly and severally liable for injuries caused by their waste until the waste is turned over to a licensed waste disposal or recycling facility. If the producer cannot be identified, the owner of the land where the waste is located would be deemed the producer and be held strictly liable. The scope of the proposed directive's liability would differ, in some ways, from that of American counterparts such as CERCLA. Nevertheless, like CERCLA, it would in practice impose liability on past conduct.

The authors first present an overview of the proposal's current version and examine in detail some of its most significant aspects. They then make recommendations on coping with the civil liability risks that the directive would create. Finally, noting that the proposed directive is only part of a greater trend toward more rigorous environmental liability provisions, they warn that businesses operating in Europe need to carefully consider the environmental consequences of their actions and must be sensitive to the increasing effect of environmental law on their transactions and operations.