What is the “Superfund” Program?
The Superfund program (http://www.epa.gov/superfund/index.htm) is part of a federal government effort to clean up land in the United States that has been contaminated by hazardous waste and that has been identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (http://www.epa.gov/) as a candidate for cleanup because it poses a risk to human health and/or to the environment. The program was created in 1980 when Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (http://www.epa.gov/superfund/action/law/cercla.htm). The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) works with communities, “potentially responsible party” (PRPs), scientists, researchers, contractors, and state, local, tribal, and Federal authorities to identify hazardous waste sites, test the conditions of the sites, formulate cleanup plans, and to decontaminate the sites. Sites where releases or potential releases have been reported are listed in a searchable EPA database called t
Superfund is the federal government’s program to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites. Superfund gives EPA the authority to: • Stop ongoing releases or prevent potential releases of hazardous substances • Make PRPs pay for studies and cleanup • Provide funding for the cleanup, through a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries, when money from PRPs is not available Below is a brief synopsis of the activities involved in the Superfund process.
