Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Annual Results for FY 2025: Superfund Cleanup Enforcement

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Superfund enforcement program ensures that responsible parties clean up contaminated land and water. With the addition of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 accomplishments, the Superfund enforcement program has obtained approximately $52.5 billion in responsible party and third-party commitments for site cleanup ($44.2 billion) and reimbursement of EPA’s costs to clean up sites ($8.3 billion) since 1980.

In FY 2025, the Superfund enforcement program continued its mission to hold responsible parties accountable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for performing or funding the cleanup of contaminated sites. Superfund enforcement settlements help to preserve American tax dollars.

FY 2025 accomplishments

In FY 2025, EPA secured approximately $714.3 million in commitments from responsible and third parties to clean up sites or to pay for future work. EPA also recovered $174.1 million for EPA’s past costs to perform cleanup activities. Additionally, EPA billed responsible parties approximately $94.5 million for EPA costs for overseeing past cleanup work. EPA also issued 100 comfort/status letters to parties interested in redeveloping or reusing contaminated properties, facilitating the return of these properties to productive use.

Superfund enforcement instruments maximize EPA’s ability to address as many contaminated sites as possible by having responsible parties clean up contamination. EPA obtained enforcement instruments (50 settlements, 3 orders, 4 settlement amendments, and 3 reuse agreements) at 55 Superfund sites to secure site investigations, cleanup, and return remediated properties to productive reuse. There were 5 additional instruments in FY 2025 for site access only, bringing the total number of enforcement instruments to 65.

More broadly, 477 enforcement tools were finalized at 239 unique Superfund sites across the country. Enforcement tools consist of enforcement instruments as well as letters that initiate negotiations, seek information or reimbursement, or provide site status to parties interested in reuse and redevelopment.

Case Highlights

NL Industries—Raritan Bay Slag Superfund Site

In February 2025, EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a $151.1 million settlement with NL Industries, Old Bridge Township, the state of New Jersey, and several federal agencies to help fund past and future cleanup work at the Raritan Bay Slag Superfund site in Sayreville, New Jersey. The site consisted of three sectors: the seawall, Margaret’s Creek, and the jetty. Construction of the seawall and jetty, using smelter slag and battery casings from NL Industries, led to elevated lead levels in soil, sediment, and surface water, which required closing part of the beach. The $151.1 million secured for past and future cleanup work is the third largest cost recovery amount in a single settlement. The funds will help finish cleanup work, protect public health by reducing exposure to toxic lead, restore community waterfront access, and ensure responsible parties rather than taxpayers bear the costs of the cleanup. More information on the site is available on the Raritan Bay Slag Superfund site profile webpage.

Honeywell International—San Fernando Valley (Area 1) Superfund Site

In February 2025, EPA, DOJ, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reached an agreement with Honeywell International Inc. to perform cleanup work at the San Fernando Valley (Area 1) Superfund site in North Hollywood and Burbank, California. The cleanup work, valued at $12 million, addresses groundwater contamination from historic operations and is a key step toward returning the aquifer to drinking water use and helping meet the daily water resource needs of roughly 144,000 Los Angeles residents. More information on the site is available on the San Fernando Superfund site profile webpage.

Petroleum Products Corporation Superfund Site—Multiple Parties

In June 2025, EPA and multiple responsible parties including the state of Florida reached a settlement to clean up the Petroleum Products Corporation Superfund site in Pembroke Park, Florida. Petroleum Products Corporation’s historical oil processing and refining operations contaminated soil and groundwater on and near the site, including the underlying Biscayne Aquifer.

The cleanup work, valued at approximately $62 million, will remove over 50,000 cubic yards of sulfuric acid sludge and contaminated soil and will protect the Biscayne Aquifer— the sole drinking water aquifer for 5.2 million Florida residents. EPA secured cleanup commitments of more than $30 million from Florida and recovered 100% of past cleanup costs from multiple settling parties. More information about the site is available on the Petroleum Product Corporation Superfund site profile webpage.

Superfund enforcement cleanup work map

EPA's Superfund Settlements and Work Order Map highlights the current cleanup work taking place at Superfund private party sites and federal facility sites across the country resulting from the Agency’s enforcement program. As of the end of FY 2025, 870 sites are being cleaned up under 1,467 enforcement agreements and orders valued at approximately $25 billion in estimated cleanup costs. Visit the Information about the Superfund Cleanup Work Map web page for the map’s data overview, disclaimer language, and user guide.