View source for Superfund

{{Short description|US federal program}}
{{About|the law regarding toxic waste|the managed futures fund company|Superfund Group|other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| name = Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980
| fullname = An act to provide for liability, compensation, cleanup, and emergency response for hazardous substances released into the environment and the cleanup of inactive hazardous waste disposal sites.
| nickname = Superfund
| acronym = CERCLA
| enacted by = 96th
| effective date = 
| public law url = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-94/pdf/STATUTE-94-Pg2767.pdf
| cite public law = P.L. 96-510
| cite statutes at large = {{USStat|94|2767}}
| acts amended = 
| title amended = 42 (Public Health)
| sections created = {{USC|42|9601}} ''et seq.''
| sections amended = 
| leghisturl = https://www.congress.gov/bill/96th-congress/house-bill/7020
| introducedin = House
| introducedbill = "Hazardous Waste Containment Act of 1980" (H.R. 7020)
| introducedby = [[James Florio]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]–[[New Jersey|NJ]])
| introduceddate = April 2, 1980
| committees = [[United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce|House Interstate and Foreign Commerce]], [[United States House Committee on Ways and Means|House Ways and Means]], [[United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works|Senate Environment]], [[United States Senate Committee on Finance|Senate Finance]]
| passedbody1 = House
| passeddate1 = September 23, 1980
| passedvote1 = [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/96-1980/h1182 351–23]
| passedbody2 = Senate
| passeddate2 = November 24, 1980
| passedvote2 = [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/96-1980/s992 78-9]
| agreedbody3 = House
| agreeddate3 = December 3, 1980
| agreedvote3 = [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/96-1980/h1259 274–94]
| signedpresident = [[Jimmy Carter]]
| signeddate = December 11, 1980
| amendments = {{plainlist|
*Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986
*[[Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act|Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986]]
*[[Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act]]}}
| SCOTUS cases = {{ubl|''[[Exxon Corp. v. Hunt]]'', {{ussc|475|355|1986}}|''[[Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co.]]'', {{ussc|491|1|1989}}|''[[Key Tronic Corp. v. United States]]'', {{ussc|511|809|1994}}|''[[United States v. Bestfoods]]'', {{ussc|524|51|1998}}|''[[Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Aviall Services, Inc.]]'', {{ussc|543|157|2004}}|''[[United States v. Atlantic Research Corp.]]'', {{ussc|551|128|2007}}|''[[Burlington N. & S. F. R. Co. v. United States]]'', {{ussc|556|599|2009}}|''[[CTS Corp. v. Waldburger]]'', {{ussc|573|1|2014}}|''[[Atlantic Richfield v. Christian]]'', {{ussc|docket=17-1498|volume=590|year=2020}}|''[[Guam v. United States]]'', {{ussc|docket=20-382|volume=593|year=2021}}}}
}}

'''Superfund''' is a United States federal [[environmental remediation]] program established by the '''Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980''' ('''CERCLA''').<ref>United States. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980. {{uspl|96|510}}, approved December 11, 1980. {{USC|42|9601}} ''et seq.''</ref> The program is administered by the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA). The program is designed to investigate and clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Sites managed under this program are referred to as '''Superfund sites'''.  Of all the sites selected for possible action under this program (and there are tens of thousands across the U.S.), 1178 (as of 2024) remain on the National Priorities List (NPL)<ref name=NPL>The EPA and state agencies use the ''Hazard Ranking System (HRS)'' to calculate a site score (ranging from 0 to 100) based on the actual or potential release of hazardous substances from a site. A score of 28.5 places a site on the National Priorities List, eligible for cleanup under the Superfund program.</ref> that makes them eligible for cleanup under the Superfund program.<ref name=NPL2024>[https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-national-priorities-list-npl Superfund: National Priorities List (NPL) ] on the website of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).</ref>  Sites on the NPL are considered the most highly contaminated and undergo longer-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanups).  The state of [[New Jersey (U.S. state)|New Jersey]], the fifth smallest state in the U.S., is the location of about ten percent of the priority Superfund sites, a disproportionate amount.

The EPA seeks to identify parties responsible for hazardous substances released to the environment (polluters) and either compel them to clean up the sites, or it may undertake the cleanup on its own using the Superfund (a trust fund) and seek to recover those costs from the responsible parties through settlements or other legal means.

Approximately 70% of Superfund cleanup activities historically have been paid for by the potentially responsible parties (PRPs),<ref name=":1" /> reflecting the [[polluter pays principle]]. However, 30% of the time the responsible party either cannot be found or is unable to pay for the cleanup. In these circumstances, taxpayers had been paying for the cleanup operations. Through the 1980s, most of the funding came from an [[excise tax]] on petroleum and chemical manufacturers. However, in 1995, Congress chose not to renew this tax and the burden of the cost was shifted to taxpayers in the general public. Since 2001, most of the cleanup of hazardous waste sites has been funded through taxpayers generally. Despite its name, the program suffered from under-funding, and by 2014 Superfund NPL cleanups had decreased to only 8 sites, out of over 1,200. In November 2021, the [[Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act]] reauthorized an excise tax on chemical manufacturers, for ten years starting in July 2022.

