Senate Democrats yesterday accused the Bush administration of dramatically slowing the pace of toxic waste cleanups under the Superfund program partly to help relieve industry of much of the associated costs.
A Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee summoned officials of the Superfund program to explain why the administration struck 25 sites from the list designated for restoration this year and why it shifted the bulk of the cost from industry to taxpayers. Congressional Democrats say recent polls show considerable voter concern over the administration's handling of the cleanup program, and yesterday's dust-up could have election-year implications.
"The Superfund program has made excellent progress over the years," said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairman of a Superfund oversight subcommittee. "Unfortunately, the most important parts of the program - the pace of the cleanup and the principle that the polluter must pay - are now under attack by this administration."
Sen. Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ), whose state contains 111 Superfund sites, said, "The idea of cutting back on the number of cleanups is outside the realm of the imaginable."
The Bush administration denies that its policy change is motivated by a desire to help chemical and oil companies and other businesses responsible for much of the toxic waste. Marianne L. Horinko, Environmental Protection Agency assistant administrator for solid waste and emergency response, testified that fewer sites have been targeted for completion because the EPA is facing more challenging, costly "megasites" than the more routine projects of the past.
"The size and complexity of these remaining sites generally indicate longer project durations and increased costs required to complete cleanup construction," Horinko said.
The government spends about $1.54 billion a year to clean up the nation's worst toxic waste dumps, using a combination of taxes levied on industry and individuals. The corporate tax that generated more than $1 billion a year to finance Superfund cleanups expired in 1995, and the Bush administration has refused to seek reauthorization of the levies. Horinko, however, said the president might reconsider that position in 2004 if the trust fund is nearly depleted.
Faced with dwindling reserves in the huge account - from $3.6 billion in 1995 to a projected $28 million in 2003 - the administration chose to designate fewer sites for completion this year and next while relying more heavily on general taxpayer revenue. More than 80 sites were cleaned up in each of the last four years of the Clinton administration, compared to about half that number under President Bush.
Last May, EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman told Congress that 75 sites on a national priority list would be cleaned up in 2001 and 65 would be completed this year. Subsequently, the administration revised its plan, calling for 47 completions in 2001 and 40 in 2002.
At the same time, the percentage of the cleanup cost covered by general tax dollars is rapidly rising. In 1995, 18 percent of the cost was covered by general revenue; by 2003, taxpayers will cover 54 percent.
Sen. James M. Jeffords (I-Vt.), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, joined Democrats in voicing concern that the administration's shift in funding for Superfund cleanups is affecting progress in site remediation. "All evidence points to a slowdown in the Superfund program," he said.
More than half the voters surveyed in late March on behalf of congressional Democrats identified the administration's handling of the Superfund cleanup as a major concern.
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