|
Support Commonsense Environment Regulation - Cosponsor H.R. 3788 to Provide the Defense from Superfund Liability for Service Station Dealers that Congress Intended June 25, 2002 Dear Colleague: The issue of service station liability under Superfund is of tremendous importance to small business owners throughout the nation. CERCLA, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, also known as Superfund, provides for the clean-up of abandoned, contaminated sites. Under the Superfund law, the generators of waste are liable for the costs of environmental clean up. This includes service station dealers who dispose of spent motor oil in good faith. H.R. 3788 provides service station dealers the meaningful defense from Superfund liability that Congress intended to provide when the Superfund law was amended in 1986 with the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA). SARA provided service station dealers with a specific defense against liability under Superfund, and in 1991 the EPA promulgated the rules. Unfortunately, SARA has been interpreted in such a way that the defense is available to few service station owners. As a result, the defense has almost never been used. This is not what Congress intended. Today, service station dealers are expressing their frustration. H.R. 3788 provides them with a meaningful defense from Superfund liability-a defense Congress intended to provide in 1986. Our bill would clarify the existing defense for service station dealers, permitting use of the defense from liability for those that had sent spent oil waste to oil recyclers prior to enactment of the SARA amendments. Service station dealers will not be exempt from Superfund liability. They will still be required to comply with applicable laws and will therefore be subject to CERCLA. We hope you will join us in our efforts to provide these service station owners who have-to the best of their ability-acted in accordance with the law to protect the environment with a meaningful defense from Superfund liability. To become a cosponsor or for more information on this legislation, please contact Elizabeth Oldmixon (in Rep. Capuano's office) at 505111 or Matt Leland (in Rep. Sununu's office) at 5-5456. Sincerely,
|