Making Polluters Pay: Vermont and New York Setting the Stage for Climate Mitigation Funding

The concept of making “polluters pay” for environmental damages is not a novel concept, and in fact is based on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), enacted by the U.S. Congress on December 11, 1980. Referred to as the “Superfund Law,” CERCLA allowed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) established prohibitions and requirements concerning closed and abandoned hazardous waste sites; (2) provided for liability of persons responsible for releases of hazardous waste at these sites; and (3) established a trust fund to provide for cleanup when no responsible party could be identified. Hence the term “Superfund.” This program has been responsible for the cleanup of literally hundreds of federally listed hazardous waste sites across the country since its inception, the most notable likely being Love Canal in New York State, and the efforts by the infamous Erin Brockovich.