I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2256
To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 to make comprehensive improvements in provisions
relating to liability and funding.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 4, 1995
Mr. ZELIFF introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and
Infrastructure, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com-
pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to make comprehen-
sive improvements in provisions relating to liability and
funding.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Superfund Liability
Equity and Acceleration Act’’.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I—LIABILITY
Sec. 101. Release of evidence.
Sec. 102. Elimination of retroactive liability.
Sec. 103. Limitation on liability of certain owners and operators.
Sec. 104. Contribution protection.
Sec. 105. Contiguous properties.
Sec. 106. Lender and fiduciary liability.
Sec. 107. Definitions.
Sec. 108. Assignment of shares of liability for costs of response actions at na-
tional priority list sites.
Sec. 109. Enforcement of response actions through joint and several liability.
Sec. 110. Establishment of binding allocation of responsibility process.
Sec. 111. Site redevelopment.
Sec. 112. Liability of response action contractors.
TITLE II—FUNDING
Sec. 201. Hazardous Substance Revolving Fund.
TITLE I—LIABILITY
SEC. 101. RELEASE OF EVIDENCE.
(a) TIMELY ACCESS TO INFORMATION FURNISHED
UNDER SECTION 104(e).—Section 104(e)(7)(A) of the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,
and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(e)(7)(A)) is
amended by inserting after ‘‘shall be available to the pub-
lic’’ the following: ‘‘not later than 14 days after the
records, reports, or information is obtained’’.
(b) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE PRPS EVIDENCE OF
LIABILITY.—(1) Subsection (a) of section 106 of the Com-
prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9607(a)) is amended by
adding at the end the following: ‘‘In any case in which
the President issues an order to a person under this sub-
section, the President shall provide information concerning
the evidence that indicates that each element of liability
contained in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of section
107(a)(1) is present.’’.
(2) Section 122(e)(1) of such Act is amended by in-
serting after subparagraph (C) the following:
‘‘(D) For each potentially responsible
party, the evidence that indicates that each ele-
ment of liability contained in subparagraph (A),
(B), (C), or (D) of section 107(a)(1) is
present.’’.
SEC. 102. ELIMINATION OF RETROACTIVE LIABILITY.
Section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9607(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(n) RETROACTIVE LIABILITY CUT-OFF DATE; COST
REIMBURSEMENT PROVISIONS.—
‘‘(1) 
RETROACTIVE
LIABILITY
CUT-OFF
DATE.—Subject to the provisions in this subsection,
a person is liable under this section only for actions
occurring after December 31, 1986.
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION
FOR
ILLEGAL
ACTIONS.—
Paragraph (1) does not apply to actions occurring
on or before December 31, 1986, which were con-
trary to law at the time of the actions. For purposes
of this paragraph, actions shall be considered to be
contrary to law at the time of the actions if the ac-
tions are determined by a court before, on, or after
the date of the enactment of this subsection to have
been illegal at the time the actions occurred.
‘‘(3) 
REIMBURSEMENT.—Reimbursement 
or
payment for costs incurred under this Act for ac-
tions for which a person is not liable under this sec-
tion by reason of paragraph (1) shall be made from
the Hazardous Substance Revolving Fund in accord-
ance with paragraphs (4) and (5).
‘‘(4) PRE-1987
SITES.—For a site or facility
with respect to which all actions occurred before
January 1, 1987, the following reimbursement rules
apply:
‘‘(A) NO REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS IN-
CURRED
BEFORE
DATE
OF
ENACTMENT
OF
SUBSECTION FOR CERTAIN SITES.—In the case
of such a site or facility that was discovered be-
fore June 1, 1995, no reimbursement may be
made from the Hazardous Substance Revolving
Fund to the potentially responsible parties con-
cerned for costs incurred before the date of the
enactment of this subsection for construction or
operation and maintenance of a response action
at such a site or facility.
