HAZARDOUS WASTE [D] |
Federal funding for 'Superfund' cleanup of the nation's worst toxic waste sites has steadily declined since 1998, reaching its lowest level since 1986 in FY05. There are 1,237 contaminated sites on the National Priorities List, with possible listing of an additional 10,154. In 2003, there were 205 U.S. cities with "brownfields" sites awaiting cleanup and redevelopment. It is estimated that redevelopment of those sites would generate 576,373 new jobs and $1.9 billion annually for the economy.
Superfund
Despite nearly 25 years of effort and billions of dollars in federal expenditures, the cleanup of chemically contaminated waste sites remains a perplexing problem.
"Although substantial [cleanup] progress has been made over the past quarter century, a considerable amount of cleanup work remains," said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in late 2004.
Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) in December 1980. The program was initially intended to clean up about 400 high-priority hazardous waste sites nationally.
CERCLA also established the Superfund Trust Fund, which was created primarily from a corporate environmental income tax, and excise taxes on petroleum and specified chemicals. The Trust Fund received about $1.5 billion per year before the legislative authority to collect the taxes expired on December 31, 1995.
Between Fiscal Year 1981 and Fiscal Year 2005, Congress appropriated $29.3 billion to aid in the cleanup of hazardous waste sites under Superfund. Billions more were appropriated to clean up leaking underground storage tanks and "brownfields" sites. The states also have contributed billions to hazardous-waste cleanups.
But progress toward completing the nation's cleanup program for chemically contaminated properties has been sluggish. As many as 350,000 contaminated sites will require cleanup over the next 30 years, assuming that current regulations and practices remain the same, according to a recent EPA report. The national bill for this cleanup may amount to as much as $250 billion.[1]
As of November 2004, there were 1,237 civilian waste sites on the National Priorities List (NPL), with another 10,154 still to be evaluated for possible listing.[2]
Even as needs have grown, annual congressional appropriations for Superfund have steadily declined in recent years, after topping $2 billion in FY 1998. The appropriation for FY 2005 is $1.257 billion, the lowest since FY 1986. The Bush administration has proposed a budget of $1.279 billion for FY 2006, an increase of less than 2%.
Meanwhile, the pace of cleanups is slowing. For much of the 1990s, EPA averaged more than 70 construction-complete sites per year, but the number of newly completed sites has decreased dramatically since 2000. In FY 2003, there were just 40 NPL sites deemed to be complete, according to Resources for the Future, a nonpartisan environmental policy research organization.
Policy Options
In 2003, a total of 205 U.S. cities had 24,987 brownfield sites awaiting redevelopment, according to a survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. In addition, more than 150 cities had successfully redeveloped 922 brownfield sites, returning more than 10,000 acres to economic productivity. These actions resulted in $90 million in new municipal revenues to 45 cities, and more than 83,000 jobs to 74 cities, the survey found.
The American Jobs Creation Act, which the President signed on October 22, 2004, contains two brownfields provisions. One authorizes tax-exempt facility bonds for "green building and sustainable design projects" that include a brownfield and that meet other requirements. The other allows tax-exempt entities to invest in the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields without incurring unrelated business income taxes when the property is sold.
The American Society of Civil Engineers recommends the following policies:
- Congress must 1) reauthorize the federal Superfund taxes on chemicals, petroleum, and corporations; or 2) create another federal funding mechanism to revive the Hazardous Substance Superfund cleanup program and remove the cost of cleanup from the general fund.
- Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency must develop and implement legislation, including economic incentive programs, that consider environmental costs and encourage hazardous waste reduction "at the source" (point of generation) and the design of reuse programs.
Brownfields
In 2003, a total of 205 U.S. cities had 24,987 brownfield sites awaiting redevelopment, according to a survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. In addition, more than 150 cities had successfully redeveloped 922 brownfield sites, returning more than 10,000 acres to economic productivity. These actions resulted in $90 million in new municipal revenues to 45 cities, and more than 83,000 jobs to 74 cities, the survey found.
Of the 205 cities with idle brownfields, 148 reported that 576,373 new jobs and as much as $1.9 billion annually could be generated were brownfield sites redeveloped.
"[T]he most frequently identified impediment[s] to redevelopment of these sites [are] lack of cleanup funds, liability issues, and the need for environmental assessments," the survey reported. "Three-quarters of respondents said that additional resources are needed to attract greater private-sector investment."
The American Jobs Creation Act, which the President signed on October 22, 2004, contains two brownfields provisions. One authorizes tax-exempt facility bonds for "green building and sustainable design projects" that include a brownfield and that meet other requirements. The other allows tax-exempt entities to invest in the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields without incurring unrelated business income taxes when the property is sold.
Another law, the Working Families Tax Relief Act, signed on October 4, 2004, reinstated the brownfields tax incentive through December 31, 2005. The incentive allows property developers to fully deduct the costs of environmental cleanup in the same year that the costs are incurred.
Finally, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, signed in January 2002, provides for: 1) a program to provide assessment grants to characterize, assess, and conduct planning at brownfield sites, and to perform targeted site assessments; and 2) a program to provide remediation grants to capitalize revolving loan funds, or to be used directly to clean up one or more sites.
Assessment grants are limited to $200,000, which EPA may increase to $350,000 based on the anticipated level of contamination, the size, or the ownership status of a site. The remediation grants may be awarded on a community-wide or site-by-site basis, and are limited to $1 million. The law authorizes $200 million for each of five years for these programs, and dedicates $50 million per year (or 25% of the amount appropriated, if less than $200 million) for the assessment and cleanup of relatively low-risk sites contaminated with petroleum or petroleum products. Technical assistance, training and research are also authorized.
The law also authorizes $50 million per year for five years to assist states in establishing or enhancing their voluntary cleanup programs, which addresses contaminated sites that do not require federal action, but require cleanup before they can be considered for reuse. States may also use these grants to capitalize a revolving loan fund or to develop a risk-sharing pool, an indemnity pool, or insurance mechanism to provide financing for response actions.
The 2002 Act clarifies the Superfund law's "innocent landowner" defense. CERCLA provides a defense against liability for a person who unknowingly purchases contaminated land, provided that the person made "all appropriate inquiry" prior to the transaction. It spells out what comprises all appropriate inquiry that a purchaser must perform in order to qualify as an innocent landowner under the law. These provisions apply to all contaminated sites, not just brownfields.
In August 2004, EPA published a proposed rule that would require all appropriate inquiries to be signed by an environmental professional. The professional would be required to either have a current professional engineer's license or to hold an engineering degree in addition to a minimum of five years of relevant experience.[3]
The American Society of Civil Engineers recommends the following policies:
- Congress must 1) reauthorize the federal Superfund taxes on chemicals, petroleum, and corporations; or 2) create another federal funding mechanism to revive the Hazardous Substance Superfund cleanup program and remove the cost of cleanup from the general fund.
- Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency must develop and implement legislation, including economic incentive programs, that consider environmental costs and encourage hazardous waste reduction "at the source" (point of generation) and the design of reuse programs.
Policy Options
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) supports:
- Existing federal programs to finance the revitalization of America's brownfields
- A Brownfields Redevelopment Action Grant (BRAG) program within EPA to provide investment funds for local governments to leverage private investment in brownfields redevelopment in order to help preserve farmland and open spaces
Sources
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Summary of EPA's 2006 Budget, February 2005
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cleaning up the Nation's Waste Sites: Markets and Technology Trends, November 2004
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CERCLIS Database, http://cfpub.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/srchsites.cfm (last updated Nov. 13, 2004) (last visited Dec. 9, 2004)
Congressional Research Service, Brownfields and Superfund Issues, July 2004
Resources for the Future, Success for Superfund: A New Approach to Keeping Score, April 2004
U.S. Conference of Mayors, Recycling America's Land: A National Report on Brownfields Redevelopment, Volume IV, June 2003
ASCE Policy Statement 299, "Infrastructure Improvement Policy," 2003
ASCE Policy Statement 305, "Superfund Reauthorization," 2002
ASCE Policy Statement 331, "Hazardous Waste Reduction and Management," 2004
ASCE Policy Statement 453, "Federal Capital Budgeting," 2000
ASCE Policy Statement 131, "Growth and Development," 2003
ASCE Policy Statement 299, "Infrastructure Improvement Policy," 2003
ASCE Policy Statement 453, "Federal Capital Budgeting" 2000
ASCE Policy Statement 485, "Revitalization of Brownfields," 2004
[1] Approximately $32 billion of this total will be needed for more than 700 sites on the NPL, which is reserved for the worst Superfund sites. The great preponderance of the total expenditure will be borne by the owners of the properties (private entities and various government agencies) and those potentially responsible for the contamination, according to the EPA.
[2] The Defense Department and the Department of Energy list another 11,400 sites that must be cleaned up using annual department appropriations.
[3] The American Society of Civil Engineers was one of 25 parties that negotiated the proposed rule with EPA in 2003-2004.
