Superfund amendment should protect the cleanup industry
- Earth Technology Corp., Long Beach, CA (United States)
Congress finally is close to amending Superfund. Judging from published reports, everyone seems ready for a new approach. The Clinton administration has recommended that contaminated sites be cleaned up no more than necessary for their intended uses. Congress also seems ready to deal with the thorny problems posed by Superfund liability. Ironically, at the moment reform is in the air, the environmental services industry is faced with a threat of which Washington seems to be unaware. At stake is the industry's survival, and Congress must be urged to address the problem immediately. This threat is a recent federal court ruling that an environmental engineer and a remediation contractor face joint and several liability for their client's pollution. The owner of an industrial facility contaminated with PCBs wanted to sell the property and hired an environmental contractor to clean up the site. The owner also hired an engineering company as its onsite representative and consultant. The owner subsequently sold the site to another company and was sued after the buyer found more PCB contamination at the site. The original owner, in turn, filed a cross-claim against its engineering consultant and remediation contractor. In this case, the original site owner alleged that the engineer and remediation contractor were responsible under CERCLA for the contamination. The contractor and engineering company asked the court to dismiss them from the lawsuit, but the court refused, holding that the engineers and remediation contractor may be considered potentially responsible parties under Superfunds as operators'' or transporters''.
- OSTI ID:
- 7304046
- Journal Information:
- Hazmat World; (United States), Journal Name: Hazmat World; (United States) Vol. 7:5; ISSN HMWOED; ISSN 0898-5685
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Legal issues in environmental contractor liability
PCB speciation for responsibility exclusion/cost allocation at a Superfund site