‘‘(B) 
REIMBURSEMENT
FOR
CERTAIN
COSTS.—The President shall use amounts from
the Hazardous Substance Revolving Fund to
pay—
‘‘(i) in the case of such a site or facil-
ity where construction was completed by
June 1, 1995, any costs of operation and
maintenance incurred on or after the date
of the enactment of this subsection;
‘‘(ii) in the case of such a site or facil-
ity where construction was not completed
by June 1, 1995, any costs of construction
or operation and maintenance incurred on
or after such date of enactment; and
‘‘(iii) in the case of such a site or fa-
cility that is discovered after June 1, 1995,
all costs of the response action (including
construction and operation and mainte-
nance) incurred on or after the date of the
enactment of this subsection, except that
such costs shall not include attorneys’ fees
or other costs associated with litigation re-
lated to the response action.
‘‘(5) STRADDLE SITES.—For a site or facility
with respect to which actions occurred both before
and after January 1, 1987 (hereinafter in this sub-
section referred to as a ‘straddle site or facility’), the
following reimbursement rules apply:
‘‘(A) NO REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS IN-
CURRED
BEFORE
DATE
OF
ENACTMENT
OF
SUBSECTION FOR CERTAIN SITES.—In the case
of a straddle site or facility that was discovered
before June 1, 1995, no reimbursement may be
made from the Hazardous Substance Revolving
Fund to the potentially responsible parties con-
cerned for costs incurred before the date of the
enactment of this subsection for construction or
operation and maintenance of a response action
at the site or facility.
‘‘(B) 
REIMBURSEMENT
FOR
CERTAIN
COSTS.—The President shall use amounts from
the Hazardous Substance Revolving Fund to
pay—
‘‘(i) in the case of a straddle site or
facility where construction was completed
by June 1, 1995, any costs of operation
and maintenance incurred on or after the
date of the enactment of this subsection
that are attributable to pre-1987 actions
(as determined pursuant to an allocation
for which a petition is granted under para-
graph (6) of this subsection);
‘‘(ii) in the case of a straddle site or
facility where construction was not com-
pleted by June 1, 1995, any costs of con-
struction or operation and maintenance in-
curred on or after such date of enactment
that are attributable to pre-1987 actions
(as determined pursuant to an allocation
for which a petition is granted under para-
graph (6) of this subsection); and
‘‘(iii) in the case of a straddle site or
facility that is discovered on or after June
1, 1995, all costs of the response action
(including construction and operation and
maintenance) incurred on or after the date
of the enactment of this subsection that
are attributable to pre-1987 actions (as de-
termined pursuant to an allocation in ac-
cordance with title V), except that such
costs shall not include attorneys’ fees or
other costs associated with litigation relat-
ed to the response action.
‘‘(6) PETITION
FOR
ALLOCATION.—A poten-
tially responsible party of a straddle site or facility
that was discovered before June 1, 1995, may peti-
tion the President for an allocation in accordance
with title V of the construction and operation and
maintenance costs attributable to pre-1987 actions.
In the case of a straddle site or facility where con-
struction was completed by June 1, 1995, any such
petition must be made not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of this subsection. In the
case of a straddle site or facility where construction
was not completed by June 1, 1995, any such peti-
tion must be made not later than 90 days after the
date on which the construction is completed. The
President shall grant any petition for an allocation
of pre-1987 costs incurred at a straddle site or facil-
ity upon determining that the site or facility is in
fact a straddle site or facility.
‘‘(7) EFFECT ON CONCLUDED ACTIONS.—This
subsection shall not affect any judicial or adminis-
trative action from which all direct appeals have
been made and finally acted upon, or with respect to
which the time for filing such appeals has passed
and no appeals have been filed, as of the date of the
enactment of this subsection.
‘‘(8) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:
‘‘(A) The term ‘action’ means any action
for which a person is liable under paragraph
(1), (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (a).
‘‘(B) The term ‘person’ has the meaning
provided in section 101(21) but does not in-
clude the United States Government.’’.
SEC. 103. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY OF CERTAIN OWNERS
AND OPERATORS.
(a) EXEMPTION FOR GRANTEES OF CERTAIN EASE-
MENTS.—Subsection (a) of section 107 of the Comprehen-
sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil-
ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9607(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking out ‘‘shall be
liable for—’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘shall be
liable, except as provided in paragraph (5), for—’’;
and
(2) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(5) In the case of a person who is a qualified organi-
zation under section 170(h)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 and who is the grantee of a conservation
easement with respect to real property on which a facility
is located, the person shall not be considered an owner
or operator of the facility under paragraph (1) or (2) un-
less the person, by any act or omission, causes or contrib-
utes to the release or threatened release of a hazardous
substance that causes the incurrence of response costs.
