INCREASING APPROPRIATION LEVELS FOR SUPERFUND
WHEREAS,
The Environmental Protection Agency has developed plans, designs, and records
of decision for the remediation of large hazardous waste sites, many of them
located in or near urban areas; and
WHEREAS,
such plans, designs, and records of decision were developed at great cost and
over many years, in close consultation with local and state governments; and
WHEREAS,
EPA and its state and local partners have fielded teams capable of remediating
such sites; and
WHEREAS,
because of inadequate funding, actual performance of the agreed upon
remedies has been put on hold, or slowed down; and
WHEREAS,
because of inadequate funding some large sites, such as New Bedford Harbor, in
New Bedford, MA, have been put on a 26 year cleanup schedule; and
WHEREAS,
such a stretched out remediation is likely to greatly increase the ultimate
cost of cleanup to the federal and state governments; and
WHEREAS,
such a stretched out or delayed cleanup schedule is likely to undermine the
feasibility of selected remedies, necessitating a new and expensive planning
and design process in the future; and
WHEREAS,
such delays perpetuate the public health and environmental threat posed by such
sites; and
WHEREAS,
delays in cleanup impose severe obstacles to economic development in many
cities; and
WHEREAS,
the money needs of many of the largest sites, which have been in the system for
many years, have created a blockage in the system, interfering with EPA’s
ability to list new sites or to perform remedies at smaller sites; and
WHEREAS,
the problems presented by large sites that are ready for construction can be
resolved through an increase in appropriations for Superfund of $300 million a
year for the next five years; and
WHEREAS,
such an increase would actually reduce the cost of the Superfund program over
time, and confer significant public health, environmental and economic benefits
on many American cities.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The U. S. Conference of Mayors urges
Congress to increase the appropriation for Superfund by $300 million a year for
the next five years, and to dedicate such increase to financing actual cleanup
at ready to go sites.
©2004 U.S. Conference of Mayors 