A bill to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to make responsible parties liable for certain costs relating to the release of pollutants or contaminants.

Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to impose liability for hazardous substances releases of pollutants or contaminants if the President takes any response measure pursuant to CERCLA response authorities with respect to the pollutants or contaminants.

Excepts otherwise liable persons who engage in conduct with respect to such pollutants or contaminants from liability for damages for injury to, destruction of, or loss of natural resources, including the reasonable costs of assessing the injury, destruction, or resulting loss.

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1951 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1951

 To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
 Liability Act of 1980 to make responsible parties liable for certain 
      costs relating to the release of pollutants or contaminants.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 16, 2014

 Mr. Schatz (for himself and Mr. Rockefeller) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 
                            and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
 Liability Act of 1980 to make responsible parties liable for certain 
      costs relating to the release of pollutants or contaminants.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY.

    Section 107(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9607(a)) is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(or pollutant or contaminant if the 
        President takes any response measure under section 104(a) with 
        respect to the pollutant or contaminant)'' after ``hazardous 
        substance'' each place it appears;
            (2) by inserting ``(or pollutants or contaminants if the 
        President takes any response measure under section 104(a) with 
        respect to the pollutants or contaminants)'' after ``hazardous 
        substances'' each place it appears; and
            (3) in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) by striking subparagraph (C);
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 
                subparagraph (C);
                    (C) in subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated) by 
                striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; 
                and
                    (D) by adding at the following:
                    ``(D) except a person described in paragraphs (2) 
                through this paragraph who engages in conduct 
                prohibited under those paragraphs with respect to 
                pollutants or contaminants, damages for injury to, 
                destruction of, or loss of natural resources, including 
                the reasonable costs of assessing the injury, 
                destruction, or loss resulting from the release.''.
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