For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘‘conservation
easement’’ means a restriction on the use of land for pur-
poses of protecting in perpetuity a conservation purpose
listed in section 170(h)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986.’’.
(b) SAFE HARBOR FOR INNOCENT LANDOWNER DE-
FENSE.—(1) Section 101(35) of the Comprehensive Envi-
ronmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of
1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) is amended by redesignat-
ing subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and
(E), respectively and inserting after subparagraph (B),
the following:
‘‘(C)(i) A defendant who has acquired real
property shall have established a rebuttable pre-
sumption that he has made all appropriate inquiry
within the meaning of subparagraph (B) if he estab-
lishes that, immediately prior to or at the time of ac-
quisition, he obtained an environmental assessment
of the real property which meets the requirements of
this subparagraph.
‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the
term ‘environmental professional’ means an individ-
ual, or an entity managed or controlled by such indi-
vidual who, through academic training, occupational
experience and reputation (such as engineers, envi-
ronmental consultants and attorneys), can objec-
tively conduct one or more aspects of an environ-
mental assessment. For purposes of this subpara-
graph, the term ‘environmental assessment’ means
an investigation of the real property, conducted by
environmental professionals, to determine or discover
the likelihood of the presence or substantial reason
to suspect the presence of a release or threatened re-
lease of hazardous substances on the real property
and which consists of a review of each of the follow-
ing sources of information concerning the previous
ownership and uses of the real property:
‘‘(I) Recorded chain of title documents re-
garding the real property, including all deeds,
easements, leases, restrictions, and covenants
for a period of 50 years.
‘‘(II) Aerial photographs which may reflect
prior uses of the real property and which are
reasonably accessible through State or local
government agencies.
‘‘(III) Determination of the existence of re-
corded environmental cleanup liens against the
real property which have arisen pursuant to
Federal, State, and local statutes.
‘‘(IV) 
Reasonably 
obtainable 
Federal,
State, and local government records of sites or
facilities where there has been a release of haz-
ardous substances and which are likely to cause
or contribute to a release or threatened release
of hazardous substances on the real property,
including investigation reports for such sites or
facilities; reasonably obtainable Federal, State,
and local government environmental records of
activities likely to cause or contribute to a re-
lease or a threatened release of hazardous sub-
stances on the real property, including landfill
and other disposal location records, under-
ground storage tank records, hazardous waste
handler and generator records and spill report-
ing records; and such other reasonably obtain-
able Federal, State, and local government envi-
ronmental records which report incidents or ac-
tivities which are likely to cause or contribute
to a release or threatened release of hazardous
substances on the real property. A record is
considered to be reasonably obtainable for pur-
poses of this subclause if a copy or reasonable
facsimile of the record is obtainable from the
government agency by request.
‘‘(V) A visual site inspection of the real
property and all facilities and improvements on
the real property, and a visual inspection of im-
mediately adjacent properties from the real
property, including an investigation of any
chemical use, storage, treatment and disposal
practices on the property.
‘‘(iii) No presumption shall arise under clause
(i) unless the defendant has maintained a compila-
tion of the information reviewed in the course of the
environmental assessment.
‘‘(iv) Notwithstanding any other provision of
this paragraph, if the environmental assessment dis-
closes the presence or likely presence of a release or
threatened release of hazardous substances on the
real property to be acquired, no presumption shall
arise under clause (i) with respect to such release or
threatened release unless the defendant has taken
reasonable steps, in accordance with current tech-
nology available, existing regulations, and generally
acceptable engineering practices, as may be nec-
essary to confirm the absence of such release or
threatened release.’’.
(2) Subparagraph (C) of section 101(35) of the Com-
prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980, as added by paragraph (1), shall
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 104. CONTRIBUTION PROTECTION.
Section 113(f)(2) of the Comprehensive Environ-
mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980 (42 U.S.C. 9613(f)(2)) is amended in the first sen-
tence by inserting ‘‘or cost recovery’’ after ‘‘contribution’’.
