NEWS RELEASE

For Release:                                                    Contacts:
September 29, 2005                                        Lois Gibbs, 703-237-2249,
                                                                     Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ)
                                                                     Elizabeth Hitchcock, 202-546-9707 X316,
                                                                     U.S. Public Interest Research Group

Superfund 25th Anniversary Report Finds
America’s Safety Net is Weakest When Needed Most
Groups Call on EPA Superfund to Lead Hurricane Katrina and Rita
Pollution Cleanup with Special Appropriation

(Washington DC)  Groups across the country are releasing “25^th Anniversary of Superfund: America’s Safety Net in Crisis,” a national report which finds the program is at its weakest, at a time when it is needed most to respond to the toxic emergencies caused by Hurricane Katrina and Rita.  They called for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund program to coordinate the pollution investigation and clean up in LA and MS with a special appropriation of money to Superfund.  

On the 25^th anniversary of Superfund, and the upcoming 2^nd anniversary on October 1st of Superfund’s depletion by the loss of polluter pays fees, the report finds that the once-robust and successful toxic waste safety net is now in crisis.

• Since its creation in 1980, Superfund has cleaned up 936 sites protecting hundreds of communities.  EPA has secured over $22 billion from polluters who have funded approximately 70% of the site cleanups (the remaining 30% are cleaned up with Superfund monies).

• Since polluter pays fees expired in 1995, and Congress refused to reinstate them, the burden on taxpayers to support the Superfund Trust Fund has increased by 300%.  Taxpayers now fully shoulder the burden of the program’s $1.2 billion annual appropriation to clean up abandoned sites. “This unfair situation has occurred since the Bush Administration made a policy decision to give polluters a free ride and pass the bill on to taxpayers,” noted Lois Gibbs, CHEJ Executive Director. It is the first and only administration to oppose the reinstatement of polluter pays fees. When the fees expired in 1995, Superfund had a surplus of $3.8 billion—but on October 1, 2003 all industry fee monies were spent shifting the burden totally to taxpayers.

• Superfund has a weakened Trust Fund with a decrease in funding of $600 million annually—from $1.8 billion in 1993 to $1.2 in 2004—according to a recent federal report.

• Consequently, Superfund cleanups have slowed to a crawl with an approximate 67% reduction in annual site cleanups—from 88 sites in 1997 to just 29 sites cleaned up in 2005. * 

• In Fiscal Year 2004, EPA lacked the funds to start cleanups at 19 Superfund sites in CO, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, LA, MT, NJ, NH, PA, TX and VT.  An additional 15 sites almost ready for cleanup starts (in the design phase) also lacked funding in AR, CA, CO,DE, GA, MA, NJ, NH, PA, TN, TX and UT.

Groups in 42 states are also releasing the report and highlighting their Superfund site problems. The report includes Superfund Site Profiles for each state with community updates describing health problems, including birth defects and cancer.

“Superfund is supposed to be our safety net when toxic emergencies occur,” said Gibbs. “Now on its 25^th anniversary, it is time for Congress to restore the hazardous waste fees on polluting industries. The core principle is that polluters—not taxpayers—should pay to clean up these toxic waste sites. The ailing Superfund is at its weakest when we need it most to quickly respond to the horrific pollution from toxic and oil waste releases and flooded toxic waste sites resulting from Hurricane Katrina.”

"The polluter pays fees are the corner stone of a successful Superfund program,” said Alex Fidis of U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG). “Without this critical funding mechanism the program lacks the resources necessary to protect the public and local communities from the toxic threat of Superfund sites.  Congress must act immediately to reauthorize the polluter pays fees."

For more information, please visit www.besafenet.com/superfund.html

[* As of September 28, 2005, 29 sites have been remediated in Fiscal Year 2005, which ends on September 30, 2005.]

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