[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2087 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2087

 To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980 to require that polluters are responsible for the 
        cleanup of hazardous substances, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 26, 1997

 Mr. Gillmor introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
      Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
  Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined 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, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980 to require that polluters are responsible for the 
        cleanup of hazardous substances, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Polluter Pays Act of 1997.''

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF CERCLA.

    (a) Liability of Polluters.--Section 107(a) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 is 
amended by striking out so much of such subsection as precedes 
subparagraph (A) and inserting:
    ``(a) Liability of Polluters.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
or rule of law, and subject only to the defenses set forth in 
subsection (b), any person who causes the release, or threatened 
release, of a hazardous substance at any facility shall be liable for--
''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 101.--Section 101 of such Act is amended by 
        striking ``107(a)(1)'' in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (35) 
        and inserting ``107(a)''.
            (2) Section 108.--Section 108(a)(1) of such Act is amended 
        by striking ``paragraph (1) of''.
            (3) Section 122.--Section 122(j)(2) is amended by striking 
        ``107(a)(4)(C)'' and inserting ``107(a)(3)''.
            (4) Section 124.--Section 124(b) of such Act is amended by 
        striking ``paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of''.
            (5) Section 107.--Section 107 of such Act is amended by 
        redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (D) of subsection (A) 
        as paragraphs (1) through (4) respectively.
            (6) Section 106.--Section 106(a) of such Act is amended by 
        inserting ``against any person or persons who cause the 
        release, or threatened release, of a hazardous substance at any 
        facility'' after the words ``grant such relief'' and after the 
        words ``issuing such orders''.
    (c) Effective Date.--This Act shall take effect on the date of 
enactment and shall apply to any case in which there has been no final 
decree or final settlement that is not subject to appeal. For purposes 
of this subsection, the term ``final decree'' means a decree from which 
no appeal may be taken or from which no appeal has been taken within 
the time allowed for the taking of such appeals under the laws 
applicable to such appeals, or a decree from which timely appeal has 
been taken and such appeal has been finally decided under the laws 
applicable to such appeals.
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