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Superfund
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Superfund Success Stories

It′s easy to forget that there was a time in the United States when EPA lacked the legal authority to clean up hazardous waste sites like Love Canal, New York, or to respond to emergencies such as train derailments involving dangerous chemicals. Even though the EPA had been established for ten years, it was not until December 11, 1980, that President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund). This historic new statute gave EPA the authority to clean up uncontrolled hazardous waste sites and spills. These are just a few examples of the many cleanup success stories throughout the history of the Superfund Program.

Industriplex Transport Center and Wetlands Superfund Site, After Cleanup
Region 1
(ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT)
  • Eastland Woolen Mill
  • Fletcher's Paint Works & Storage
  • Otis Air National Guard Base/Joint Base Cape Cod
Roebling Steel Superfund Site, after cleanup
Region 2
(NY, NJ, PR, VI)
  • Brick Township Landfill
  • Roebling Steel
  • Marathon Battery
  • Hudson River PCBs
Avtex Superfund Site, Before Cleanup
Region 3
(PA, DE, DC, MD, VA, WV)
  • Avtex Fibers, Inc.
  • Havertown PCP
  • Palmerton Zinc
  • Tobyhanna Army Depot
  • Philadelphia Navy Yard
TVA Kingston Superfund Site, after cleanup
Region 4
(KY, TN, NC, SC, MS, AL, GA, FL)
  • Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp.
  • Jacksonville Ash
  • TVA Kingston
  • Savannah River
Reilly Tar and Chemical Superfund site, after cleanup
Region 5
(IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI)
  • Reilly Tar & Chemical Corp. (Indianapolis Plant)
  • Joliet Army Ammunition Plant
  • Celotex Corporation
RSR Corporation Superfund Site, After Cleanup
Region 6
(NM, TX, OK, AR, LA)
  • RSR Corporation
  • Pantex Plant (USDOE)
  • Tar Creek Catholic 40
Chemical Commodities Superfund site, after cleanup
Region 7
(NE, KS, IA, MO)
  • Carter Carburetor
  • Omaha Lead
  • Kansas City Structural Steel
  • Lake City Army Ammunition Plant
  • Chemical Commodities, Inc.
California Gulch Superfund Site, After Cleanup
Region 8
(MT, ND, WY, SD, UT, CO)
  • Midvale Slag
  • California Gulch
  • Elysian Park
  • Milltown Reservoir Sediments
  • Eureka Mills
  • Libby Asbestos
  • Rocky Mountain Arsenal
Pemaco Maywood Superfund Site, After Cleanup
Region 9
(CA, NV, AZ, HI, and Pacific Territories)

No featured sites at this time.

Bunker Hill Superfund Site, After Cleanup
Region 10
(WA, OR, ID, AK)
  • Black Butte Mine
  • Hanford
  • Bunker Hill (Coeur d'alene Basin)

Learn About Superfund

Superfund is the name given to the environmental program established to address abandoned hazardous waste sites. It is also the name of the fund established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA statute, CERCLA overview). This law was enacted in the wake of the discovery of toxic waste dumps such as Love Canal and Times Beach in the 1970s. It allows the EPA to clean up such sites and to compel responsible parties to perform cleanups or reimburse the government for EPA-lead cleanups.

Webinar: EPA co-sponsored a public seminar with the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), CERCLA @35: Looking Back, Looking Forward, on December 10, 2015. Panelists discussed the origins of Superfund, highlighted some of the successes and shortcomings of the program in its early years, and addressed the legacy of Superfund in a larger context, examining where contaminated site regulation and cleanup may go from here, and extrapolating lessons other jurisdictions can learn from the Superfund experience of the United States. 

  • This Is Superfund: A Community Guide to EPA’s Superfund Program (PDF) (EPA 540-R-11-021) (August 2011) (12 pp, 1.1MB)
  • Notable milestones for Superfund and other cleanup programs are available on our interactive timeline.
  • Superfund Home
  • Learn About Superfund
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Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on March 7, 2022
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