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Vanderbilt University Law School

Series

1991

Environmental response

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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Plight Of The Passive Past Owner: Defining The Limits Of Superfund Liability, J.B. Ruhl Jan 1991

The Plight Of The Passive Past Owner: Defining The Limits Of Superfund Liability, J.B. Ruhl

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

These days, if you want to stir up high emotions in Congress, statehouses, corporate boardrooms or citizen group meetings, mention the word Superfund. That alias for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) evokes strong reactions from industry, environmentalists, bankers, politicians, and just about everyone else. CERCLA, a relative latecomer to the present-day body of federal environmental law, was enacted in 1980 to fill a gap in then existing law by creating the authority and liability for cleanup of abandoned facilities contaminated with hazardous substances. In the short time it has been with us, CERCLA has …