Good afternoon Mr. Chairman, and Members of the Subcommittee. I am pleased to have this opportunity to appear before you to discuss the Agency's record of accomplishments over the past seven years in fundamentally improving the Superfund program, and Superfund's necessary role in cleaning up our nation's most contaminated properties. Further, I will discuss the important role we play in helping states, local governments, the private sector, and communities address the problem of brownfields.
First, I believe we must recognize Superfund's important mission. Superfund is dedicated to protecting public health and the environment for citizens, no matter where they live in the country, through targeted cleanups of our nation's hazardous waste sites, including those caused by the Federal government. These sites pose a very real problem. Studies by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) show a variety of health effects that are associated with Superfund sites, including birth defects, reductions in birth weight, changes in pulmonary function, changes in neurobehavorial function, infertility, and changes in blood cells that are associated with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. EPA works closely with ATSDR to evaluate the impacts of contaminated sites on public health. EPA also works with other federal agencies to assess the significant adverse impacts Superfund sites have had on natural resources and the environment.
SUPERFUND PROGRESS
The Superfund program is making significant progress in cleaning up hazardous waste sites on the National Priorities List (NPL). The Agency has increased Superfund productivity - from cleaning up 65 sites per year to cleaning up at least 85 sites per year in each of the past three years. As of September 30, 1999, 92% of the sites on the NPL are either undergoing cleanup construction (remedial or removal) or are completed:
680 Superfund sites have reached construction completion 442 Superfund sites have cleanup construction underway More than 1000 NPL sites have final cleanup plans approved An additional 204 sites have had or are undergoing a removal cleanup action.
By the end of the 106th Congress, EPA will have completed cleanup construction at approximately 60% of all non-Federal sites currently on the NPL.
In addition, more than 6,000 removal actions have been taken at hazardous waste sites to stabilize dangerous situations and immediately reduce the threat to public health and the environment. Close to 32,000 sites have been removed from the Superfund inventory of potentially hazardous waste sites (CERCLIS) to help promote the economic redevelopment of these properties.
Through three rounds of Administrative Reforms, EPA has made Superfund a fairer, more effective, and more efficient program. EPA has implemented reforms in seven major program categories: cleanup, enforcement, risk assessment, public participation and environmental justice, economic redevelopment, innovative technology, and State and Tribal empowerment. EPA is fully committed to continuing to implement these reforms and integrate them into base program operations.
INCREASING THE PACE OF SITE CLEANUPS
The Superfund program is making significant progress in accelerating the pace of cleanup, while ensuring protection of public health and the environment. The accelerated pace of completing cleanups is demonstrable. More than three times as many Superfund sites have had construction completed in the past seven years than in all of the prior twelve years of the program combined. In the past three years, FY 1997 - FY 1999, EPA completed construction at 260 sites - far more than during the first 12 years of the program (155 sites). EPA is on track to achieve the President's goal of completing cleanup construction at 970 Superfund sites by the end of FY 2002.
PRIVATE PARTY FUNDING OF CLEANUPS
EPA's "Enforcement First" strategy has resulted in responsible parties performing or paying for more than 70% of long-term cleanups since 1991, thereby conserving the Superfund Trust Fund for sites for which there are no viable or liable responsible parties. This approach has saved taxpayers more than $16 billion to date -- more than $13 billion in response settlements, and nearly $2.5 billion in cost recovery settlements.
PROTECTING HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The Superfund program's accomplishments are significant in reducing both human health and ecological risks posed by dangerous chemicals in the air, soil, and water. The Superfund program has cleaned over 232 million cubic yards of hazardous soil, solid waste, and sediment and over 349 billion gallons of hazardous liquid-based waste, groundwater, and surface water. In addition, the program has supplied over 431,000 people at NPL and non-NPL sites with alternative water supplies in order to protect them from contaminated groundwater and surface water. Over 22,900 people at NPL and non-NPL sites have been relocated in instances where contamination posed the most severe immediate threats.
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS
Stakeholders inform us that EPA's Superfund Reforms have already addressed the primary areas of the program that they believe needed improvement. EPA remains committed to fully implementing the Administrative Reforms and refining or improving them where necessary. Below are Superfund performance highlights through FY 1999.
REMEDY REVIEW BOARD
EPA's National Remedy Review Board (the Board) is continuing its targeted review of complex and high-cost cleanup plans, prior to final remedy selection, without delaying the overall pace of cleanup. Since the Board's inception in October 1995, it has reviewed a total of 43 site cleanup decisions, resulting in estimated cost savings of approximately $70 million.