The EPA and [[U.S. state|state]] agencies use the [[Hazard Ranking System]] (HRS) to calculate a site score (ranging from 0 to 100) based on the actual or potential release of hazardous substances from a site. A score of 28.5 places a site on the National Priorities List, eligible for long-term, remedial action (i.e., cleanup) under the Superfund program. {{As of|2022|3|23|df=US}}, there were 1,333 sites listed; an additional 448 had been delisted, and 43 new sites have been proposed.<ref name="NPL 2021-12-09">{{Cite web |date=2022-03-23 |title=Superfund: National Priorities List |url=https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-national-priorities-list-npl |publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) |location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>

Superfund also authorizes natural resource trustees, which may be federal, state, and/or tribal, to perform a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). Natural resource trustees determine and quantify injuries caused to natural resources through either releases of hazardous substances or cleanup actions<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Baker |first1=Mary |last2=Domanski |first2=Adam |last3=Hollweg |first3=Terill |last4=Murray |first4=Jason |last5=Lane |first5=Diane |last6=Skrabis |first6=Kristin |last7=Taylor |first7=Robert |last8=Moore |first8=Tom |last9=DiPinto |first9=Lisa |year=2020 |title=Restoration scaling approaches to addressing ecological injury: the habitat-based resource equivalency method. |journal=Environmental Management |volume=65 |issue=2 |pages=161–177 |url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00267-019-01245-9.pdf |publisher=Environmental Management, 65, 161-177.|doi=10.1007/s00267-019-01245-9 |pmid=31915910 }}</ref> and then seek to restore ecosystem services to the public through conservation, restoration, and/or acquisition of equivalent habitat.<ref>(https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-43/subtitle-A/part-11)</ref> Responsible parties are assessed damages for the cost of the assessment and the restoration of ecosystem services. For the federal government, EPA,<ref>(https://www.epa.gov/superfund/natural-resource-damages-eras-and-nrdas)</ref> US Fish and Wildlife Service,<ref>(https://www.fws.gov/nrdar)</ref> or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration<ref>(https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/environmental-restoration/natural-resource-damage-assessment.html)</ref> may act as natural resource trustees. The US Department of Interior keeps a list of the natural resource trustees appointed by state's governors.<ref>(https://www.doi.gov/restoration/statetrustees)</ref> Federally recognized Tribes may act as trustees for natural resources, including natural resources related to Tribal subsistence, cultural uses, spiritual values, and uses that are preserved by treaties. Tribal natural resource trustees are appointed by tribal governments.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bia.gov/service/nrdar#:~:text=During%20the%20NRDAR%20process%2C%20federally-recognized%20Tribes%20are%20considered,values%2C%20and%20uses%20that%20are%20preserved%20by%20treaties. | title=Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program in Indian Country &#124; Indian Affairs }}</ref> Some states have their own versions of a state Superfund law and may perform NRDA either through state laws or through other federal authorities such as the Oil Pollution Act. 

CERCLA created the [[Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry]] (ATSDR).

The primary goal of a Superfund cleanup is to reduce the risks to human health through a combination of cleanup, engineered controls like caps and site restrictions such as groundwater use restrictions. A secondary goal is to return the site to productive use as a business, recreation or as a natural ecosystem. Identifying the intended reuse early in the cleanup often results in faster and less expensive cleanups. EPA's Superfund Redevelopment Program provides tools and support for site redevelopment.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.epa.gov/superfund-redevelopment |title=Superfund Redevelopment Program |date=2021-12-08}}</ref>

==History ==
[[File:Bruin-lagoon-drilling.jpg|thumb|right|Workers in [[hazmat suit]]s check the status of a cleanup site]]
CERCLA was enacted by [[United States Congress|Congress]] in 1980 in response to the threat of [[hazardous waste]] sites, typified by the [[Love Canal]] disaster in [[New York (state)|New York]], and the [[Valley of the Drums]] in [[Kentucky]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Superfund: 20th Anniversary Report: A Series of Firsts |url=http://www.epa.gov/superfund/20years/ch3pg1.htm |publisher=EPA |access-date=July 18, 2010 |archive-date=September 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100909035122/http://www.epa.gov/superfund/20years/ch3pg1.htm}}</ref> It was recognized that funding would be difficult, since the responsible parties were not easily found, and so the Superfund was established to provide funding through a taxing mechanism on certain industries and to create a comprehensive liability framework to be able to hold a broader range of parties responsible.<ref name=":1" /> The initial Superfund [[trust fund]] to clean up sites where a polluter could not be identified, could not or would not pay (bankruptcy or refusal), consisted of about $1.6&nbsp;billion<ref name=chej>Kaley Beins and Stephen Lester. [http://chej.org/wp-content/uploads/Superfund-35th-Anniversary-Report1.pdf Superfund Polluters Pay So Children Can Play. 35th Anniversary Report.] December 2015, 80 pp, The Center for Health, Environment & Justice</ref> and then increased to $8.5&nbsp;billion.<ref name=":1" /> Initially, the framework for implementing the program came from the oil and hazardous substances National Contingency Plan.

