New Loopholes or Minor Adjustments? A Summary and Evaluation of the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act

This article is both a summary and an evaluation of these recent Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act ("CERCLA") amendments. It will begin by recounting the key modifications to the Superfund Act's liability provisions, which have been affected by the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. It will then treat the statute's new funding mechanisms for revitalizing brownfield areas. Finally, it will assay the merits of the Act as an alteration of the longstanding liability precepts of CERCLA and as a financing measure for extending the scope of brownfields redevelopment.