CSM Article- Superfund

As a result of factories, mines, military bases and other pollutant sources of the like, a federal program called Superfund was developed in 1980. When originally founded, the program paid nearly $1 billion per year towards cleaning toxic areas of the environment; yet now, Superfund is nearly bankrupt. The number of sites cleaned-up annually has primarily declined because sites are so large and polluted, the cost is too immense. Superfund now questions where it will get its financing from, as in the past, the source of such pollution was required to pay. Recently, however, owners of these companies have gone bankrupt and therefore, cannot afford to pay for the massive clean-up. With the Superfund trust continually shrinking, the burden has been placed upon taxpayers of the given community. Another ill effect of these large projects includes the discouragement of potential urban developers, as when they look into purchasing a piece of polluted land, buyers learn they might carry the burden of paying for the project. Although Superfund intends to continue in its mission to clean-up toxic areas, the question remains as to how the federal program can afford these extensive projects.


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