SEC. 105. CONTIGUOUS PROPERTIES.
Section 107(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9607(a)), as amended by section 103(a), is further
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(6) A person who owns or operates real prop-
erty that is contiguous to or otherwise situated with
respect to real property on which there has been a
release of a hazardous substance and that is or may
be contaminated by such release shall not be consid-
ered an owner or operator of a facility under para-
graph (1) solely by reason of such contamination.
The President may issue assurances of no enforce-
ment action under this Act to any such person and
may grant any such person protection against cost
recovery and contribution actions pursuant to sec-
tion 113(f)(2).’’.
SEC. 106. LENDER AND FIDUCIARY LIABILITY.
(a) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY FOR SECURITY INTER-
EST EXEMPTION.—Section 115 of the Comprehensive En-
vironmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980 (15 U.S.C. 9615) is amended—
(1) by redesignating the text of the section as
subsection (a); and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b)(1) Pursuant to the authority conferred by this
section, the President shall issue, within 30 days after the
date of enactment of the Superfund Liability Equity and
Acceleration Act, regulations to define the terms of this
Act as they apply to lenders and other financial services
providers. These regulations shall clarify the definition of
the term ‘owner or operator’ contained in section
101(20)(A) by—
‘‘(A) defining the terms ‘indicia of ownership’,
‘security interest’, ‘primarily to protect a security in-
terest’, and ‘participation in management’; and
‘‘(B) specifying the types of activities that may
be undertaken without voiding the exemption to li-
ability provided by section 101(20)(A).
‘‘(2) The following clarifications shall be included
among the provisions in the regulations issued under para-
graph (1):
‘‘(A) The term ‘participation in management’
does not include—
‘‘(i) the mere capacity to influence, or abil-
ity to influence, or the unexercised right to con-
trol facility operations; or
‘‘(ii) any act of the security interest holder
to require another person or itself, to comply
with applicable laws or to respond lawfully to
disposal of any hazardous substance.
‘‘(B) A security interest holder will not be
deemed to be participating in management of a facil-
ity unless the security interest holder—
‘‘(i) has undertaken responsibility for the
facility’s hazardous substance handling or dis-
posal practices; or
‘‘(ii) has undertaken overall management
of the facility encompassing day-to-day deci-
sionmaking over either environmental compli-
ance or over the operational, as opposed to fi-
nancial and administrative, aspects of the facil-
ity.
‘‘(C) Legal or equitable title acquired by a secu-
rity interest holder through foreclosure or its equiva-
lents will be deemed to be held primarily to protect
a security interest provided that the holder under-
takes to sell, re-lease, or otherwise divest the prop-
erty in a reasonably expeditious manner on commer-
cially reasonable terms.’’.
(b) PROTECTION FOR FIDUCIARIES FROM INDIVID-
UAL LIABILITY.—(1) Section 101(20) of the Comprehen-
sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil-
ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(20)) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(E)(i) The term ‘owner or operator’ does not
include a fiduciary who holds legal title to, is the
mortgagee or secured party with respect to, controls,
or manages, directly or indirectly, any facility or ves-
sel for purposes of administering an estate or trust
of which such facility or vessel is a part.
‘‘(ii) For purposes of clause (i), the term ‘fidu-
ciary’ means a person who is acting in any of the
following representative capacities, but only to the
extent such person is acting in such representative
capacity:
‘‘(I) An executor or administrator of an es-
tate, including a voluntary executor or a vol-
untary administrator.
‘‘(II) A guardian.
‘‘(III) A conservator.
‘‘(IV) A trustee under a will under which
the trustee takes title to, or otherwise controls
or manages, property for the purpose of pro-
tecting or conserving such property under the
ordinary rules applied in State courts.
‘‘(V) A court-appointed receiver.
‘‘(VI) A trustee appointed in proceedings
under Federal bankruptcy laws.
‘‘(VII) An assignee or a trustee acting
under an assignment made for the benefit of
creditors.
‘‘(VIII) A trustee, or any successor there-
to, pursuant to an indenture agreement, trust
agreement, lease, or similar financing agree-
ment, for debt securities, certificates of interest
of participation in any such debt securities, or
other forms of indebtedness as to which it is
not, in its capacity as trustee, the lender.’’.