The EPA published the first Hazard Ranking System in 1981, and the first National Priorities List in 1983.<ref>{{cite web |title=Superfund History |url=https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-history |date=May 15, 2017 |publisher=EPA}}</ref> Implementation of the program in early years, during the [[Ronald Reagan administration]], was ineffective, with only 16 of the 799 Superfund sites cleaned up and only $40&nbsp;million of $700&nbsp;million in recoverable funds from responsible parties collected.<ref>{{cite news |title=Not So Super Superfund |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/07/opinion/not-so-super-superfund.html?scp=2&sq=superfund%20reagan&st=cse |access-date=July 18, 2010 |work=The New York Times |date=February 7, 1994 |department=Opinion}}</ref> The mismanagement of the program under [[Anne Gorsuch Burford]], Reagan's first chosen Administrator of the agency, led to a congressional investigation and the reauthorization of the program in 1986 through an act amending CERCLA.<ref>An Interview with Lee Thomas, EPA's 6th Administrator. [http://www.epaalumni.org/history/video/interview.cfm?id=28 Video], [https://www.epaalumni.org/userdata/pdf/60740780F5ACB3D5.pdf#page=1 Transcript] (see p12). April 19, 2012.</ref>

=== 1986 amendments ===
The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA) added minimum cleanup requirements in Section 121 and required that most cleanup agreements with polluters be entered in federal court as a [[consent decree]] subject to public comment (section 122).<ref>{{cite web |title=Superfund: SARA Overview |url=http://www.epa.gov/superfund/policy/sara.htm |publisher=EPA |access-date=July 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100907234757/http://www.epa.gov/superfund/policy/sara.htm
|archive-date=September 7, 2010}}</ref> This was to address [[sweetheart deals]] between industry and the Reagan-era EPA that Congress had discovered.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=Frederick R. |date=1985 |title=Negotiation and Informal Agency Action: The Case of Superfund |url=https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2908&context=dlj |journal=Duke Law Journal |volume=1985 |issue=2 |pages=276–7 |doi=10.2307/1372358 |jstor=1372358 |quote=From 1981 until mid-1983, the CERCLA program suffered from frequent policy shifts and reorganizations, patent abuse by its leadership, and a demoralizing slowdown of Fund expenditures and other cleanup initiatives. Negotiation acquired a bad name during this period because key officials appeared willing to negotiate unduly generous cleanup terms with site users.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Weisskopf |first=Michael |date=1986-11-16 |title=Toxic-Waste Site Awash in Misjudgment |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/11/16/toxic-waste-site-awash-in-misudgment/4b46a5ae-2fcb-44d1-a1bb-56bbf8a903da/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

=== Environmental justice initiative ===
In 1994 President [[Bill Clinton]] issued [[Executive Order]] 12898, which called for federal agencies to make achieving [[environmental justice]] a requirement by addressing low income populations and minority populations that have experienced disproportionate adverse health and environmental effects as a result of their programs, policies, and activities.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Konisky |first1=David M. |editor1-first=David M. |editor1-last=Konisky |title=Failed Promises: The Federal Government's Response to Environmental Inequality |publisher= MIT Press |date=2015 |pages=29, 56 |doi=10.7551/mitpress/9780262028837.001.0001 |isbn=9780262028837}}</ref> The EPA regional offices had to apply required guidelines for its Superfund managers to take into consideration data analysis, managed public participation, and economic opportunity when considering the geography of toxic waste site remediation.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Holifield |first1=Ryan |title=Neoliberalism and Environmental Justice in the United States Environmental Protection Agency: Translating Policy into Managerial Practice in Hazardous Waste Remediation |journal=Geoforum |date=2004 |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=285–297 |doi=10.1016/j.geoforum.2003.11.003}}</ref> Some environmentalists and industry lobbyists saw the Clinton administration's environmental justice policy as an improvement, but the order did not receive bipartisan support. The newly elected Republican Congress made numerous unsuccessful efforts to significantly weaken the program. The Clinton administration then adopted some industry favored reforms as policy and blocked most major changes.<ref>{{cite news |title=Congress forgoes its bid to hasten cleanup of dumps |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/06/us/congress-forgoes-its-bid-to-hasten-cleanup-of-dumps.html?scp=8&sq=clinton%20superfund%20bill&st=cse |first=John H. Jr. |last=Cushman |work=The New York Times |date=October 6, 1994}}</ref>

=== Decline of excise tax ===
Until the mid-1990s, most of the funding came from an excise tax on the petroleum and chemical industries, reflecting the polluter pays principle.<ref name=gao15>{{cite report |publisher=U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) |location=Washington, D.C. |url=http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/673051.pdf |title=Superfund: Trends in Federal Funding and Cleanup of EPA's Nonfederal National Priorities List Sites |id=GAO-15-812 |date=September 2015}}</ref> Even though by 1995 the Superfund balance had decreased to about $4&nbsp;billion, Congress chose not to reauthorize collection of the tax, and by 2003 the fund was empty.<ref name=GAO2004>{{cite web |title=Superfund Program: Updated Appropriation and Expenditure Data |publisher=GAO |url=http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04475r.pdf |date=February 18, 2004}}</ref>{{rp|1}} Since 2001, most of the funding for cleanups of hazardous waste sites has come from taxpayers. State governments pay 10 percent of cleanup costs in general, and at least 50 percent of cleanup costs if the state operated the facility responsible for contamination. By 2013 federal funding for the program had decreased from $2&nbsp;billion in 1999 to less than $1.1&nbsp;billion (in constant dollars).<ref name=gao15/>{{rp|11}}

In 2001 EPA used funds from the Superfund program to institute the cleanup of anthrax on [[Capitol Hill]] after the [[2001 anthrax attacks]].<ref>"The Anthrax Cleanup of Capitol Hill." Documentary by Xin Wang produced by the EPA Alumni Association. [http://www.epaalumni.org/history/video/interview.cfm?id=32 Video], [https://www.epaalumni.org/userdata/pdf/6C70838638374E92.pdf#page=3 Transcript] (see p 3, 4). May 12, 2015.</ref> It was the first time the agency dealt with a biological release rather than a chemical or oil spill.

