A Dirty Business: Arranger Liability Under the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act as it Relates to Dry Cleaning Chemicals

Date

2006

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Texas Tech Journal of Texas Administrative Law

Abstract

This comment discusses the remediation procedures and costs for clean-up of contaminated sites, the funding available for such remediations, and how the R.R. Street case defined the arranger liability provision of the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act (TSWDA). The article begins by explaining the beginning of the Dry Cleaner Remediation Program, and how the legislature has aimed to make the program more accessible and amenable to dry cleaners. Next, it explains the remediation process and how parties are held liable. Then, it unpacks and compares the TSWDA, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The comment concludes with a thorough explanation of the court’s analysis in R.R. Street and its future implications for businesses that deal with environmental hazards.

Description

Keywords

Administrative law, Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act, TSWDA, Dry cleaning chemicals, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Solid Waste, Dry Cleaner Remediation Program, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, CERCLA, Percholorethylene, PCE, Arranger liability, R.R. Street v. Pilgrim Enters., Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, RCRA

Citation

7 Tex. Tech J. Tex. Admin. L. 391