Summer School: Clean Land, RCRA and CERCLA

Co-sponsored by:
The Environmental Law Institute &
DC Bar's Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Section

Each summer the ELI Summer School convenes a complimentary seminar series that serves as an introduction to the legal and policy foundations of environmental protection in the United States. The weekly brown-bag lunch seminars are taught by experts in their fields, and introduce the audience to the major environmental statutes (including NEPA, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, TSCA, RCRA and CERCLA) and land use law. The series ends with an afternoon careers seminar followed by a networking reception.

Clean Land: Hazardous Waste and Sites

Panelists described federal law governing the management of hazardous wastes and the clean-up of hazardous waste sites with emphasis on the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The speakers discussed about Love Canal and the events that led to the enactment of CERCLA, and how the allocation between various parties of responsibility for cleanup changed throughout the history of the statute. The discussion also addressed uncertainties that still exist in RCRA in areas such as the definition of solid waste and the rules for recycling.

Faculty:
Anna R. Kuperstein, Associate, Keller and Heckman, LLP
Lewis J. Taylor, Associate, Venable LLP