Divesting MGP sites

Clean-up liabilities for manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites are imposed on utilities by the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Authorization Act of 1986. The primary mechanism for establishing responsibility for an MGP cleanup is the law's strict liability and joint and several liability standards: Any party that is in the chain of title, even for an instant, or arranges for or transports waste to a disposal site is considered a potentially responsible party (PRP), potentially responsible for the entire cleanup and related costs in perpetuity. Even with cleanup accomplished, the CERCLA provisions never fully release a PRP from potential future claims.