From 2000 to 2015, Congress allocated about $1.26&nbsp;billion of general revenue to the Superfund program each year. Consequently, less than half the number of sites were cleaned up from 2001 to 2008, compared to before. The decrease continued during the [[Obama administration]], and since under the direction of EPA Administrator [[Gina McCarthy]] Superfund cleanups decreased even more from 20 in 2009 to a mere 8 in 2014.<ref name=chej/>{{rp|8}}

=== Reauthorization of excise tax ===
In November 2021 Congress reauthorized an excise tax on chemical manufacturers, under the [[Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act]].<ref>United States. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. {{USPL|117|58}} Section 80201. Approved November 15, 2021.</ref> The new chemical excise tax is effective July 1, 2022, and is double the rate of the previous Superfund tax. The 2021 law also authorized $3.5&nbsp;billion in emergency appropriations from the U.S. government [[Fund accounting#Federal funds group|general fund]] for hazardous site cleanups in the immediate future.<ref name="CRS IF11982">{{cite report |last1=Cilluffo |first1=Anthony A. |last2=Bearden |first2=David M. |title=Superfund Tax Legislation in the 117th Congress |url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11982 |date=2021-11-29 |publisher=Congressional Research Service |location=Washington, D.C. |id=IF11982}}</ref>

==Provisions==
[[File:GE dredging PVC on hudson (7238186516).jpg|thumb|[[Polychlorinated biphenyl|PCB]] dredging operations on the [[Pollution of the Hudson River|Hudson River]]]]
[[File:(Earlier photo) November 1999, 'Half mile' view from Newell Street (7984291745).jpg|thumb|Cleanup of the [[Housatonic River]] in [[Pittsfield, Massachusetts]]]]
CERCLA authorizes two kinds of response actions:
# '''Removal actions.''' These are typically short-term response actions, where actions may be taken to address releases or threatened releases requiring prompt response. Removal actions are classified as: (1) emergency; (2) time-critical; and (3) non-time critical. Removal responses are generally used to address localized risks such as abandoned drums containing hazardous substances, and contaminated surface soils posing acute risks to human health or the environment.<ref>''Code of Federal Regulations,'' {{CodeFedReg|40|300|415}}.</ref>
# '''Remedial actions.''' These are usually long-term response actions. Remedial actions seek to permanently and significantly reduce the risks associated with releases or threats of releases of hazardous substances, and are generally larger, more expensive actions. They can include measures such as using containment to prevent pollutants from migrating, and combinations of removing, treating, or neutralizing toxic substances. These actions can be conducted with federal funding only at sites listed on the EPA [[National Priorities List]] (NPL) in the United States and the territories. Remedial action by responsible parties under consent decrees or unilateral administrative orders with EPA oversight may be performed at both NPL and non-NPL sites, commonly called Superfund Alternative Sites in published EPA guidance and policy documents.<ref>{{CodeFedReg|40|300|430}}.</ref>

A ''potentially responsible party'' (PRP) is a possible polluter who may eventually be held [[Legal liability|liable]] under CERCLA for the contamination or misuse of a particular property or [[natural resource|resource]]. Four classes of PRPs may be liable for contamination at a Superfund site:
# the current owner or operator of the site;<ref>CERCLA section 107(a)(1)</ref>
# the owner or operator of a site at the time that disposal of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant occurred;<ref>CERCLA 107(a)(2)</ref>
# a person who arranged for the disposal of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant at a site;<ref>CERCLA 107(a)(3)</ref> and
# a person who transported a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant to a site, who also has selected that site for the disposal of the hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants.<ref>CERCLA 107(a)(4); {{USC|42|9607}}.</ref>
 
The liability scheme of CERCLA changed commercial and industrial real estate, making sellers liable for contamination from past activities, meaning they can't pass liability onto unknowing buyers without any responsibility. Buyers also have to be aware of future liabilities.<ref name=":1" />

The CERCLA also required the revision of the [[National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan]] 9605(a)(NCP).<ref>{{CodeFedReg|40|300|}}.</ref> The NCP guides how to respond to releases and threatened releases of [[hazardous substance]]s, pollutants, or contaminants. The NCP established the National Priorities List, which appears as Appendix B to the NCP, and serves as EPA's information and management tool. The NPL is updated periodically by federal rulemaking.<ref name="Basic NPL">{{Cite web |date=2021-02-09 |title=Basic NPL Information |url=https://www.epa.gov/superfund/basic-npl-information |publisher=EPA}}</ref>

The identification of a site for the NPL is intended primarily to guide the EPA in:
* Determining which sites warrant further investigation to assess the nature and extent of risks to human health and the environment
* Identifying what CERCLA-financed remedial actions may be appropriate
* Notifying the public of sites, the EPA believes warrant further investigation
* Notifying PRPs that the EPA may initiate CERCLA-financed remedial action.<ref name="Basic NPL"/>

