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Preface
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On December 11, 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund).
This important legislation was enacted to fill a major gap in environmental protection. The events at Love Canal, New York, and other sites around the country had shown that wastes buried long ago -- and mostly forgotten -- could prove to be a serious threat to the community.
The Superfund legislation provided strong Federal authorities to address this problem, but it was up to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create an effective Superfund program. At first, EPA faced a series of unknowns. There was a lack of data about specific sites and the health effects of chemicals. Technologies had to be created and a regulatory structure needed to be put in place. Over time, a strong and effective program evolved -- the result of ongoing reform and revitalization.
Today, EPA is working continuously to: increase community participation and public/private partnerships; enhance cleanup effectiveness and consistency in program implementation; streamline the enforcement process and optimize fairness; and encourage economic redevelopment. According to a report published in June 2000 by the National Academy of Public Administrators, the reforms have "successfully addressed the key challenges facing Superfund" and made the program faster, fairer, and more efficient.
Working together with States, Tribes, communities, local governments, and many other stakeholders, Superfund has produced impressive results. On its 20th anniversary, Superfund can point to many accomplishments, including:
- Over 6,400 actions to immediately reduce threats to public health and environment.
- 757 Superfund sites with all cleanup construction completed.
- Cleanup work done by responsible parties at over 70 percent of the sites that EPA has placed on its list of national priorities.
- Private parties settlements at a value of over $18 billion.
While Superfund's accomplishments are impressive, challenges remain. Abandoned waste sites are still being discovered. EPA continues to work with its partners to address immediate, or long-term, dangers -- and ensure that the remedies selected remain effective for years to come. EPA also serves as a catalyst to promote redevelopment in areas that were once considered "lost" because of contamination.
At the start of its third decade, a strong Superfund program will continue to meet the challenge of protecting human health and the environment from the dangers of hazardous waste.
