Superfund reauthorization: A decade of experience

Since its passage in 1980, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) has provided the US Environmental Protection Agency a tool for combating threats to human health and the environment resulting from hazardous wastes. As times have changed, so has the program. The 1986 Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) changed CERCLA for the first time. The time has come to change the bill again. Many proposals for Superfund reform have been debated in Congress. These debates have focused in large part on the following aspects of the program: community involvement; State involvement; liability; and remedy selection. By focusing on these areas, and making changes where needed, the program can build upon lessons learned and chart a course for the future.