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- Title
TOXIC ASSETS: THE EPA'S SETTLEMENT OF CERCLA CLAIMS IN BANKRUPTCY.
- Authors
Blair, Scott E.
- Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recent settlement of environmental cleanup claims against Asarco, the highest such settlement in history, highlights the incongruity between the tools at the Agency's disposal to recover cleanup costs and its actual behavior in pursuing such claims. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1990 (CERCLA) provides statutory authority that should allow EPA to force polluters to fully bear the burden of cleaning up pollution. However, despite EPA 's relative success against solvent responsible parties, EPA appears to be less aggressive in pursuing CERCLA claims against insolvent polluters, even though the Bankruptcy Code provides additional tools to give EPA an advantage relative to creditors. This Note explains the statutory advantages that EPA has under CERCLA and the Bankruptcy Code, and then explores how EPA fails to behave like a rational economic actor in pursuing its CERCLA claims. I conclude by positing political factors and budget shortfalls as two potential explanations of EPA 's behavior.
- Subjects
UNITED States; UNITED States. Environmental Protection Agency; COMPREHENSIVE Environmental Response, Compensation &; Liability Act of 1980 (U.S.); LEGAL settlement; ASARCO Inc.; ENVIRONMENTAL protection; ENVIRONMENTAL law; ACTIONS &; defenses (Law)
- Publication
New York University Law Review, 2011, Vol 86, Issue 6, p1941
- ISSN
0028-7881
- Publication type
Article