(2) Section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9607), as amended by section 102, is further
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(o) FIDUCIARY LIABILITY.—(1) Except as provided
in paragraph (3), a fiduciary (as defined in section
101(20)) shall not be liable in its individual capacity under
this section.
‘‘(2) Nothing in this paragraph may be construed as
preventing claims under this Act against—
‘‘(A) the assets of the estate or trust adminis-
tered by a fiduciary; or
‘‘(B) non-employee agents or independent con-
tractors retained by a fiduciary.
‘‘(3) Nothing in this paragraph may be construed as
preventing claims under this Act against a fiduciary in its
individual capacity whose negligent acts or intentional
misconduct caused a release or threatened release of haz-
ardous substances at a facility or vessel. A fiduciary shall
not be attributed with the negligence or intentional mis-
conduct of non-employee agents or independent contrac-
tors if the fiduciary has conducted itself without neg-
ligence or intentional misconduct with regard to its rela-
tionship with such agents or contractors.’’.
SEC. 107. DEFINITIONS.
Section 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9601), is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(39) The term ‘potentially responsible party’
means any person identified as potentially liable
under section 107, potentially responsible to perform
any response action under sections 104 or 106, or
potentially liable for contribution under section 113.
‘‘(40) The term ‘de micromis party’ means a
potentially responsible party who is a generator or
transporter who contributed less than one hundred
pounds or one hundred liters of material containing
hazardous substances at a facility, or such greater
or lesser amount as the Administrator may deter-
mine by regulation.
‘‘(41) The term ‘de minimis party’ means a lia-
ble party whose assigned share of liability is deter-
mined to be 1.0 percent or less in a final binding al-
location of responsibility decision under title V.
‘‘(42) The term ‘liable party’ means any poten-
tially responsible party determined by an allocation
panel or a court to be liable under section 107, re-
sponsible to perform any action under sections 104
or 106, or liable for contribution under section 113.
‘‘(43) The term ‘assigned share’ means the per-
centage of liability assigned, in accordance with the
factors set forth in section 503(g)(2), to a liable
party by an allocation panel in a binding allocation
of responsibility or by a court of law.
‘‘(44) The term ‘orphan party’ means a liable
party at a site who is defunct, unknown, insolvent,
or whose assigned share has been subject to dis-
charge or limitation in bankruptcy, or who is other-
wise financially unable to pay all or part of its as-
signed share.
‘‘(45) The term ‘creditor party’ means the Ad-
ministrator, a State, or any person who is deter-
mined to be a liable party with respect to a National
Priority List site and who incurs or has incurred
costs with respect to the site that are not inconsist-
ent with the National Contingency Plan.
‘‘(46) The term ‘debtor party’ means the Haz-
ardous Substance Revolving Fund and any person
who is determined to be a liable party with respect
to a National Priority List site.
‘‘(47) The term ‘binding allocation of respon-
sibility’ means a final binding determination by an
allocation panel pursuant to title V.
‘‘(48) The term ‘orphan share’ means the total
of the assigned shares of all orphan parties at a site,
including all shares eligible for reimbursement or
payment pursuant to section 107(n).
‘‘(49) The term ‘guardian of the fund’ or
‘guardian’ means the person appointed by the Ad-
ministrator to represent the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency in a binding allocation of responsibility
proceeding.
‘‘(50) The term ‘National Priority List site’
means any site or facility that the Administrator has
listed on, or proposed for listing on, the list estab-
lished pursuant to section 105(a)(8)(B).’’.
SEC. 108. ASSIGNMENT OF SHARES OF LIABILITY FOR
COSTS OF RESPONSE ACTIONS AT NATIONAL
PRIORITY LIST SITES.
Section 107(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9607(a)), is amended by inserting before the
phrase ‘‘The amounts recoverable’’ the following: ‘‘With
respect to any National Priority List site, each liable party
who accepts the results of the allocation of responsibility
process under title V or who successfully appeals the re-
sults of such process shall be liable only for its assigned
share of the costs incurred pursuant to subparagraphs
(A), (B), and (D) of this subsection. The orphan share
of a National Priority List site shall be paid out of the
Hazardous Substance Revolving Fund, as determined by
final binding allocation of liability.’’.
