Assigning Liability for Superfund Cleanups


Book Description

While more than 2,700 emergency removals of hazardous materials have taken place under Superfund, implementing the long-term cleanup program has been the object of considerable controversy. One of the most contentious issues is whether the liability standards in the law should be revised. The authors analyze the pros and cons associated with the current liability approach, as well as with a variety of alternative strategies.




Assigning Liability for Superfund Cleanups


Book Description

While more than 2,700 emergency removals of hazardous materials have taken place under Superfund, implementing the long-term cleanup program has been the object of considerable controversy. One of the most contentious issues is whether the liability standards in the law should be revised. The authors analyze the pros and cons associated with the current liability approach, as well as with a variety of alternative strategies.







Investigative Strategies for Lead-Source Attribution at Superfund Sites Associated with Mining Activities


Book Description

The Superfund program of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created in the 1980s to address human-health and environmental risks posed by abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous-waste sites. Identification of Superfund sites and their remediation is an expensive multistep process. As part of this process, EPA attempts to identify parties that are responsible for the contamination and thus financially responsible for remediation. Identification of potentially responsible parties is complicated because Superfund sites can have a long history of use and involve contaminants that can have many sources. Such is often the case for mining sites that involve metal contamination; metals occur naturally in the environment, they can be contaminants in the wastes generated at or released from the sites, and they can be used in consumer products, which can degrade and release the metals back to the environment. This report examines the extent to which various sources contribute to environmental lead contamination at Superfund sites that are near lead-mining areas and focuses on sources that contribute to lead contamination at sites near the Southeast Missouri Lead Mining District. It recommends potential improvements in approaches used for assessing sources of lead contamination at or near Superfund sites.




Flashpoints in Environmental Policymaking


Book Description

As a contribution to public policy and to help educate students about natural resource issues, this book identifies the likely "hot spots" of environmental policy and presents alternative and often opposing points of view on the major controversies that are likely to be with us well into the next century. Among the topics covered are comparative risk assessment; market incentives in environmental regulation; environmental justice; public versus private management of public lands; international trade and sustainable development; and the relationship between national security and environmental protection.




Analyzing Superfund


Book Description

Originally published in 1995, Analyzing Superfund outlines the key issues of the superfund reauthorization debate in the United States. The Superfund law faced criticism for being wasteful, inefficient and expensive. These papers sought to shed light on this argument in relation to clean-up standards, the liability regime, transaction costs and natural resource damage. This title will be of interest to students of Environmental Studies and professionals




Developing an Appropriate Contaminated Land Regime in China


Book Description

This book explores the complex package of mechanisms used to identify, record, manage and remediate contaminated land, including the system for allocating liabilities that has been set up by China’s contaminated land law and accompanying administrative decrees and environmental standards. Statutory control of soil or land contamination is a comparatively new phenomenon for Chinese lawmakers and researchers. After more than ten years of preparation, China recently adopted its first nationwide contaminated land law—the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Soil Contamination, which entered into effect in the beginning of 2019. The law deals exclusively with risk management in connection with soil contamination, and the remediation of contaminated land. This book analyzes various facets of how China is managing the risks associated with soil contamination and remediating contaminated sites by means of legislation. Chapters 1 and 2 reveal the current extent of the soil contamination problem in China and the initial policy responses of the country’s central government. In turn, Chapters 3 and 4 address the regulatory frameworks and the latest contaminated land legislation at both the local and national level. Lastly, Chapters 5 through 9 offer concrete recommendations, based on lessons learned in the US and UK, for reforming contaminated land management in China. Overall, the book covers the past, present and future of contaminated land management in China, making it of interest to environmental policymakers, administrators, academics, lawyers and engineers engaged in soil or environmental protection. Further, it offers a source of reliable information for those who want to learn more about China’s environmental legislation and contaminated land management policy.







Breaking the Vicious Circle


Book Description

Breaking the Vicious Circle is a tour de force that should be read by everyone who is interested in improving our regulatory processes. Written by a highly respected federal judge, who would go on to serve on the Supreme Court, and who obviously recognizes the necessity of regulation but perceives its failures and weaknesses as well, it pinpoints the most serious problems and offers a creative solution that would for the first time bring rationality to bear on the vital issue of priorities in our era of limited resources.




Economics and the Environment


Book Description

Now in its ninth edition, Economics and the Environment offers an accessible approach to the latest debates, concerns, standards, and legislation related to contemporary environmental issues. Featuring new and updated content throughout, this student-friendly textbook organizes its discussion around four specific questions — How much pollution is too much? Is the government up to the job? How can we do better? How can we resolve global issues? — to provide an inclusive and highly-engaging examination of environmental economics. Following a unique four-question format, the text provides an integrated pedagogy that is simpler and more useful than a “topics” approach to the subject. Students are encouraged to discuss the government’s role in environmental policy, the benefits and costs of environmental protection, methods for promoting clean technology and sustainability, global pollution and resource issues, environmental justice and ethics, and more. Throughout the text, illustrative examples and real-world case studies are complemented by end-of-chapter problems and exercises that both strengthen student comprehension and increase retention.