Following a molasses spill in Hawaii last year and a chemical leak in West Virginia this month, Democratic Sens. Jay Rockefeller IV of West Virginia and Brian Schatz of Hawaii are trying to close a “loophole” that allows the companies responsible for these incidents to avoid paying for the cleanup.
Rockefeller and Schatz last week introduced legislation that would require the businesses behind leaks of “non-hazardous” substances to foot the cleanup bill. Under federal law, the hundreds of thousands of gallons of molasses that spilled into Honolulu Harbor and the 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCHM) that leaked into West Virginia’s Elk River aren’t considered hazardous substances, letting the companies dodge cleanup costs.
