Cleanup enforcement authority is derived from several statutes:
the Comprehensive, Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability
Act (CERCLA or Superfund); the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA), including the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program;
and the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) under the Clean Water Act. Each
of these statutes deal with sites where there's been a migration
or a release, or a threat of release, of hazardous substances into
the environment.
EPA's Office of Site Remediation
Enforcement has primary responsibility for enforcing cleanup
actions.
Which statute to use depends on what kind of release there's been
(oil? hazardous waste?) and from where (an underground storage tank?
an abandoned facility? a working facility?). "Enforcement"
is when EPA investigates the identity of, and negotiates with, parties
to do the cleanup or to recover the costs of a cleanup. More
information about cleanup enforcement.
EPA's Office of Civil Enforcement is primarily responsible for cleanup enforcement matters related to PCBs, asbestos, sediments and other hazardous and toxic substances separate from cleanup up a contaminated site, facility or property.
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