UPDATING REMEDY DECISIONS
In addition to the work of the Board, EPA has achieved great success in updating cleanup decisions made in the early years of the Superfund program to accommodate changing science and technology. In fact, the Updating Remedy Decisions reform is one of EPA's most successful reforms, based on its frequent use and the amount of money saved. After four years of activity, more than $1.4 billion in future cost reductions are estimated as a result of the Agency's review and update of 300 remedies. It is important to stress that the future cost reductions described above can be achieved without sacrificing the protection of public health and the current pace of the program.
REMEDY SELECTION
Under the current statutory framework, providing for a preference for treatment of waste and permanent solutions to the maximum extent practicable, the Superfund program is focusing on treatment of toxic hot spots and requiring treatment in fewer instances when selecting remedies. Costs of cleanups are decreasing dramatically because of a number of factors, including: the use of presumptive remedies; the use of reasonably anticipated future land use determinations, which allow cleanups to be tailored to specific sites; and the use of a phased approach to defining objectives and methods for ground water cleanups. As a result of these factors, EPA has reduced the cost of cleanup by approximately 20 percent.
PROMOTING FAIRNESS THROUGH SETTLEMENTS
EPA has addressed concerns of stakeholders regarding the fairness of the liability system by discouraging private party law suits against small volume waste contributors that have limited responsibility for pollution at a site. EPA has protected over 21,000 small volume contributors (about two-thirds of these in the last four years) from expensive private contribution suits through the negotiation of more than 430 de minimis settlements. EPA continues to prevent the big polluters from dragging untold numbers of the smallest "de micromis" contributors of waste into contribution litigation by publicly offering to any de micromis party $0 (i.e., no-cost) settlements that would provide protection from lawsuits by other potentially responsible parties (PRPs).
ORPHAN SHARE COMPENSATION AND SPECIAL ACCOUNTS
Since fiscal year 1996, EPA has offered orphan share compensation for past costs and future oversight costs or approximately $175 million at 98 sites to responsible parties willing to negotiate long-term cleanup settlements. EPA will continue the process at every eligible site. Through 1999, EPA has collected and placed $486 million in 133 interest bearing special accounts for site specific future work. In addition, over $85 million in interest has accrued in these accounts. This reform ensures that monies recovered in certain settlements are directed to work at a particular site. At a number of sites, this money can make a great difference in making settlements work. In FY 1998, EPA set aside and then spent more than $40 million of Superfund response money in new settlements for mixed work or mixed funding.
OTHER SUPERFUND PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS STATES
EPA continues to work with States and Indian tribes as key partners in the cleanup of Superfund hazardous waste sites. During the last two years, FY 1998 and FY 1999. EPA provided close to $225 million to States sharing in the management of response activities at sites. EPA is increasing the number of sites where States and Tribes are taking a lead role in assessment and cleanup, using the appropriate mechanisms under the current law. With the May 1998 release of the "Plan to Enhance the Role of States and Tribes in the Superfund Program," the Superfund program is expanding opportunities for increased State and Tribal involvement in the program. Seventeen pilot projects with States and Tribes have been initiated through this plan.
In addition, over the last five to six years, States, Tribes, and EPA have developed ways under existing statutory authorities of dividing contaminated site work in a manner that fits the needs of the sites and the interests and abilities of each regulatory agency -- reducing overlap and duplication in favor of more complementary, mutually supportive arrangements. The Administration believes that this partnership is working to achieve a dramatic number of cleanups across the country. Today's State, Federal and Tribal programs comprehensively address the scope of the hazardous waste contamination problem.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
The Superfund program is committed to an open decision-making process that fully involves citizens in site cleanup by providing the community with timely information and by improving the community's understanding of the potential health risks at a site. Superfund accomplishes this involvement through outreach efforts, such as public meetings and site-specific fact sheets. EPA has enhanced community involvement through the successful implementation
of reforms such as: the EPA Regional Ombudsmen, who continue to serve as a direct point of contact for stakeholders to address their concerns at Superfund sites; the Internet pages, which continue to provide information to our varied stakeholders on issues related to both cleanup and enforcement; and the Technical Assistance Grants (TAGs), Community Advisory Groups (CAGs), Restoration Advisory Boards (RABs) and Site-specific Advisory Boards (SSABs).
The TAG program provides eligible community groups with financial assistance to procure technical consultants to assist them in understanding the contamination problems and their potential solutions. This understanding helps them participate in decisions made at sites. EPA has awarded 220 TAGs (valued at over $16 million) to various groups since the program's inception in 1988. The Agency plans to publish revisions to the TAG regulation by the summer of 2000 to simplify the TAG program further.