SEC. 
109. 
ENFORCEMENT 
OF 
RESPONSE 
ACTIONS
THROUGH JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY.
Section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9607), as amended by section 106, is further
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(p) JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY OF PARTIES
WHO FAIL TO PERFORM RESPONSE ACTIONS.—In any
case in which no liable party or potentially responsible
party agrees to perform a response action at a National
Priority List site, or a liable party or potentially respon-
sible party agrees to perform a response action but the
party fails to perform such response action, as determined
by the Administrator or the State in which the site is
located, the following provisions apply:
‘‘(1) The party is considered to have not re-
solved its liability to the United States, notwith-
standing the party’s acceptance of the results of the
binding allocation of responsibility process under
title V or the party’s successful appeal of the results
of such process.
‘‘(2) The party is subject to civil action under
section 106, subparagraphs (A), (B), and (D) of
subsection (a) of this section, and section 113 for
the response action and all costs of the response ac-
tion with respect to the National Priority List site.
‘‘(q) PAYMENT OF CERTAIN RESPONSE COSTS BY
FUND.—A potentially responsible party who performs and
pays for a response action at a National Priority List site
shall be reimbursed by the Hazardous Substance Revolv-
ing Fund.
‘‘(r) AUTHORITY TO COLLECT RESPONSE COSTS
FROM OTHERS.—A liable party who performs and pays
for a response action at a National Priority List site is
a creditor party under section 508 with respect to the site
and may recover its response costs in accordance with that
section.’’.
SEC. 110. ESTABLISHMENT OF BINDING ALLOCATION OF
RESPONSIBILITY PROCESS.
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com-
pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new
title:
‘‘TITLE 
V—BINDING 
ALLOCA-
TION OF RESPONSIBILITY
‘‘Sec. 501. General rules governing binding allocations of responsibility.
‘‘Sec. 502. Qualifications and powers of administrative law judges and alloca-
tion panels.
‘‘Sec. 503. Specific rules and procedures.
‘‘Sec. 504. Duty to answer information requests and requests for production of
documents.
‘‘Sec. 505. Civil and criminal penalties.
‘‘Sec. 506. Document repository; confidentiality; no waiver.
‘‘Sec. 507. Final agency action and judicial review.
‘‘Sec. 508. Collection, enforcement, and implementation.
‘‘Sec. 509. Transition provisions.
‘‘Sec. 510. Voluntary settlements.
‘‘Sec. 511. New binding allocations of responsibility.
‘‘SEC. 501. GENERAL RULES GOVERNING BINDING ALLOCA-
TIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY.
‘‘(a) ALLOCATION PANELS.—The Administrator shall
appoint panels of administrative law judges to perform ex-
pedited administrative proceedings, to be known as ‘bind-
ing allocations of responsibility’, for purposes of determin-
ing the liability of potentially responsible parties at Na-
tional Priority List sites. Each such panel shall be com-
posed of three administrative law judges appointed by the
Administrator under section 3105 of title 5, United States
Code, and shall be known as an ‘allocation panel’.
‘‘(b) RULES OF DECISION.—The decisions of alloca-
tion panels under this title shall be rendered based on the
provisions of this Act and the court decisions interpreting
such provisions.
‘‘SEC. 502. QUALIFICATIONS AND POWERS OF ALLOCATION
PANELS.
‘‘(a) QUALIFICATIONS.—An administrative law judge
may not be appointed to an allocation panel under section
501 unless the judge completes at least 40 hours of edu-
cation and training, as specified by the Administrator, in
the following subject areas:
‘‘(1) The operation of this Act and the regula-
tions promulgating this Act.
‘‘(2) The science of soil and groundwater con-
tamination and the technology for treating such con-
tamination.
