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Pallone Renews Call for Polluter Pays Principle on Superfund 30th Anniversary

December 2, 2010
Washington, D.C. – On the 30th anniversary of the Superfund program Congressman Pallone stressed that fully funding the program could go far towards cleaning up over 1,000 contaminated sites around the country. EPA’s Superfund program is responsible for the ongoing cleanup of numerous sites including the Imperial Oil and Raritan Bay Slag Superfund sites. The taxes on the oil and chemical industry that originally funded the program expired in 1995 and since then the fund has relied on general revenues from Congress.

“Over the past 30 years the Superfund program has prevented millions of people from being exposed to hazardous substances but we need full funding to continue the clean up of New Jersey’s toxic waste sites,” said Pallone. “We need to renew the tax on the oil and chemical industry to fully fund this program and prevent these contaminants from seeping into our drinking wells, backyards and playgrounds. The burden shouldn’t be on taxpayers to cleanup these sites. The polluters should pay the cost.”

Pallone has always championed cleaning up New Jersey’s toxic sites so they can be redeveloped to benefit local communities. New Jersey is home to a large number of the country’s toxic waste sites and in the past has benefited significantly from the Superfund program.

Before the oil and chemical industry corporate taxes lapsed, they provided most of the revenues for the Superfund Trust Fund. As it exists today general revenues, which come primarily from individual income taxes, are the only source of funding.

Legislation introduced by Pallone adds mere cents to a barrel of crude oil and other chemicals which could raise an estimated $18.9 billion in revenue over the next 10 years.