From the incidents leading to the passing of CERCLA, it was clear that RCRA alone did not have the scope to deal with abandoned waste sites. With RCRA, the owners are known and deal specifically only with waste. CERCLA took up the task of giving the EPA the authority to determine who was responsible for cleaning up a site of not only hazardous substances, but any pollutant or contaminant, and if no responsible party could be found, the Federal Government would provide the funds needed through collection made by a tax levied against chemical companies who might "one day" cause a site to need action. This would avoid years of litigation. The extent of the contamination was soon found to be so widespread that declaring each a Federal disaster area was just not practical. CERCLA amended the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), which originally dealt with oil spills to provide the regulatory structure to deal with releases.

​

     Two response actions were detailed in CERCLA: Short-term immediate response to an emergency which endangered public health, or a longer remediation process which could take years or even decades to complete. The short-term response was not much different than that in RCRA and could involve immediate removal of the dangerous material. Remediation, though, was unique to CERCLA and was comprised of nine components: 

​

     * Preliminary Assessment/Site Investigation

     * The National Priorities List (NPL) Site Listing Process

     * Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (Site Characterization)

     * Records of Decision (Remedy Decisions) 

     * Remedial Design/Remedial Action

     * Construction Completion

     * Post Construction Completion

     * National Priorities List Deletion

     * Site Reuse/Redevelopment

​

     A Preliminary Assessment/Site Investigation is meant to determine if a site poses a threat to either people or the environment and the urgency of responding to the threat if one exists. It used research on a site's history and a visit to the site to make this determination.

​

     The National Priorities List (NPL) Site Listing Process uses the Hazard Ranking System (HRS) to numerically assess the relative risk posed by substances in the air, soil, or water. A minimum 28.5 score on a scale from 0 to 100 is necessary to place a site on the NPL which makes them for remediation action and finance.

​

     Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (Site Characterization) evaluates the nature and extent of the contamination and assesses its potential threat. Various treatment options are evaluated for cost and effectiveness.

​

     Records of Decision (Remedy Decisions) are where the EPA explains its choice of remediation strategy. A document of the Record of Decision (ROD) is distributed for public comment. After this a final ROD is produced.

​

     Remedial Design/Remedial Action is where the cleanup plan is designed and construction and implementation of the chosen plan begins.

​

     Construction Completion is when the cleanup actions are finished, though targeted mitigation goals may not have been reached yet. 

​

     Post Construction Completion is when the State or the responsible parties have taken up the Operation and Maintenance of the site, and includes periodic reviews to evaluate the continued effectiveness of the cleanup and checking on any site security such as fencing (i.e. "Institutional Controls."

​

     National Priorities List Deletion can occur once all goals have been met for levels of contaminant removal the site has been deemed safe for human health.

​

     Site Reuse/Redevelopment is part of the the EPA's cooperation with the public to make sure the site is able to be used for future intended development. 

​

     The development of CERCLA over time was mainly subject to the whims and political tendencies of the party in power at the time. Shortly after CERCLA's passing into law, Ronald Reagan took office and his administration immediately removed all its enforcement capability, closed enforcement offices, and reassigned enforcement officers to other areas. 

 

     While there was some streamlining of administration in 1984 and early 1985 by delegating more authority to regional offices, delays in re-authorization in 1985 and 1986 put a stop to all non-emergency actions when the taxing authority expired. 

 

     Then in 1986 The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) was passed in October. The EPA used SARA to make emphasize permanent solutions and encouraged using the latest technologies. It brought the Superfund more in line with other laws and State regulations and got the states more involved in every step of the process. It brought renewed enforcement capabilities to help gain settlements from polluters and gave community groups a bigger say in decision-making on how to clean up sites. It also brought Federal sites under CERCLA. A key provision raised the Superfund trust to $8.5 billion. Also enacted in Title III of SARA was the Emergency Planning & Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) which required each state to appoint a State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) and also improved public access to information about what chemicals were being used and released at industrial facilities. This is what brought about Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) and the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for chemicals produced or used above certain established threshold levels.

​

     Also of note is the use of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), created in 1980, to be the organization tasked with implementing human health aspects of hazardous waste laws. Under RCRA, ATSDR had been given the ability to do site health assessments at EPA's request and could determine what substances should be regulated and what levels posed health risks.Under CERCLA, it is the ATSDR which is responsible for determining if health hazards exist at Superfund sites and what they are so as to reduce illness caused by exposure. Under SARA, ATSDR was tasked with the creation of toxicological databases, spreading information, and providing medical education for the public.

​

     Sadly, in 1995, Congress allowed  the Superfund taxing authority to expire leading to a zero balance by 2003 and since then there has been no actual Superfund "fund." This seriously slowed the pace of cleanups and reduced the number of new sites added to the NPL despite the fact that 1 in 4 Americans live within  a mile of a Superfund site. CERCLA cleanups and administration was done solely with budgetary appropriations which got lower each year. It was not until President Obama signed the The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 that cleanup actions expanded. In 2010 alone, ARRA gave $600 million for cleanup actions and the creation of "green jobs." 

     

          

​