Superfund Reauthorization: A More Modest Proposal

May 1997
Citation:
27
ELR 10201
Issue
5
Author
Charles de Saillan

Editors' Summary: For over three years, Congress has been trying to reauthorize and revise CERCLA. Reauthorization bills introduced in the 103d, 104th, and 105th Congresses have proposed extensive changes intended to "fix" a program that many people consider to be "broken." In this Article, an Assistant Attorney General for Natural Resources in the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General suggests that the Superfund program is not as flawed as its critics charge. He argues that the statute only needs some fine-tuning.

The Article begins with an overview of CERCLA that focuses on the features of the program that critics say need fixing. The author reviews the elements of the statute's liability scheme, its provisions for response actions and cleanup standards, the role afforded states and communities, and the statute's provision for restoration or replacement of injured natural resources. He then examines the perception that the program is broken, and analyzes the bills that have been introduced to correct the program's perceived problems. Finally, he proposes statutory changes of his own that would address existing problems without making major revisions to the law.

Charles de Saillan is Assistant Attorney General for Natural Resources in the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General. He has worked with the 103d, 104th, and 105th Congresses on Superfund reauthorization issues, has testified on reauthorization before several Senate and House committees, and leads a state attorney general work group on Superfund reauthorization.

The author wishes to thank the following individuals for sharing their wealth of knowledge, experience, and insight on the implementation of Superfund, which greatly contributed to this Article: Brian Hembacher, Assistant Attorney General, State of California; Vicky L. Peters, Senior Assistant Attorney General, State of Colorado; Alan C. Williams, Assistant Attorney General, State of Minnesota; Robert G. Collins, Assistant Attorney General, State of Montana; Richard F. Engel, Deputy Attorney General, State of New Jersey; Gordon J. Johnson, Assistant Attorney General, State of New York; Jay J. Manning, Senior Assistant Attorney General, State of Washington; and Mary Sue Wilson, Assistant Attorney General, State of Washington. However, the views expressed in this Article do not necessarily reflect the views of these individuals or the views of the attorneys general of their respective states.

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