Section Two
LAWS, REGULATIONS, AND TRAINING
9    SO YOU ARE A PRP!
James D. Edwards, Member
Burgess & Niple, Limited
Columbus, Ohio 43220
Michael S. McMahon, Partner
Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
INTRODUCTION
Being named as a Superfund site Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) is the beginning of a difficult
experience. Although participating in a Superfund cleanup is an extended, trying, and costly undertaking, there are ways to minimize the costs involved. You can best deal with the situation by
understanding what it means to be a PRP, by being aware of your options, and by taking appropriate
action. This paper briefly discusses the PRP experience and offers suggestions on ways to effectively
deal with the situation.
COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE, COMPENSATION,
AND LIABILITY ACT
Liability Scheme
Liability provisions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or "Superfund") are extremely broad. The following persons are liable for cleanup
of any contamination:1
1. Current owners of contaminated property or current operators of facilities located on
the property;
2. Past owners of the contaminated property or operators of a facility located on it, who
were owners or operators at the time hazardous substances were disposed of on the site;
3. Persons who arranged for disposal or treatment or arranged with a transporter for
transport for disposal or treatment of hazardous substances owned or possessed by them
or anyone else to another location (according to the government, this means anyone who
generated hazardous waste which found its way on the contaminated property); and
4. Transporters of hazardous substances who selected the site of disposal or treatment of
such hazardous substances.
The type of liability which CERCLA imposes on these persons is joint and several,2 which means
that one liable party can be held responsible for the entire cleanup cost even though that party may
have only contributed a small fraction of the contamination. The federal government has used this
type of liability to target PRPs, leaving them with the responsibility of suing other PRPs to force them
to contribute to the cleanup costs.
Liability under CERCLA is also viewed as strict liability,3 meaning that there are few legal defenses.
The amount of proof needed by the federal government to demonstrate that a party is subject to this
liability is very slim. In many cases, it may simply be a pickup ticket from a hauler who frequently
used the Superfund site. The government may not be required to prove that the particular waste
actually ended up at the Superfund site. Once there is some connection between a party and a site, the
burden falls on the party to prove where the waste actually went.
The costs for which PRPs may be liable include the costs of removal of the contamination or
remedial action, whether it is conducted by the PRP, the government or others, the cost of health
45th Purdue Industrial Waste Conference Proceedings, © 1991 Lewis Publishers, Inc., Chelsea, Michigan 48118.
Printed in U.S.A.
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