Frank Lautenberg: “The authorization level under the Superfund law for this year is $11.5 billion. The bill before us provides $1.27…”

“The authorization level under the Superfund law for this year is $11.5 billion. The bill before us provides $1.27 billion. Of that amount, 50 percent comes from the Superfund trust fund and the rest comes from general revenues. There is now about $120 million in unobligated funds left in the Superfund trust fund. My amendment takes $100 million of that and adds it to the $1.27 billion so that we can increase the number of contaminated sites we will be cleaning up, but also to give some encouragement to a group of highly trained professionals so they can look to a continuation of a career that has been devoted to getting these sites cleaned up. My amendment doesn't fully fund the program, but because the average cost of cleanup in a normal Superfund site is $12 million, this $100 million could help protect eight more communities from contaminated ground water and toxic soil in their neighborhoods. From the beginning, an important principle of Superfund has been that those responsible for the contamination should pay for the cleanup. The polluters--not the general public--should pay.”