CERCLA and EPCRA Overview Quiz

Week 10: Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)

• CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) was signed into law on December 11, 1980, by President Jimmy Carter.
• CERCLA was passed in response to hazardous waste scares, including the health problems in Love Canal, New York
• CERCLA created the Superfund program to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances and pollutants.
• CERCLA covers uncontrolled releases, or "substantial threats" of release, of hazardous substances from facilities or vessels. This includes corroded drums and pipes.
• CERCLA provides the EPA with options for responding to hazardous substance releases, including issuing abatement orders to potentially responsible parties (PRPs). This may result in fines of up to $25,000 per day for noncompliance.
• The EPA can also clean up the release itself using Superfund money and then sue the PRPs to recover the money.
• CERCLA covers many hazardous substances: hazardous wastes under RCRA; hazardous substances under the Clean Water Act (CWA); hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) under the Clean Air Act (CAA); and imminently hazardous chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
• CERCLA does not exclude petroleum products.
• Petroleum products are covered under UST, SPCC, and RCRA waste regulations.
• There is no threshold quantity for CERCLA.
• CERCLA liability is retroactive, meaning parties are responsible for present effects of past actions. There is no statute of limitations.
• CERCLA liability is joint and several; this means all parties in a lawsuit could be responsible for the entire amount of damages.
• CERCLA liability is strict, meaning parties cannot defend their actions based on industry standards or a claim of no negligence.
• Defenses against CERCLA include acts of God, acts of war, acts or omissions of a third party.
• De minimus parties are not held liable if the amount and toxicity of hazardous substances is minimal compared to the other hazardous substances at the facility.
• The innocent landowner defense can protect property owners who acquired property without knowledge of contamination prior to purchase, if they performed appropriate inquiries.
• A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) is the ASTM E1527 process to use in conducting an inquiry.
• CERCLA Section 103 requires reporting of releases of hazardous substances that exceed the reportable quantity to the National Response Center.

Selection of Sites for Cleanup

• The National Oil and Hazardous Substances Contingency Plan (NCP) provides criteria for selecting sites for cleanup.
• The National Priorities List (NPL) gives ranked sites based on the Hazard Ranking System (HRS).

Hazard Ranking System (HRS)

• The HRS is a numerically based screening system used by the EPA to place uncontrolled waste sites on the NPL.
• The HRS will use information from preliminary assessments and site inspections.
• The HRS considers the likelihood of a site releasing hazardous substances, the characteristics of the waste, and the people or environments affected by the release.
• Four pathways are considered for hazardous substance releases: Groundwater, Surface water, Soil, and Air.
• Sites with an HRS score of 28.50 or above are eligible for the NPL.

Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS)

• Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) is performed after NPL listing.
• The purpose is to collect data and characterize the site.

The Superfund Site Cleanup Process

• The process has 9 steps: 1.Preliminary Assessment/Site Investigation 2.National Priorities Listing/Hazard Ranking System 3.Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study 4.Record of Decision 5.Remedial Design/Remedial Action 6.Construction Completion 7.Post Construction Completion (continual monitoring) 8.NPL deletion 9.Site Reuse/Redevelopment

Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) Under CERCLA

• CERCLA Section 107 allows the EPA to recover response costs from four different categories of PRPs:
  • Current owners or operators
  • Owners or operators at the time of disposal
  • Persons who arranged for disposal
  • Persons who transported hazardous substances to the facility

CERCLA Liability, EPCRA

• EPCRA (Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act) was enacted in 1986 was part of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA).
• EPCRA amended CERCLA
• EPCRA requires certain businesses to submit information to state and local authorities and the public about hazardous chemicals used in their facilities

EPCRA Subchapters and Reporting

• Emergency planning and reporting, Subchapter I, Emergency and Emergency Release Reporting, Section 301, 303, 304
• Reporting of Hazardous Chemicals, Subchapter II, Sections 311,312, 313 (Toxic Chemical Release Inventory)
• Public Access to Information, Subchapter III, Sections 321, 330
• EPCRA's Subchapter I requirements apply only to extremely hazardous substances (EHSs).
• A facility must engage in emergency planning if the quantity of an EHS is greater than the Threshold Planning Quantity (TPQ).
• Any facility that produces, uses, or stores an EHS at a quantity that exceeds the TPQ must meet all emergency planning criteria.
• Emergency planning must have a formal plan which includes: identification of facilities; routes for transporting hazardous substances; methods and procedures; emergency coordinators; and public notification systems.

Release and Storage Reporting

• Facilities that release any EHS in excess of the RQ (Reportable Quantity) must report immediately to the SERC (State Emergency Response Commission) and the LEPC (Local Emergency Planning Commission).
• Facilities that release any CERCLA hazardous substance in excess of the RQ must report to the SERC, the LEPC, and the National Response Center.
• Any facility required by OSHA to provide safety data sheets for chemicals at levels exceeding minimum threshold levels must notify the SERC, LEPC, and local fire department.

Toxic Release Reporting (TRI)

• Community Right-to-Know

Connection to PPA

• The federal Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) of 1990 requires owners or operators of facilities to file an annual toxic chemical release form with the EPA (under Section 313 of EPCRA), and to file a Toxic Chemical Source Reduction and Recycling report.

This quiz covers key concepts related to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). Test your knowledge on the implications of these laws, their historical context, and their impact on environmental protection and community safety.