Enactment of the measure, H.R. 2869, means that either the government or companies that provided larger amounts of waste to Superfund sites will have to foot the bill for cleaning up waste contributed by exempted firms.

	Whitman PHOTO BY ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES

The legislation generally eliminates financial liability for companies that contributed less than 110 gal of liquid hazardous waste or less than 200 lb of solid hazardous waste to Superfund sites. It also exempts small businesses or owners of residential property who supplied only municipal trash, such as paper and food, to Superfund sites.

The bill also provides cleanup liability relief to those who own property that is contiguous to contaminated sites but who did not contribute to the pollution.

EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman points out that H.R. 2869 offers prospective buyers of industrial property protection from future Superfund liability. This means that if pollution is found after a property is sold, the new owner will not be responsible for cleaning up the former owner's contamination. Whitman says the bill "gives prospective redevelopers assurances that the federal government will not come after them for past pollution at the redevelopment site."

In addition, the measure authorizes $250 million annually from fiscal 2002 to 2006 for federal grants to states, local governments, and tribes to assess and clean up abandoned industrial properties known as brownfields. Whether Congress will actually provide this much money each year remains to be seen.

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