EPA and ELI to host CERCLA panel on 35th anniversary of law

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will join the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) in a public seminar on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) on Dec. 10, the day before the 35th anniversary of the law’s passage.

The panel, entitled “CERCLA @35: Looking Back, Looking Forward,” will feature EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response Assistant Administrator Mathy Stanislaus, EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield, ELI President Scott Fulton, Arnold & Porter Partner Joel Gross and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Chief Counsel Susan Bodine.

CERCLA’s passage, which gives the EPA the authority to run cleanup operations at contaminated sites and the responsibility to update the National Priorities List annually, has been vital in the process of improving human and environmental health around Superfund sites. The panel will feature discussions on the origins of the Superfund program, where it has succeeded and where it has revealed shortcomings. The panellists will also delve into the program’s future, discussing potential changes to site cleanup and regulations and determining what lessons can be drawn from the American model for other jurisdictions.

The panel will run from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Environmental Law Institute, 1730 M St., NW, Washington, D.C. The even is open to the public, but registration is required by Dec. 9.