Despite the name, the Superfund trust fund has lacked sufficient funds to clean up even a small number of the sites on the NPL. As a result, the EPA typically negotiates consent orders with PRPs to study sites and develop cleanup alternatives, subject to EPA oversight and approval of all such activities. The EPA then issues a Proposed Plans for remedial action for a site on which it takes public comment, after which it makes a cleanup decision in a Record of Decision (ROD). RODs are typically implemented under consent decrees by PRPs or under unilateral orders if consent cannot be reached.<ref>CERCLA sections 104, 106, 122 {{USC|42|9604, 9606, 9622}}.</ref> If a party fails to comply with such an order, it may be fined up to $37,500 for each day that non-compliance continues. A party that spends money to clean up a site may sue other PRPs in a contribution action under the CERCLA.<ref>CERCLA, {{USC|42|9613|f}}.</ref> CERCLA liability has generally been judicially established as joint and several among PRPs to the government for cleanup costs (i.e., each PRP is hypothetically responsible for all costs subject to contribution), but CERCLA liability is allocable among PRPs in contribution based on comparative fault. An "orphan share" is the share of costs at a Superfund site that is attributable to a PRP that is either unidentifiable or insolvent.<ref name="fact book" /> The EPA tries to treat all PRPs equitably and fairly. Budgetary cuts and constraints can make more equitable treatment of PRPs more difficult.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FY 2016 EPA Budget in Brief |url=https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-02/documents/fy_2016_bib_combined_v5.pdf |publisher=EPA}}</ref>

==Procedures==
[[File:Superfund sites.svg|thumb|450px|A national map of Superfund sites. Red indicates currently on final National Priority List, yellow is proposed, green is deleted (usually meaning having been cleaned up). This map is as of October 2013.]]
[[File:Superfund site assessment process - EPA.png|thumb|Superfund site assessment process]]
Upon notification of a potentially hazardous waste site, the EPA conducts a Preliminary Assessment/Site Inspection (PA/SI), which involves records reviews, interviews, visual inspections, and limited field sampling.<ref>{{cite web |title=Superfund Site Assessment Process |publisher=EPA |url=https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-site-assessment-process |date=2021-02-05}}</ref> Information from the PA/SI is used by the EPA to develop a Hazard Ranking System (HRS) score to determine the CERCLA status of the site. Sites that score high enough to be listed typically proceed to a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS).<ref>{{cite web |title=Hazard Ranking System |url=https://www.epa.gov/superfund/hazard-ranking-system-hrs |date=2022-03-22 |publisher=EPA}}</ref>

The RI includes an extensive sampling program and risk assessment that defines the nature and extent of the site contamination and risks. The FS is used to develop and evaluate various [[Environmental remediation|remediation]] alternatives. The preferred alternative is presented in a Proposed Plan for public review and comment, followed by a selected alternative in a ROD. The site then enters into a Remedial Design phase and then the Remedial Action phase. Many sites include long-term monitoring. Once the Remedial Action has been completed, reviews are required every five years, whenever hazardous substances are left onsite above levels safe for unrestricted use.

*The ''CERCLA information system'' (CERCLIS) is a database maintained by the EPA and the states that lists sites where releases may have occurred, must be addressed, or have been addressed. CERCLIS consists of three inventories: the CERCLIS Removal Inventory, the CERCLIS Remedial Inventory, and the CERCLIS Enforcement Inventory.<ref name="fact book"/>
*The ''Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation'' (SITE) program supports development of technologies for assessing and treating [[waste]] at Superfund sites. The EPA evaluates the technology and provides an assessment of its potential for future use in Superfund remediation actions. The SITE program consists of four related components: the Demonstration Program, the Emerging Technologies Program, the Monitoring and Measurement Technologies Program, and Technology Transfer activities.<ref name="fact book">
{{cite report |last1=Reisch |first1=Mark |last2=Bearden |first2=David Michael |title=Superfund Fact Book: Superfund Glossary |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs487/ |date=1997-03-03 |publisher=U.S. Congressional Research Service |location=Washington, D.C. |id=97-312 ENR}}</ref>
*A ''reportable quantity'' (RQ) is the minimum quantity of a hazardous substance which, if released, must be reported.<ref name="fact book"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.epa.gov/epcra/cercla-and-epcra-continuous-release-reporting |title=CERCLA and EPCRA Continuous Release Reporting |publisher=EPA |date=2021-12-08}}</ref>
*A ''source control action'' represents the construction or installation and start-up of those actions necessary to prevent the continued release of hazardous substances (primarily from a source on top of or within the ground, or in buildings or other structures) into the environment.<ref name="fact book"/><ref name="40 CFR 300.5">EPA. "Part 300—National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; Definitions." ''Code of Federal Regulations,'' [https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=acd8fa0d4c01b9457e4d819187d588e8&mc=true&node=pt40.30.300&rgn=div5#se40.30.300_15 40 CFR 300.5]</ref>
*A ''section 104(e) letter'' is a request by the government for information about a site. It may include general notice to a potentially responsible party that CERCLA-related action may be undertaken at a site for which the recipient may be responsible.<ref>CERCLA, {{USCSub|42|9604|e}}. "Information Gathering and Access."</ref> This section also authorizes the EPA to enter facilities and obtain information relating to PRPs, hazardous substances releases, and liability, and to order access for CERCLA activities.<ref name="switzer"/> The 104(e) letter information-gathering resembles written interrogatories in civil litigation.<ref name="switzer">{{cite book |last1=Switzer |first1=Carole Stern |last2=Bulan |first2=Lynn A. |title=CERCLA: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gt9Y5vnij1QC&q=%22104%28e%29+letter%22&pg=PA73|isbn=9781590311165 |date=2002 |publisher=American Bar Association |location=Chicago}}</ref>
*A ''section 106 order'' is a unilateral administrative order issued by EPA to PRP(s) to perform remedial actions at a Superfund site when the EPA determines there may be an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or welfare or the environment because of an actual or threatened release of a hazardous substance from a facility, subject to [[treble damages]] and daily fines if the order is not obeyed.<ref name="fact book"/>
*A ''remedial response'' is a long-term action that stops or substantially reduces a release of a hazardous substance that could affect public health or the environment. The term remediation, or cleanup, is sometimes used interchangeably with the terms remedial action, removal action, response action, remedy, or corrective action.<ref name="fact book"/>
**A ''nonbinding allocation of responsibility'' (NBAR) is a device, established in the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, that allows the EPA to make a nonbinding estimate of the proportional share that each of the various responsible parties at a Superfund site should pay toward the costs of cleanup.<ref name="fact book"/>
*''Relevant and appropriate requirements'' are those United States federal or state cleanup requirements that, while not "applicable," address problems sufficiently similar to those encountered at the CERCLA site that their use is appropriate. Requirements may be relevant and appropriate if they would be "applicable" except for jurisdictional restrictions associated with the requirement.<ref name="fact book"/><ref name="40 CFR 300.5"/>

