Editorial: Polluters should pay Taxpayers shouldn't have to foot the cleanup bill for industry. Iowa has 13 sites on EPA's national priorities list. By Register Editorial Board <mailto:[log in to unmask]: Editorial: Polluters should pay> 03/11/2004 In 1980, the federal Superfund program was created to clean up "orphan" toxic-waste sites where the polluter responsible for the mess couldn't be found, wouldn't pay or couldn't pay. Funding for cleanup was collected from a tax on polluting industries, including oil and chemical companies. Then the tax expired in 1995, and Congress wouldn't reinstate it. Subsequent efforts have been snubbed by lawmakers, meaning that as the trust fund was spent down, companies paid a smaller share of cleanup costs while taxpayers picked up a bigger share. Now, for the first time, the fund depends entirely on general revenues. But guess what? There's next to no money for this. So the one in four Americans residing within a few miles of one of these toxic dumps can just wait. This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended only 11 sites be cleaned up during the current cycle. In the 1990s, about 40 sites a year were cleaned up. Living in Iowa, don't think you're not affected. This state has 13 sites on the EPA's national priorities list. There are 12 sites with groundwater contamination - groundwater is the H20 nearly 80 percent of Iowans drink. As with the 1,238 Superfund sites nationally, some Iowa sites have been cleaned up and continue to be monitored. Some are in the midst of cleanup. Among those not yet taken care of are: * The Iowa Army Ammunition Plant about 10 miles west of Burlington. According to the EPA, this area contains "explosive-containing sludges, waste water and solids; lead-containing sludges; ashes from incineration and open burning of explosives; and waste solvent from industrial and laboratory operations." * The Waterloo Coal Gasification Plant. It has left a small area of the city contaminated with cyanide, which has shown up in wells connecting to the aquifer system that provides drinking water to residents. Jerry Stevens, general manager for Waterloo Water Works, said no water is taken from the contaminated area and water is tested for chemicals. He said drinking water in Waterloo is safe. * The Railroad Avenue Groundwater Contamination site in Polk County. It covers 123 acres and is bounded by the Raccoon River Park, Holiday Park, Fifth Street and the Raccoon River in West Des Moines. The EPA reports the groundwater plume "has impacted wells within the West Des Moines Water Works municipal system, which supplies drinking water to the residents of West Des Moines." Larry Anderson, general manager of West Des Moines Water Works, said the contaminated wells are not used. Here's the bottom line: As a favor to industry, the government allowed companies to stop paying a small tax to clean up industrial messes. As a result, fewer sites will be cleaned up and people may be exposed to dangerous substances. That includes lead, which can cause kidney and brain damage, and arsenic, which has been linked to cancer and heart problems. Congress should reauthorize the "polluter pays" system that imposes a tax on companies to fund cleanups rather than relying on the strained general-revenue coffers to foot the bill. For more information about Iowa sites on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's national priorities list, click here. <http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/ia.htm> Tarah Heinzen Sierra Club Conservation Organizer 3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280 Des Moines, IA 50310 (515) 251-3995 [log in to unmask] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp