From the first days of Superfund litigation, lawyers and courts have complained that Congress did not distinguish itself when drafting the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. Sections 9601-75. As the law has developed, court decisions have created additional problems. The interplay among the private cost recovery provision of Section 107(a)(1-4)(B) and the contribution provisions of Section 113(f)— all informed by the statute of limitations of Section 113(g)—have created a very substantial, practical settlement problem. But the problem is a little obscure, a bit of a mind pretzel.

Your client is one of several parties responsible for contamination of land with a hazardous substance. Your client is prepared to do its part to clean it up in a settlement with the government. But in exchange for that settlement, your client wants to be done with litigation and wants no more exposure to claims by the United States, the commonwealth or any other responsible party.