‘‘(b) GENERAL POWERS.—An allocation panel shall
have the power and authority to perform all functions nec-
essary to administer and perform the binding allocations
of responsibility, including the power to—
‘‘(1) issue information requests and requests for
production of documents to any person;
‘‘(2) require the Administrator and the State
concerned to provide all information relevant to a
binding allocation of responsibility, including the
production of copies of all documents and informa-
tion obtained pursuant to section 104(e) or pursuant
to similar State law;
‘‘(3) rule upon motions, requests, and offers of
proof, dispose of procedural requests, and issue all
necessary orders;
‘‘(4) administer oaths and affirmations and
take affidavits;
‘‘(5) examine witnesses and receive documen-
tary or other evidence;
‘‘(6) grant and manage such discovery by the
parties as the allocation panel deems appropriate
and consistent with the expedited nature of the bind-
ing allocation of responsibility process;
‘‘(7) admit or exclude evidence;
‘‘(8) hear and decide questions of fact and law;
‘‘(9) require the parties, including the State
and the guardian of the Fund, to attend conferences
for the settlement or simplification of the issues or
the expedition of the proceedings;
‘‘(10) require, at any time, that potentially re-
sponsible parties wishing to present similar legal or
factual arguments use a common spokesman or con-
solidated briefing for the presentation of such facts
and legal positions;
‘‘(11) obtain or employ such support services as
are necessary to conduct the binding allocation of re-
sponsibility, including secretarial and clerical serv-
ices, investigative services, and computer information
and database management services;
‘‘(12) establish a document repository where all
documents associated with the binding allocation of
responsibility shall be maintained and made avail-
able to all parties to the binding allocation of re-
sponsibility in accordance with section 506; and
‘‘(13) do all other acts and take all measures
necessary for the maintenance of order and for the
efficient, fair, and impartial adjudication of issues
arising in the binding allocation of responsibility.
‘‘(c) SUBPOENA POWER.—Allocation panels shall
have the power of subpoena to collect information nec-
essary or appropriate for conducting the binding allocation
of responsibility or for otherwise implementing this sec-
tion. This authority shall include the power to compel the
attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production
of reports, papers, documents, answers to questions, and
other information that the allocation panel deems nec-
essary. Witnesses shall be paid the same fees and mileage
that are paid witnesses in the courts of the United States.
In the event of contumacy or failure or refusal of any per-
son to obey any such subpoena, any district court of the
United States in which venue is proper shall have jurisdic-
tion to order any such person to comply with such
subpoena.
‘‘(d) INFORMAL RULES OF EVIDENCE.—In conduct-
ing the binding allocation of responsibility, an allocation
panel shall not be bound by the Federal Rules of Evidence,
but shall instead use such informal rules of evidence and
evidentiary procedures, such as those set forth at sections
22.22 and 22.23 of title 40 of the Code of Federal Regula-
tions, as will promote the expeditious completion of the
proceeding.
‘‘(e) NATIONWIDE SERVICE OF PROCESS.—Any docu-
ment required to be served on a party under this title may
be served in any district where the person is found, re-
sides, transacts business, or has appointed an agent for
service of process. Any such document is deemed to be
served on a party if it is mailed to the counsel of record
for the party or to the address designated by the party
if the party is not represented by counsel.
‘‘SEC. 503. SPECIFIC RULES AND PROCEDURES.
‘‘(a) INITIATION OF ALLOCATION PROCESS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A binding allocation of re-
sponsibility with respect to a National Priority List
site shall be initiated by filing a petition with the Of-
fice of the Administrative Law Judges of the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency. Such a petition may
be filed by the Administrator or the State where the
National Priority List site is located.
‘‘(2) WHEN INITIATED.—The Administrator or
a State shall file a petition to initiate a binding allo-
cation of responsibility at a National Priority List
site not later than 30 days after initiating the reme-
dial investigation study (or its equivalent) for the
site. In any case where the petition is filed more
than 30 days after initiation of the remedial inves-
tigation study (or its equivalent), all governmental
response costs incurred or contracted for prior to the
filing of the petition shall be allocated entirely to the
orphan share.
‘‘(3) CONTENTS OF PETITION.—The petition to
initiate the binding allocation of responsibility pro-
ceeding shall identify the petitioner and shall include
all relevant information reasonably available con-
cerning—
‘‘(A) the identity, location, history, current
status, and environmental condition of the Na-
tional Priority List site;
‘‘(B) the identity and address of each per-
son believed by the petitioner to be a liable
party and the basis for such belief;
‘‘(C) any proposed questions and document
requests that the petitioner believes should be
included in the allocation panel’s first informa-
tion request and document request; and
‘‘(D) a list of any legal or technical issues
that the petitioner believes may be raised in the
binding allocation of responsibility.
