Superfund

What's New

On December 13, 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a company which voluntarily undertakes a cleanup of property which might qualify as a Superfund site does not have the right to sue other contributory parties to share in the cleanup costs under the CERCLA law. In the 7 to 2 decision, the Court said the contribution provision of the Superfund law does not authorize a private party to sue a potentially responsible party unless an enforcement action is filed first.

NPRA Position

In the past, the Superfund program taxed petroleum and chemical companies in order to finance a large share of the program. It is estimated that these industries have paid approximately 57% of all taxes collected to support the Superfund program, while they are responsible for less than 10% of all Superfund cleanup liability. In addition, companies pay directly to clean up sites for which they have responsibility. NPRA believes that if Congress wishes to address the Superfund program, its focus should be on comprehensive reforms to the program itself and forego any re-imposition of taxes until thoroughgoing program reform is approved and implemented.

Click Here to View NPRA Superfund letter (pdf)

Issue Brief

The most recent action taken by the 108th Congress regarding the Superfund program was the defeat of Senate Amendment 2703 to the fiscal year 2005 Budget Appropriations Bill by a vote of 44-52 on March 11, 2004. The amendment, sponsored by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), would have reinstated the Superfund tax. The vote came after the release of two new documents. The first, a letter sent by the GAO to Senator Jim Jeffords (I- VT) on February 18, 2003, showed that Superfund program appropriations have “decreased from fiscal year 1993 to fiscal year 2004, in constant 2003 dollars, from $1,903 million to $1,241 million, respectively.” The second, released by EPA on March 1, 2004, reports that non-traditional Superfund treatment projects have increased to 791 in 2003 from 629 in 2000.

Amendments to reinstate the Superfund taxes were defeated in the Senate earlier in the 108th Congress. An amendment to reinstate Superfund taxes was defeated on April 2, 2003, by a 12-to-9 vote during the Senate Finance Committee markup of the energy tax incentives bill (S. 597). The amendment was offered as an attempt to offset the cost of the energy tax bill. The Finance Committee later approved the $15.5 billion bill which addresses conservation, production, and alternative energy sources. In the 107th Congress, several bills were introduced to reimpose the Superfund tax. Congress enacted Public Law 107-118 which exempts small businesses and communities from liability for small quantities of non-hazardous waste sent to Superfund sites on the National Priority List. The law also authorizes funds for the cleanup of brownfield sites.

Roll Call Vote on Senate Amendment 2703

Click Here to View the GAO Letter (pdf)

EPA Report

The goal of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) was to make those responsible for the improper disposal of hazardous waste bear the costs of and accept responsibility for their actions. CERCLA also established the Hazardous Substance Superfund Trust Fund (Trust Fund) to finance response actions in cases in which a liable party cannot be found or is incapable of paying cleanup costs.

The Trust Fund was principally financed by three excise taxes on oil and chemicals and an environmental tax on corporate taxable income. The original three excise taxes were a per barrel tax on refinery crude oil and imported petroleum products; a per ton tax imposed on designated chemicals; and a per ton tax on imported substances that contain or were derived from any of the feedstock chemicals listed.

CERCLA was amended in 1986 by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA). Under SARA, the petroleum tax was increased 10-fold. A new tax was also imposed on the corporate minimum taxable income. Collectively these taxes generated approximately $1.5 billion annually for the Trust Fund. These taxes expired in December 1995 and have not been reauthorized.