Bush Administration Cuts Back on Superfund Cleanups

Date: June 27, 2002

Source: News Room

Cleanup projects at toxic waste sites in 18 states are being severely curtailed or halted under a Bush administration plan to reduce spending for the nation's Superfund program, according to an Environmental Protection Agency report. The Bush administration wants to shift funding for the 33 cleanup projects to the government's general fund, meaning taxpayers would pay. But such a shift requires congressional approval and will slow down the work or halt it entirely in some cases. The Superfund projects singled out for cutbacks are among the country's most polluted sites. They include several old mines in Montana, a wood preservative plant in Louisiana, chemical plants in Florida and a New Jersey plant that once made the herbicide Agent Orange, the report said. Since 1995, the fund has dwindled from a high of $3.6 billion to a projected $28 million at the end of next year.

Sign up to receive our free Weekly News Bulletin