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For Immediate Release: October 30, 2002
Contact: Allen Mattison, 202-675-7903
EPA Fails to Fund Cleanups at 32 Toxic Waste Sites
Festering Waste at Superfund Sites Pollutes Water, Risks Families'
Health
(86 Total Sites Shortchanged; See List Below)
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Inspector General of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency yesterday found that the EPA failed to fund a single
dollar for toxic waste cleanups at 32 Superfund sites, including ones where
toxic waste is polluting water and risking families' health.
The discovery came in an EPA Inspector General's report documenting that
the EPA's effort to clean up toxic waste sites is slowing dramatically.
This is another case of policies by the Bush Administration that are
leaving communities at risk. In response, the Sierra Club said the best
solution is to restore the "polluter pays" principle to give the government
enough money to clean up these dangerous sites, which endanger families'
health.
"By letting polluters off the hook and forcing taxpayers to foot the bill
for cleaning up toxic waste sites, the Bush Administration is leaving our
communities at risk from toxic waste," said Ed Hopkins, Director of the
Sierra Club Environmental Quality Program. "Families shouldn't have to
worry about toxic waste festering near their homes. This report shows that
Americans families are paying a terrible price for the Bush
Administration's decision to turn its back on the sensible, obvious
solution: Make the polluters pay."
According to the report, regional EPA offices requested cleanup funds for
81 high-priority "remedial" waste sites, but the EPA refused to fund 20
sites, including seven listed as a top priority by the National Risk-Based
Priority Panel. In addition to the sites receiving zero funding, the EPA
only partially funded another 35 remedial sites. Thus, 55 of the 81
remedial waste sites (68%) were short-changed from the funds needed to make
them safe. Remedial sites are those that need construction work such as
building removal to stabilize the site and prevent additional pollutant
seepage.
The report also revealed that an additional 12 long-term response sites are
not being funded at all, and 19 long-term sites are being funded
inadequately. These response sites, with on-going operating and
maintenance activities, were denied 43% of the funding requested, putting
communities where cleanups are close to completion at risk of
recontamination. The list of these sites appears at the end of this
release.
The funding slowdown means more health and environmental risks for nearby
communities. For example, copper wastes are continuing to pollute a stream
near the Elizabeth Mine site in Vermont, and pollution from the Atlas Tack
site in Massachusetts is damaging wetlands.
"Many of the sites that have received no funding are in communities that
have waited years for corporate polluters to clean up their messes. It is
unjust to force these people to wait any longer," Hopkins said.
Since the Superfund law was signed in 1980, Presidents Reagan, Bush Sr.,
and Clinton all supported the principle of "polluter pays". But this tax
on chemical and oil companies expired in 1995, and Congress had refused to
renew it. In 1996, the Superfund trust fund had a balance of $3.8 billion
collected from polluters for cleanups; next year, it's projected to have
only $28 million, thus shifting the clean-up burden to taxpayers.
The pace of completed cleanups has slowed dramatically in recent years.
The EPA completed construction on only 47 sites in 2001, far fewer than the
75 it projected and almost half of the 87 achieved in 2000.
20 Remedial Superfund Sites Receiving No Funding in FY 2002
Source: US EPA Inspector General Report (10/25/02)
1. * Atlas Tack Corp, MA
2. * Elizabeth Mine, VT
3. * Jennison-Wright Corporation, IL
4. * Continental Steel Corp., IN
5. * Central Wood Preserving Co., LA
6. * Hart Creosoting Company, TX
7. * Jasper Creosoting Company, TX
8. New Hampshire Plating Co., NH
9. Hellertown Manufacturing, PA
10. North Penn - Area 6, PA
11. Benfield Industries, Inc., NC
12. FCX, Inc. (Statesville Plant), NC
13. Lasalle Electric Utilities, IL
14. Parsons Casket Hardware Co., IL
15. Ott/Story/Cordova Chemical Co., MI
16. Vasquez Boulevard and I-70, CO
17. Newmark Ground Water Contamination, CA
18. Northwest Pipe & Casing/Hall Process Co., OR
19. Hastings Groundwater Contamination, NE
20. 57th and North Broadway St. Site, KS
* indicates the National Risk-Based Priority Panel included site on its
top priority list.
35 Remedial Superfund Sites Receiving Only Partial Funding in FY 2002
Source: US EPA Inspector General Report (10/25/02)
1. New Bedford Site, MA
2. Eastland Woolen Mill, ME
3. Burnt Fly Bog, NJ
4. Chemical Insecticide Corp., NJ
5. Combe Fill South Landfill, NJ
6. Glen Ridge Radium Site, NJ
7. Roebling Steel Co., NJ
8. U.S. Radium Corp., NJ
9. Vineland Chemical Co., Inc., NJ
10. Welsbach & Gen. Gas Mantle (Camden), NJ
11. GCL Tie & Treating Inc., NY
12. Vestal Water Supply Well 1-1, NY
13. Tutu Wellfield, VI
14. American Creosote Works (Pensacola), FL
15. Coleman-Evans Wood Preserving Co., FL
16. Solitron Microwave, FL
17. Southern Solvents, Inc., FL
18. Tower Chemical Co., FL
19. Cape Fear Wood Preserving, NC
20. Carolina Transformer Co., NC
21. Elmore Waste Disposal, SC
22. Velsicol Chemical Corp., MI
23. U.S. Aviex, MI
24. Hudson Refinery, OK
25. Tar Creek (Ottawa County), OK
26. Sprague Road Ground Water Plume, TX
27. 10th Street Site, NE
28. Denver Radium Site, CO
29. Basin Mining Area - MT
30. Upper Tenmile Creek Mining Area, MT
31. Gilt Edge Mine, SD
32. Modesto Ground Water Contamination, CA
33. Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical, ID
34. Frontier Hard Chrome, Inc., WA
35. Wyckoff Co./Eagle Harbour, WA
12 Long-term Superfund Sites Receiving No Funding in FY2002
Source: US EPA Inspector General Report (10/25/02)
1. Charles-George Reclamation, MA
2. Groveland Wells, MA
3. Savage Municiple Water Supply, NH
4. Douglass Road/Uniroyal, Inc. LF, IN
5. Duell & Gardner, MI
6. Hi Mill Manufacturing, MI
7. Petoskey Municiple Well Field, MI
8. US Aviex, MI
9. Chemical Sales, CO
10. Summitville Mine, CO
11. Iron Mountain Mine, CA
12. Wyckoff Co./Eagle Harbor, WA
19 Long-term Superfund Sites Only Partial Funding for FY2002
Source: US EPA Inspector General Report (10/25/02)
1. Kearsarge Metallurgical Corporation
2. Bog Creek Farm, NJ
3. Ellis Property, NJ
4. Garden State Cleaners, NJ
5. Higgins Farm, NJ
6. Claremont Polychemical, NJ
7. Stanton Cleaners, NY
8. Vestal Water Supply Well 1-1, NY
9. Havertown PCP, PA
10. Hellertown Manufacturing Co, PA
11. Berks Sand Pit, PA
12. Ott/Story/Cordova Chemical Co., MI
13. Peerless Plating Co, MI
14. MacGills & Gibbs/Bell Lumber & Pole Co., MN
15. Onalaska Municiple Landfill, WI
16. Double Eagle Refinery, OK
17. Fourth Street Abandoned Refinery, OK
18. Gilt Edge Mine, SD
19. Newmark Groundwater Contamination, CA
# # #
Erin E. Jordahl
Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
515-277-8868
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