de minimis settlement

de minimis settlement

A settlement agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a property owner who may be technically liable for cleanup under the strict liability provisions of the Superfund, but who did not create nor contribute to the contamination and who acquired the property without knowing or having reason to know of the earlier contamination. Although a de minimis settlement is always a possibility, the EPA is by no means required to offer such a deal,so it is truly “buyer beware.”See CERCLA.