An official website of the United States government.

This is not the current EPA website. To navigate to the current EPA website, please go to www.epa.gov. This website is historical material reflecting the EPA website as it existed on January 19, 2021. This website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work. More information »

Enforcement

Financial Assurance in Superfund Settlements and Orders

Financial assurance provisions in CERCLA settlements and orders help ensure that potentially responsible parties (PRPs), and not public funding sources, bear the financial burden of completing Superfund cleanups. EPA negotiates financial assurance requirements in its Superfund settlements and imposes financial requirements on PRPs through orders. In general, financial assurance provisions in settlements and orders require PRPs to demonstrate that adequate financial resources are available to complete required cleanup work.

Note: this page is dedicated to resources for financial assurance required pursuant to Superfund settlements and orders, and is not related to ongoing CERCLA § 108(b) rulemaking efforts. Information on the rulemaking is available from the Superfund Financial Responsibility Web page.

On this page:

Superfund Financial Assurance Mechanisms

Permissible Superfund financial assurance mechanisms in settlements and orders typically include:

  • Trust Funds
  • Letters of Credit
  • Surety Bonds
  • Insurance Policies
  • Corporate Financial Tests
  • Corporate Guarantees

EPA guidance and sample documents are intended to improve and standardize regional practices in the financial assurance area and provide Regions and PRPs useful models. Sample financial assurance mechanisms and documents that PRPs can use to demonstrate financial assurance are available in the financial assurance categories of the Cleanup Enforcement Model Language and Sample Documents Database.

 Additional Resources

For other implementation guidance and information on Superfund financial assurance requirements in enforcement mechanisms, see the Guidance on Financial Assurance in Superfund Settlement Agreements and Unilateral Administrative Orders (4/6/2015).

Other sources of guidance in this area are the sample mechanisms referenced above, as well as the financial assurance sections of EPA’s model documents including the Model Consent Decree for CERCLA Remedial Design/Remedial Action.

Learn More About Superfund Enforcement: Superfund Alternative Approach

Top of Page