Superfund Liability Reform Act

Summary

Superfund Liability Reform Act - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to provide that with respect to any National Priority List (NPL) site, each liable party who accepts or sucessfully appeals the results of the allocation of responsibility process (established by this Act) shall be liable only for its assigned share of the costs for: (1) removal or remedial action incurred by the United States, a State, or an Indian tribe; (2) response incurred by any other person; and (3) any health assessment or health effects study. (Sec. 3) Requires the orphan share of a NPL site to be paid out of the Hazardous Substance Superfund or by a liable party who unsuccessfully appeals a final binding allocation of responsibility decision. (Sec. 4) Makes potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and liable parties who fail to perform response actions at an NPL site subject to civil action and liable for all action costs. Requires PRPs who perform and pay for a response action at such a site to be reimbursed by Superfund. Authorizes liable parties who perform and pay for such actions to recover costs as a creditor party in accordance with this Act. (Sec. 5) Provides that certain recycling transactions in which a material is being used or sold to make a new product and that meet other specification grade conditions shall not be considered as actions subject to liability for response actions. Excludes transactions that lead to the burning of material or the use of material in a manner that constitutes a disposal as determined by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. (Sec. 6) Directs the Administrator to appoint panels of administrative law judges to perform expedited administrative proceedings, to be known as "binding allocations of responsibility (BARs)," for purposes of determining the liability of PRPs at NPL sites. Provides that BARs shall not address or affect liability concerning damages to natural resources. Provides for the initiation of a BAR by the filing of a petition with the EPA Office of Administrative Law Judges by the Administrator or a State where the site is located. Authorizes de micromis parties (PRPs that contributed only a miniscule amount of hazardous substances to the site) to resolve liability by paying $1,000 to the Superfund. Requires final BARs to be issued within 18 months of the publication of a notice of petition (or 24 months for cases of exceptional complexity). Bases the assigned share of liability on specified allocation factors. Requires the Administrator to make firm offers of settlement to all de minimis parties (parties that contributed only one percent or less of the total quantity of hazardous substances present at the site). Makes a BAR decision binding as to all past, present, and future liability for response costs and for contributions in civil proceedings. Permits judicial review of final BAR decisions. Sets forth procedures for recovery by creditor parties. Provides for stays of certain pending enforcement actions and private party litigation until a BAR is issued. Authorizes any group of PRPs to submit a private allocation for the NPL site, to be known as a "voluntary binding allocation of responsibility," to the allocation panel. Provides that a BAR shall constitute a permanent determination of the assigned share of a liable party and of the orphan share and, except for specified additions to the orphan share and judicially mandated changes, shall not be subject to any change for at least five years after the date of final decision. Permits a new BAR only if the request demonstrates that due to new information not reasonably available during the first BAR, a 35 percent or greater increase in total waste-in volume has been discovered.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

No timeline events have been ingested for this record yet.

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

3 official files

• Introduced in House (text)

  Introduced in House · EN · 22 November 1993

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in House (PDF)

  Introduced in House · EN · 22 November 1993

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 22 November 1993

  Open at official source

Sponsors

No sponsors or actors listed by the source.

Related records

No cross-record relationships stored yet.