How is Superfund financed?
Superfund was originally financed through taxes levied on chemical and petroleum industries by CERCLA (1980). However, in 1995, Congress did not renew these taxes. In 2003, the trust fund ran out of polluter-contributed funds. The Bush administration did not support reauthorizing the corporate fees on polluting industries to fund Superfund. Currently, monetary support for Superfund is dependent on general tax revenues appropriated by Congress, and the program must compete with other domestic programs for support. However, when industries can be identified and held responsible for pollution, they must contribute to Superfund in order to help pay for the cleanup. Although efforts will be made to keep the program funded, the decrease in money could slow down or halt cleanup processes. For further detail concerning Superfund’s specific annual budget, please see Superfund Budget History.