The CAG program enables representatives of diverse community interests to present and discuss their needs and concerns related to a Superfund site with Federal, State, Tribal and local government officials. The number of sites with CAGs increased by over 50 percent before the CAG program was officially taken out of the pilot stage. CAGs have been created at 51 non- federal facility sites.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AT FEDERAL FACILITIES
The Superfund Federal facilities response program also recognizes that various stakeholder groups need the capacity to participate effectively in the cleanup process. The program has entered into partnerships and awarded cooperative agreement
grants to State, Tribal, and local associations, and to community-based organizations. The grants focus on training for affected communities, participation of citizens on advisory boards, access to information, and implementation of the Federal Facility Environmental Restoration Dialogue Committee (~ERDC) principles. These grants offer the opportunity to leverage valuable resources, build trust, and reach a wider audience.
The Superfund Federal facilities response program is a strong proponent of involving communities in the restoration decision-making process and recognizes that input from Restoration Advisory Boards (RAB) and Site-Specific Advisory Boards (SSAB) has been essential to making response decisions and, in some cases, reducing costs. Increasing community involvement, Restoration Advisory Board/Site-Specific Advisory Board support (RAB/SSAB), and partnering with States, Tribes and other stakeholders are high priority activities for EPA. There are over 300 RABs and 12 SSABs throughout the country.
REVITALIZING AMERICA'S LAND BROWNFIELDS
Through its brownfields program, EPA helps communities clean up and develop less
contaminated brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived contamination. The Brownfields Initiative plays a key role in the Administration's goal of building strong and healthy communities for the 21st century. The Initiative represents a comprehensive approach to empowering States, local governments, communities, and other stakeholders interested in environmental cleanup and economic redevelopment to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and reuse brownfields. The Administration believes strongly that environmental protection and economic progress are inextricably linked. Rather than separate the challenges facing our communities, the Brownfields Initiative seeks to bring all parties to the table -- and to provide a framework that enables them to seek common ground on the range of challenges: environmental, economic, legal and financial. The EPA brownfields pilot programs form the basis for new and more effective partnerships. In many cases, local government environmental specialists are sitting down together with the city's economic development experts for the first time. Others are joining in -- businesses, local residents, and community activists.
The Brownfields Assessment Pilots have formed a major component of the Brownfields Initiative since its announcement a little more than 5 years ago. The Agency has awarded 307 Brownfields Site Assessment Demonstration Pilots, funded at up to $200,000 each, to States, Tribes, and communities. In FY 2000, the Agency will fund as many as 50 additional assessment pilots of at up to $200,000 each and 50 existing Brownfields Site Assessment Demonstration Pilots for up to $150,000 each, in order to enable continuation and expansion of their brownfields efforts. For FY 2001, the Administration has requested $8 million to provide funding and technical support for 40 assessment pilots at up to $200,000 each. Selected through a competitive process, these pilots help communities to demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of reclaiming brownfields properties, to explore ways of leveraging financial resources, and to model strategies for the organization of public and private sector support. Small towns and large cities both have been recipients of the grants. Combined with the Agency's property assessment efforts, these pilots have resulted in the assessment of 1687 brownfield properties, cleanup of 116 properties, redevelopment of 151 properties, and a determination that 590 properties did not need additional cleanup. To date, over 5,800 jobs have been generated as a result of the program. Pilot communities have reported a leveraged economic impact of over $1.8 billion.
As EPA works to implement a comprehensive brownfields strategy, the Agency has developed a "second-stage" type of brownfields pilot program. Those pilots, known as the Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund (BCRLF) Pilots are designed to enable eligible States, Tribes, and political subdivisions to capitalize revolving loan funds for use in the cleanup and sustainable reuse of brownfields. EPA's goal for these pilots is to develop revolving loan fund models that can be used by communities to promote coordinated public and private partnerships for the cleanup and reuse of brownfields. Eligible applicants for BCRLF pilots are entities previously awarded brownfield assessment pilots. In addition, coalitions formed among these entities and political subdivisions with jurisdiction over sites that have been the subject of a targeted brownfield pilot are eligible for BCRLF awards.
To date, 68 BCRLF pilots have been awarded. These pilots represent 88 communities. and include pilot awards to individual eligible entities and to coalitions. Three BCRLF loans have been made. The Stamford, CT, pilot has issued two loans. The first loan, for $250,000. will be used to clean up property that is part of a larger waterfront redevelopment project. This loan is expected to leverage $50 million of private redevelopment funds and generate 200 construction jobs and twelve full-time permanent jobs. The Las Vegas, NV, BCRLF pilot has made a $50,000 loan to clean up the property of a former National Guard armory site, This cleanup has already been completed. EPA is in the process of reviewing FY 2000 BCRLF pilot applications representing more than 60 communities. Among other requirements, pilot applicants are being asked to demonstrate an ability to manage a revolving loan fund and environmental cleanups. The Agency anticipates announcements in May of new pilot awards of up to $500,000 each and has requested funding to support BCRLFs in FY 2001 as well.
