Environmental Liability for Spills
Understanding
the potential environmental liability associated with your company's activities
and being adequately prepared to respond to spills arising from those activities
will help you minimize any liability that results. The laws defining liability
typically provide that a person who does a thing - transports, stores, or ships
goods, for example - shall be legally responsible for damages resulting from
doing that thing. It is the business activity and not the hazardous material
spilled that gives rise to environmental liability.
You are
legally responsible because of who you are not what you do. A transporter
activity creates legal responsibility, as does a shipper activity. If you meet
the statutory definition of a legally responsible party, then it doesn't matter that a hazardous chemical spill was the result of
an accident, even if the accident wasn't your fault. The liability for the
release is yours, all the same.
Enroll as a Spill Center Subscriber
Spill Center can help you limit your liability by
providing 24/7 access to its compliance associates and environmental management
resources. Spill Center routinely helps clients write contingency
plans for transportation-related activities and offers support services to help
position your company to respond better to unintentional environmental releases
to minimize your liability.
To find out
more, call contact Tom Moses, president of Spill Center
and an environmental attorney and former EPA toxicologist. Tom founded Spill Center
nearly 20 years ago to help subscribers contain costs and limit liability
arising from accidental releases of diesel fuel, hazardous materials and other
regulated materials. Call his direct number at 978-568-1922, x222. Or visit Spill Center's
website at www.spillcenter.com.
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