‘‘(4) SERVICE.—A copy of the petition shall be
served by mail, publication, or otherwise on the Ad-
ministrator, the State where the site is located, and
each potentially responsible party identified in the
petition. Within 20 days after the filing of the peti-
tion, the Hearing Clerk of the Office of Administra-
tive Law Judges shall cause a notice of the filing of
the petition, together with a brief description of the
site and a list of all potentially responsible parties
identified in the petition, to be published in the Fed-
eral Register. The petitioner shall cause a similar
notice, description, and list to be published in a
newspaper of general circulation within the State
where the site is located.
‘‘(5) PRIOR INVESTIGATION AND SEARCH.—The
Administrator or the State, as the case may be,
shall, prior to filing a petition, conduct a thorough
investigation and search, under section 104(e) or
any other relevant Federal or State statutory or reg-
ulatory authority, for all potentially responsible par-
ties. All information, answers, and documents dis-
covered in such investigation or search and relevant
to any aspect of the binding allocation of responsibil-
ity shall, simultaneously with the filing of the peti-
tion, be filed in the document repository for the
binding allocation of responsibility. If the allocation
panel determines that the Administrator or the
State failed to conduct a diligent search for poten-
tially responsible parties in accordance with this
paragraph, and if another party performs additional
investigations and successfully identifies additional
potentially responsible parties, then the allocation
panel shall credit all of the reasonable costs of such
additional search against the assigned share, if any,
of the party that performed such additional inves-
tigation or search.
‘‘(6) APPOINTMENT
OF
GUARDIAN
FOR
THE
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE SUPERFUND.—Any petition
filed by the Administrator shall include the name
and address of the person appointed to serve as the
guardian for the Hazardous Substance Superfund
for that binding allocation of responsibility. In any
case where a petition is initiated by a State, the Ad-
ministrator shall notify the Hearing Clerk of the Of-
fice of the Administrative Law Judges within 10
days after the petition is filed of the name and ad-
dress of the person designated by the Administrator
as the guardian for the Hazardous Substance
Superfund. If the Environmental Protection Agency
is also a potentially responsible party or a liable
party with respect to the National Priority List site
concerned, then the agency may participate in the
binding allocation of responsibility with regard to
such liability, but the person designated as the
guardian shall not represent the agency with regard
to the agency’s status as a potentially responsible
party or liable party.
‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION
OF POTENTIALLY RESPON-
SIBLE PARTIES.—
‘‘(1) INITIAL STATEMENT.—(A) Not later than
30 days after receipt of a copy of a petition or after
publication in the Federal Register of a notice of the
filing of an initial petition (whichever is earlier)
under subsection (a)(4), the guardian, the State and
any potentially responsible party may file an initial
statement setting forth—
‘‘(i) any defenses to liability;
‘‘(ii) any equitable considerations pertain-
ing to any party’s potential liability;
‘‘(iii) any additional facts and issues rel-
evant to the binding allocation of responsibility;
‘‘(iv) any proposed questions or document
requests that the person filing the statement
believes should be included in the first informa-
tion request issued by the allocation panel; and
‘‘(v) the name and address of any addi-
tional person or persons that the person filing
the statement believes may be a liable party at
the National Priority List site and all reason-
ably available information as to the relationship
between each proposed additional party and the
site.
‘‘(B) Any initial statement shall be filed with
the Hearing Clerk and served on all parties named
in the petition and named in such initial statement.
‘‘(2) INFORMATION REQUESTS AND REQUESTS
FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS.—(A) Not later
than 30 days after the filing of the petition, the allo-
cation panel shall mail initial information requests
and requests for production of documents to the
guardian, the State, all potentially responsible par-
ties identified in the petition, and all additional par-
ties identified in the initial statements. Responses to
such requests shall be made in accordance with this
paragraph and section 504.
‘‘(B) Within 45 days after a person receives
any information request or request for production of
documents, such person shall file a response with the
Hearing Clerk. For good cause shown, the allocation
panel may grant a single 45-day extension for the