[Mb-civic] NYTimes.com Article: Superfund, Shortchanged

[michael at intrafi.com]

The article below from NYTimes.com 
has been sent to you by michael at intrafi.com.



/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\

 I HEART HUCKABEES - OPENING IN SELECT CITIES OCTOBER 1

 From David O. Russell, writer and director of THREE KINGS
 and FLIRTING WITH DISASTER comes an existential comedy
 starring Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Hupert, Jude Law, Jason
 Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, Mark Wahlberg and Naomi Watts.
 Watch the trailer now at:

 http://www.foxsearchlight.com/huckabees/index_nyt.html

\----------------------------------------------------------/


Superfund, Shortchanged

August 23, 2004
 


 

In 1995, Congress refused to reauthorize the corporate
taxes that underwrite Superfund, the federal program
enacted in 1980 to clean up toxic waste sites. President
Bill Clinton made only a feeble effort to get the taxes
reinstated, and President Bush hasn't even done that. One
of the nation's most successful environmental programs is
now wholly dependent on general tax revenues appropriated
by Congress. And Congress shows no enthusiasm for giving
the program the money it needs. 

John Dingell, the ranking Democrat on the House committee
that oversees the program, has discovered that dozens of
eligible Superfund sites will go begging because of a $250
million shortfall in the present fiscal year, which ends in
six weeks. That's on top of a $175 million shortfall last
year. Things are likely to get worse before they get
better: a House appropriations subcommittee recently
rejected the Environmental Protection Agency's request for
an extra $150 million for next year. 

This would not have happened if Congress had been faithful
to the program's original principles, the most important of
which was that polluters should pay. That principle has
traditionally been enforced in two ways. In cases where the
company responsible for the pollution could be clearly
identified, that company paid to clean it up. For sites
whose ownership had passed through several hands, or where
the owner had gone bankrupt, Congress established a special
"orphan fund" financed mainly by excise taxes on big
polluters like the oil and chemical industries. These are
the taxes that Congress allowed to expire in 1995. 

The orphan fund is now dry, and the program is forced to
compete with every other domestic program at a time when
discretionary dollars are scarce. As a result, cleanups
languish. It is within Congress's power to restore the
program to financial health. Having let principle go down
the drain a decade ago, that seems the least it can do. 



http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/23/opinion/23mon3.html?ex=1094286953&ei=1&en=51a205f97baf5498


---------------------------------

Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine
reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like!
Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy
now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here:

http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1&ExternalMediaCode=W24AF



HOW TO ADVERTISE
---------------------------------
For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters 
or other creative advertising opportunities with The 
New York Times on the Web, please contact
onlinesales at nytimes.com or visit our online media 
kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo

For general information about NYTimes.com, write to 
help at nytimes.com.  

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company