==Implementation==
[[File:Kin BucLandfill.JPG|thumb|right|Polluted Martin's Creek on the [[Kin-Buc Landfill]] Superfund site in [[Edison, New Jersey]]]]
{{Main|List of Superfund sites in the United States}}
{{As of|2021|12|09|df=US}}, there were 1,322 sites listed; an additional 447 had been delisted, and 51 new sites have been proposed.<ref name="NPL 2021-12-09"/>

Historically about 70 percent of Superfund cleanup activities have been paid for by potentially responsible party (PRPs). When the party either cannot be found or is unable to pay for the cleanup, the Superfund law originally paid for site cleanups through an excise tax on petroleum and chemical manufacturers.

The last [[Fiscal year#United States|full fiscal year]] (FY) in which the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]] collected the excise tax was 1995.<ref name=GAO2004/>{{rp|1}} At the end of FY 1996, the invested trust fund balance was $6.0&nbsp;billion. This fund was exhausted by the end of FY 2003. Since that time Superfund sites for which the PRPs could not pay have been paid for from the general fund.<ref name=GAO2004/>{{rp|1, 3}} Under the 2021 authorization by Congress, collection of excise taxes from chemical manufacturers will resume in 2022.<ref name="CRS IF11982"/>

===Hazard Ranking System===
The Hazard Ranking System is a scoring system used to evaluate potential relative risks to [[public health]] and the environment from releases or threatened releases of [[hazardous waste]]s at uncontrolled waste sites. Under the Superfund program, the EPA and state agencies use the HRS to calculate a site score (ranging from 0 to 100) based on the actual or potential release of hazardous substances from a site through [[air pollution|air]], [[surface water]] or [[groundwater]]. A score of 28.5 places the site on the National Priorities List, making the site eligible for long-term remedial action (i.e., cleanup) under the Superfund program.<ref name="fact book"/>

== Environmental discrimination==
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2017}}

Federal actions to address the disproportionate health and environmental disparities that minority and low-income populations face through Executive Order 12898 required federal agencies to make environmental justice central to their programs and policies.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-executive-order-12898-federal-actions-address-environmental-justice |title=Summary of Executive Order 12898 - Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations |website=Laws & Regulations |publisher=EPA |date=2018-09-17}}</ref> Superfund sites have been shown to impact minority communities the most.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Crawford |first=Collin |title=Strategies for Environmental Justice: Rethinking CERCLA Medical Monitoring Lawsuits |url=https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/faculty_pub/1313/ |date=1994 |journal=Boston University Law Review |volume=74 |page=267}}</ref> Despite legislation specifically designed to ensure equity in Superfund listing, marginalized populations still experience a lesser chance of successful listing and cleanup than areas with higher income levels. After the executive order had been put in place, there persisted a discrepancy between the demographics of the communities living near toxic waste sites and their listing as Superfund sites, which would otherwise grant them federally funded cleanup projects. Communities with both increased minority and low-income populations were found to have lowered their chances of site listing after the executive order, while on the other hand, increases in income led to greater chances of site listing.<ref name="ONeil">{{Cite journal |last=O'Neil |first=Sandra George |date=2007-07-01 |title=Superfund: Evaluating the Impact of Executive Order 12898 |journal=Environmental Health Perspectives |volume=115 |issue=7 |pages=1087–1093 |doi=10.1289/ehp.9903 |issn=0091-6765 |pmc=1913562 |pmid=17637927}}</ref> Of the populations living within 1 mile radius of a Superfund site, 44% of those are minorities despite only being around 37% of the nation's population.

