Superfund & Brownfields News Release (HQ): EPA Supports Superfund "Polluter Pays" Provision
*CONTACT:* Latisha Petteway petteway.latisha@epa.gov 202-564-3191 202-564-4355 *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE* June 21, 2010 *EPA Supports Superfund "Polluter Pays" Provision* "Agency submits administration's guidance to Congress " * WASHINGTON* - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today sent a letter to Congress in support of reinstating the lapsed Superfund "polluter pays" taxes. Superfund is the federal government's program that investigates and cleans up the nation's most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites. If reinstated, the Superfund provision would provide a stable, dedicated source of revenue for the program and increase the pace of Superfund cleanup. It would also ensure that parties who benefit from the manufacture or sale of substances that commonly cause environmental problems at hazardous waste sites, and not taxpayers, help bear the cost of cleanup when responsible parties cannot be identified. "Since the beginning of this administration we have made it clear that we support the reinstatement of the polluter pays system for the Superfund program," said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. "Our taxes should be paying for teachers, police officers and infrastructure that is essential for sustainable growth -- not footing the bill for polluters. Today, we are formalizing our call to Congress to pass this important legislation and ensure responsible steps to keep our communities clean. In the meantime, EPA is taking action to better manage the Superfund program to increase cleanups and enhance transparency, accountability, and community input in agency decision-making." The Superfund taxes expired on December 31, 1995. Since the expiration of the taxes, Superfund program funding has been largely financed from General Revenue transfers to the Superfund Trust Fund, thus burdening the taxpayer with the costs of cleaning up abandoned hazardous waste sites. The administration is proposing to reinstate the taxes as they were last in effect on crude oil, imported petroleum products, hazardous chemicals, and imported substances that use hazardous chemicals as a feedstock, and on corporate modified alternative minimum taxable income. Under the administration's proposal, the excise taxes and corporate environmental taxes would be reinstated for a period of 10 years beginning in January 2011. More information on the Superfund program: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/ R220 Note: If a link above doesn't work, please copy and paste the URL into a browser. View all news releases related to Superfund and Brownfields [ http://service.govdelivery.com/service/edition.html?code=USAEPA_23&format=Web&email_type=bulletin ] ________________________________________________________________________ BP Oil Spill Response: Web site [ http://www.epa.gov/bpspill ] | Get email updates [ http://service.govdelivery.com/service/subscribe.html?code=USAEPA_389 ] EPA Seal You can view or update your subscriptions or e-mail address at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page [ https://service.govdelivery.com/service/user.html?code=USAEPA&login=##email## ]. All you will need is your e-mail address. If you have any questions or problems e-mail support@govdelivery.com for assistance. This service is provided to you at no charge by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [ http://www.epa.gov/ ]. Visit Us on Facebook [ http://facebook.com/epa ] Visit Us on Twitter [ http://twitter.com/epagov ] Visit Us on YouTube [ http://youtube.com/usepagov ] Visit Us on flickr [ http://flickr.com/usepagov ] This email was sent to ##email##. Sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency . 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW . Washington DC 20460 . 202-564-4355