1. The program that funds and administers the cleanup of hazardous-waste sites through a trust fund (financed by taxes on petroleum and chemicals and a new tax on corporations) created to pay for cleanup pending reimbursement from the liable parties. [Cases: Environmental Law 437.]
2. The popular name for the act that established this program — the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). See CERCLA.