Superfund, 1980-2015
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Superfund refers to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) program for monitoring and cleaning up contaminated waste sites. The EPA primarily supervises the removal of waste materials at these sites to return them to practical use. The EPA investigates sites to determine their potential placement on the National Priorities List, a list of all contaminated sites. Federal funds from the Superfund Trust Fund go toward the cleanup of Superfund sites or legal action against potentially liable site owners and operators.[1]
Background
The Superfund program began when Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA).[2]
The EPA uses a Hazard Ranking System (HRS) to determine which sites receive priority for remediation. The EPA will inspect sites to assess the level of contamination at each site. The EPA collects information about each site and assigns a score to each location. Additionally, the EPA consults with studies from other federal agencies to determine sites for the National Priorities List. The EPA is required by federal law to update the list once a year, and sites near the top of the list receive the most attention. Before federal funds for cleanup can be allocated to any potential contaminated site, the site must be listed on the National Priorities List.[3]
For cleanups at federal Superfund facilities (areas for which the federal government is responsible), federal agencies managing those sites are required to fund cleanup actions through their budgets. The U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Energy often handles cleanup actions.[1][2]
Superfund in the states
- See also State environmental policy
Below is a list of the ten states with the most Superfund sites as of February 2015.
| Ten states with the most Superfund sites | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | State | Number of Superfund sites | ||
| 1 | New Jersey | 114 | ||
| 2 | California | 97 | ||
| 3 | Pennsylvania | 95 | ||
| 4 | New York | 85 | ||
| 5 | Michigan | 65 | ||
| 6 | Florida | 53 | ||
| 7 | Washington and Texas | 50 | ||
| 8 | Illinois | 43 | ||
| 9 | North Carolina | 39 | ||
| 10 | Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio | 37 | ||
| Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Final National Priorities List (NPL) Sites - by State (as of February 9, 2015)," February 9, 2015 | ||||
Below is a list of the ten states with the fewest Superfund sites as of February 2015.
| States with the fewest Superfund sites | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | State | Number of Superfund sites | ||
| 1 | North Dakota | 0 | ||
| 2 | Nevada and South Dakota | 1 | ||
| 3 | Hawaii | 3 | ||
| 4 | Alaska and Idaho | 6 | ||
| 5 | Oklahoma | 7 | ||
| 6 | Mississippi | 8 | ||
| 7 | West Virginia | 9 | ||
| 8 | Louisiana | 10 | ||
| 9 | Rhode Island and Vermont | 12 | ||
| 10 | Oregon | 13 | ||
| Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Final National Priorities List (NPL) Sites - by State (as of February 9, 2015)," February 9, 2015 | ||||
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Superfund Glossary, S," accessed December 1, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Superfund Glossary, N," accessed November 25, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Introduction to the Hazard Ranking System (HRS)," accessed February 17, 2015
