GAO: Superfund will run out of cleanup money next month

FROM THE ARCHIVE

URL: https://www.indianz.com/News/archives/001236.asp

Wednesday, September 3, 2003

The Superfund program will run out of money to clean up toxic waste sites next month, the General Accounting Office said in a report released on Tuesday.

The GAO said an industry-financed trust fund has just a few hundred million dollars in its account, down from $2 billion in 1995. Companies held liable for polluting the land are supposed to pay to the account. A special tax on corporations that also contributed to the fund expired in 1995.

The worst Superfund site in the country is in Tar Creek, Oklahoma. An estimated 70 million tons of mine waste have been left on land owned by individual Indians, mostly members of the Quapaw Tribe.

The tribe plans to sue mining companies to ensure cleanup of the land and for other damages, the tribe's chairman announced last month.

Get the Story:
Superfund To Run Out Of Money, GAO Says (The Washington Post 9/3)

Get the Report:
Superfund Program: Current Status and Future Fiscal Challenges (September 2, 2003)

Relevant Links:
Tar Creek Information Site - http://www.tarcreek.org
Tar Creek, State of Oklahoma - http://www.deq.state.ok.us/LPDnew/Tarcreek
Tar Creek Site, EPA - http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/rodsites/0601269.htm