As of January 2021, more than 9,000 federally subsidized properties, including ones with hundreds of dwellings, were less than a mile from a Superfund site.<ref name="intercept-2021-01-13">{{cite web |title=Thousands of U.S. Public Housing Residents Live in the Country's Most Polluted Places |website=The Intercept |date=2021-01-13 |url=https://theintercept.com/2021/01/13/epa-public-housing-lead-superfund/ |access-date=2021-01-13}}</ref>

=== Case studies in African American communities ===
In 1978, residents of the rural black community of [[Triana, Alabama]] were found to be contaminated with [[DDT]] and [[Polychlorinated biphenyl|PCB]], some of whom had the highest levels of DDT ever recorded in human history.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Bullard |first=Robert |title=The Wrong Complexion for Protection: How the Government Response To Disaster Endangers African American Communities |date=2012 |publisher=NYU Press |location=New York |pages=100–125}}</ref> The DDT was found in high levels in Indian Creek, which many residents relied on for sustenance fishing. Although this major health threat to residents of Triana was discovered in 1978, the federal government did not act until 5 years later after the mayor of Triana filed a class-action lawsuit in 1980.

In [[West Dallas, Texas]], a mostly African American and Latino community, a [[lead smelter]] poisoned the surrounding neighborhood, elementary school, and day cares for more than five decades. Dallas city officials were informed in 1972 that children in the proximity of the smelter were being exposed to lead contamination. The city sued the lead smelters in 1974, then reduced its lead regulations in 1976. It wasn't until 1981 that the EPA commissioned a study on the lead contamination in this neighborhood and found the same results that had been found a decade earlier. In 1983, the surrounding day cares had to close due to the lead exposure while the lead smelter remained operating. It was later revealed that EPA Deputy Administrator John Hernandez had deliberately stalled the cleanup of the lead-contaminated hot spots. It wasn't until 1993 that the site was declared a Superfund site, and at the time it was one of the largest ones. However, it was not until 2004 when the EPA completed the clean-up efforts and eliminated the lead pollutant sources from the site.

The Afton community of [[Warren County, North Carolina]] is one of the most prominent [[environmental injustice]] cases and is often pointed to as the roots of the [[environmental justice]] movement. PCBs were illegally dumped into the community and then it eventually became a [[Warren County PCB Landfill|PCB landfill]]. Community leaders pressed the state for the site to be cleaned up for an entire decade until it was finally detoxified.<ref>{{cite book |title=Health Issues in the Black Community | publisher=John Wiley & Sons |last1=Braithwaite |first1=Ronald L. |last2=Taylor |first2=Sandra E. |last3=Treadwell |first3=Henrie M. |year=2009 |pages=179 | isbn=978-0-47055-266-7 |chapter=African Americans on the Front Line |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QZL5OKuXZ-4C&pg=PA179}}</ref> However, this decontamination did not return the site to its pre-1982 conditions. There has been a call for reparations to the community which has not yet been met.

[[Bayview-Hunters Point, San Francisco]], a historically African American community, has faced persistent [[environmental discrimination]] due to the poor remediation efforts of the [[San Francisco Naval Shipyard]], a federally declared Superfund site.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hunter's Point Shipyard: Ex Workers Say Fraud Rampant at Navy Cleanup |url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Ex-SF-Navy-shipyard-workers-allege-fraud-in-11257774.php |first1=J.K. |last1= Dineen |work=SF Gate |date=June 29, 2017}}</ref> The negligence of multiple agencies to adequately clean this site has led Bayview residents to be subject to high rates of pollution and has been tied to high rates of cancer, asthma, and overall higher health hazards than other regions of San Francisco.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nuru |first1=Mohammed |title=Community Call for Environmental Justice for Bayview—Why does the Department of Defense promise to clean up hazardous wastes apply to the Presidio but not to the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard? |url=http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Community-Call-for-Environmental-Justice-for-2764534.php |work=SF Gate |date=April 13, 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Davis |first1=Lisa |title=Hot story; Navy admits burning 600,000 gallons of radioactive fuel at S.F. shipyard |url=https://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/hot-story/Content?oid=2148099 |work=SF Gate |date=May 21, 2003}}</ref>

=== Case studies in Native American communities ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2020}}
One example is the [[Church Rock uranium mill spill]] on the Navajo Nation. It was the largest radioactive spill in the US but received a long delay in government response and cleanup after being placed as a lower priority site. Two sets of five-year cleanup plans have been put in place by US Congress, but contamination from the Church Rock incident has still not been completely cleaned up. Today, uranium contamination from mining during the Cold War era remains throughout the Navajo Nation, posing health risks to the Navajo community.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gilbert |first1=Samuel |title=Church Rock, America's Forgotten Nuclear Disaster, Is Still Poisoning Navajo Lands 40 Years Later |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/ne8w4x/church-rock-americas-forgotten-nuclear-disaster-is-still-poisoning-navajo-lands-40-years-later |website=vice.com |date=August 12, 2019 |publisher=Vice |access-date=16 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Spanne |first1=Autumn |title=EPA budget cuts threaten to slow uranium cleanup at Navajo Nation |url=https://revealnews.org/article/epa-budget-cuts-threaten-to-slow-uranium-cleanup-at-navajo-nation/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208212449/https://revealnews.org/article/epa-budget-cuts-threaten-to-slow-uranium-cleanup-at-navajo-nation/ |archive-date=2022-02-08  |website=revealnews.org |date=August 21, 2017 |publisher=Reveal |access-date=16 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=Johnnye |last2=Hoover |first2=Joseph |last3=MacKenzie |first3=Debra |title=Mining and Environmental Health Disparities in Native American Communities |journal=Springer Open Choice |date=26 April 2017 |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=130–141 |doi=10.1007/s40572-017-0140-5 |pmid=28447316 |pmc=5429369 |bibcode=2017CEHR....4..130L }}</ref>

