A piece of land currently owned by Alpha Chemicals Inc. is listed as a contaminated site on the National Priorities List (NPL). The piece of land was previously owned by Mantel Corp., a chemical manufacturing company that was liquidated under the bankruptcy law. Contamination occurred when the piece of land was owned by Mantel. Alpha Chemicals did not engage in any appropriate inquiry to check for land contamination when purchasing the property. Which of the following statements is most likely to be true in the context of liability determined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ?

The EPA can hold Alpha Chemicals liable for the cleanup costs, because it did not conduct appropriate inquiries.

Explanation:

First of all, Alpha Chemicals Inc. was supposed to conduct a contamination test before buying the land as a matter of due diligence. As long as Mantel Corp has been liquidated under the bankruptcy law and hence cannot be held liable as all debts, including the contaminated has been discharged by law. It is the duty of Alpha Chemicals to have all the information about the piece of land before going ahead to buy it. Hence, the EPA will be right to hold Alpha Chemicals liable for the cleanup costs because the appropriate inquiries was not made before acquiring the land.