U.S. Proposes to Shift Costs of Superfund
The Reagan Administration today proposed a new Superfund law to expand cleanup operations of toxic waste dumps but force businesses and states to pay a larger share of the bill.
The legislation, unveiled by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee M. Thomas, proposes spending $5.3 billion over five years to clean up pollutants at more than 900 sites.
The EPA asked Congress to enact a new “waste end” tax that would be levied on all businesses depositing materials in toxic dumps or exporting such materials.
This tax would seek to raise $600 million a year, or more than half the money the EPA is proposing to spend on the Superfund program in each of the five years beginning Oct. 1.
First Five Years Ends
The Superfund program is now in the final months of its first five years of operation. The budget during those years has been $1.6 billion, with six dumps being cleaned up and operations beginning at 150 to 200 others.
The Administration also asked Congress to raise the states’ share of the cost of Superfund--from about $160 million a year to $320 million.
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