==Accessing data==
The data in the Superfund Program are available to the public.
* Superfund Site Search<ref>{{cite web |title=Search for Superfund Sites Where You Live |url=https://www.epa.gov/superfund/search-superfund-sites-where-you-live |date=2021-09-15 |publisher=EPA}}</ref>
* Superfund Policy, Reports and Other Documents<ref>{{cite web |title=Superfund Policy, Reports and Other Documents |url=https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-policy-reports-and-other-documents |date=2021-01-06 |publisher=EPA}}</ref>
*[[TOXMAP]] was a [[Geographic information system|Geographic Information System (GIS)]] from the Division of Specialized Information Services<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/ |title=SIS Specialized Information System |publisher=[[United States National Library of Medicine]] |access-date=August 11, 2010 |archive-date=March 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321193634/http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> of the [[United States National Library of Medicine]] (NLM) that was deprecated on December 16, 2019. The application used maps of the United States to help users visually explore data from the EPA [[Toxics Release Inventory]] (TRI) and Superfund programs. TOXMAP was a resource funded by the US Federal Government. TOXMAP's chemical and environmental health information is taken from NLM's Toxicology Data Network (TOXNET),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov |title=Toxnet |publisher=United States National Library of Medicine |access-date=August 11, 2010}}</ref> [[PubMed]], and other authoritative sources.

==Future challenges==
While the simple and relatively easy sites have been cleaned up, EPA is now addressing a residual number of difficult and massive sites such as large-area mining and sediment sites, which is tying up a significant amount of funding. Also, while the federal government has reserved funding for cleanup of federal facility sites, this clean-up is going much more slowly. The delay is due to a number of reasons, including EPA's limited ability to require performance, difficulty of dealing with Department of Energy radioactive wastes, and the sheer number of federal facility sites.<ref name=":1">Thomas Voltaggio and John Adams. [http://www.epaalumni.org/hcp/superfund.pdf "Superfund: A Half Century of Progress."] EPA Alumni Association. March 2016.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Environment|United States|Politics}}
* [[Brownfield land]]
* [[Formerly Used Defense Sites]] - Environmental restoration program
* [[Hazardous Materials Transportation Act]]
* [[National Oil and Hazardous Substances Contingency Plan]]
* [[Phase I Environmental Site Assessment]]
* [[Pollution]]
* [[Toxin]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite web |title=Superfund Program Implementation Manual |url=https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-program-implementation-manual |date=2022-04-29 |publisher=EPA}}
* {{cite report |title=Hazard Ranking System Guidance Manual |url=http://semspub.epa.gov/src/document/HQ/100002484 |date=November 1992 |publisher=EPA |id=EPA 540-R-92-026}}
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/business/05bizcourt.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss "High Court Limits Liability in Superfund Cases."] – ''New York Times,'' 2009-05-05
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Superfund sites}}
{{Wikisource|United States Code/Title 42/Chapter 103|Superfund}}

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170626195240/https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=10002383.TXT Common Chemicals found at Superfund Sites], August 1994
*[https://www.epa.gov/superfund Superfund Program] – EPA
*[https://www.epa.gov/superfund/national-priorities-list-npl-sites-state Superfund sites by state] – EPA
*[http://www.epaalumni.org/hcp/superfund.pdf Superfund: A Half Century of Progress, a report by the EPA Alumni Association]
*[https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry]
*[http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/cercla/ National Priorities List of Hazardous Substances]
* [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/chapter-103 42 U.S.C. chapter 103] (CERCLA) of the [[United States Code]] from the [[Legal Information Institute|LII]]
* [https://uscode.house.gov/browse/prelim@title42/chapter103&edition=prelim 42 U.S.C. chapter 103] (CERCLA) of the [[United States Code]] from the [[United States House of Representatives|US House of Representatives]]
* [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-886/uslm/COMPS-886.xml CERCLA] ([https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-886/pdf/COMPS-886.pdf PDF]/[https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/COMPS-886/ details]) as amended in the [[United States Government Publishing Office|GPO]] [https://www.govinfo.gov/help/comps Statute Compilations collection]
* [https://www.usaspending.gov/federal_account/068-8145 Hazardous Substance Superfund] account on [[USAspending.gov]]

{{Superfund sites in the United States}}
{{Presidency of Jimmy Carter}}
{{Presidency of Ronald Reagan}}
{{US Environmental law}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Superfund sites| ]]
[[Category:Pollution in the United States]]
[[Category:United States Environmental Protection Agency]]
[[Category:United States federal environmental legislation]]
[[Category:1980 in the environment]]
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[[Category:Love Canal]]