Surprise, Surprise: Under Current "Leadership", EPA's Superfund Program A Toxic Shambles
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The administration has repeatedly called Superfund a priority. Pruitt described it as part of EPA’s core mission and “an area that is absolutely essential,” even as the administration proposed sweeping cuts to the program and the agency as a whole. Upon launching a Superfund task force in May 2017, Pruitt said he was “confident that, with a renewed sense of urgency, leadership and fresh ideas, the Superfund program can reach its full potential of returning formerly contaminated sites to communities for their beneficial use.”
Andrew Wheeler, who replaced Pruitt as EPA chief in February, has made similar comments, and President Trump crowed of the “tremendous work” he and his team have done on Superfund during a July speech on the environment. But three years into the Trump administration, Superfund appears to be in worse shape than ever.
The number of sites on the National Priorities List (NPL), which require long-term remediation, stands as 1,335 ― up from the 1,322 that Pruitt told ”Fox & Friends” was “unacceptable.” The number of unfunded toxic cleanup sites has ballooned, from 12 in 2016 ― Obama’s last year in office ― to 34 in 2019, according to EPA figures released late last month. It’s the biggest backlog in at least 15 years, according to The Associated Press.
EPA posted the new data the day after Christmas ― a move reminiscent of when the administration published a dire federal climate report on Black Friday, a popular shopping holiday the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. The sites are in 18 states and Puerto Rico. While there is historically some ebb and flow to the number of unfunded sites, 34 is a “striking number,” said Mathy Stanislaus, a former EPA official under Obama who oversaw Superfund as part of the agency’s Office of Land and Emergency Management. He is not aware of any measure by which Superfund improved over the last three years.
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https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-administration-superfund-backlog_n_5e14ff79c5b66361cb5c3e03