The Brownfields National Partnership continues to support Brownfields reuse through work with a variety of stakeholders. It represents a multi-faceted partnership among Federal agencies to demonstrate the benefits of coordinated and collaborative activity on brownfields. To date, the partners estimate spending more than $385 million for Brownfields work, with another $141 million in loan guarantees. The centerpiece of the National Partnership was designation of 16 Brownfields Showcase Communities in 1998. These Showcase Communities are distributed across the country and vary in size, resources, and community type. The Federal partners plan to designate 10 new Showcase Communities in FY 2001.
To help local citizens take advantage of the new jobs created by assessment and cleanup of brownfields, EPA began its Brownfields Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilot program in 1998. To date, EPA has awarded 21 pilots to applicants located within or near brownfield communities. Colleges, universities, nonprofit training centers, and community job training organizations, as well as States, Tribes, and communities, were eligible to apply for these pilots. In both FY 2000 and FY 2001, EPA plans to fund 10 additional job training pilots at up to $200,000 each. In addition, EPA will continue to provide $3 million to the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences to support worker training at Brownfields sites.
SUPERFUND REDEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE
The Brownfields Initiative foreshadowed an increased interest in the reuse of Superfund sites. Now that the Agency has analyzed and documented reuse that already is occurring at certain Superfund sites, the Superfund Redevelopment Initiative (SRI) has been formed to document these successes and to explore additional opportunities at other sites engaged in the selection of Superfund remedies and designs. Through a program of pilots, policies, and promotion, EPA and its partners are working to "recycle" sites into productive use that once were thought to be unusable, without sacrificing Superfund cleanup principles. EPA has selected 10 pilot sites already and, by the end of FY 2000, plans to complete a competitive process to choose 40 additional pilot sites. Eligible local governments receive direct financial assistance of up to $100,000 to undertake reuse assessments and undertake public outreach. EPA will offer facilitation service to communities to support reuse efforts and has established a peer matching program to enable local governments to share their experiences about successful Superfund reuse projects.
Successful Superfund site reuse is being demonstrated at the Industriplex site, in Woburn, Massachusetts. Through a private/public partnership, this site will become a regional transportation center with over 200,000 square feet of retail space and potentially over 750,000 square feet of hotel and office space. An open land and wetlands preserve will also be created as a part of the "recycling" of this site. Another example of reuse at Superfund sites is the Anaconda Smelter NPL site, in Anaconda, Montana, which has become a world-class Jack Nicklaus golf course. At other Superfund sites, major national corporations, including Netscape, Target stores, Home Depot stores, and McDonalds, have established businesses. Sites have been redeveloped into residences, libraries, athletic fields, community parks, wetlands, and habitat preserves. Over 150 sites are in actual or planned reuse. At these sites, more than 13,000 acres are now in ecological or recreational reuse. Approximately 11,000 jobs, representing $225 million in annual income, are located on sites that have been recycled for commercial use.
REMOVING BARRIERS TO REUSE
At some sites, the potential threat of CERCLA liability may in some circumstances be a barrier to the reuse of the property. EPA is continuing its efforts to negotiate prospective purchaser agreements and issue comfort/status letters in order to clarify CERCLA liability at sites and facilitate reuse of contaminated properties. EPA has entered into more than 100 Prospective Purchaser Agreements (PPAs) to facilitate beneficial reuse and has also issued over 500 comfort/status letters in order to clarify Federal Superfund interest in sites.
In the summer and fall of 1998, EPA undertook a survey effort to gather information on the impacts of the PPA process. Survey data (for PPAs completed through June 1998) indicate that redevelopment projects cover over 1500 acres, or 80% of the property secured through PPAs. EPA regional personnel estimate that nearly 1700 short-term jobs (e.g., construction) and over 1700 permanent jobs have resulted from redevelopment projects associated with PPAs. An estimated $2.6 million in local tax revenue for communities nationwide have resulted from these projects. In addition, EPA regional staff estimate that PPAs have spurred redevelopment of hundreds of thousands of acres of property.
FEDERAL FACILITY REDEVELOPMENT
Through EPA's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program, over 850 base closure documents have been reviewed at 108 major closing military bases. These BRAC documents articulate the environmental suitability of the property for lease or transfer.
Wurtsmith Air Force Base, located on more than 5,000 acres in northeast Michigan, stood ready for more than 70 years to support strategic bombing operations worldwide. When the decision was made in 1993 to close Wurtsmith Air Force Base, a Base Closure Team (BCT). consisting of representatives from EPA, the Air Force, and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, was formed to clean up environmental contamination at the site. The
BCT used an innovative cleanup technology to cut the cost of cleanup by a third and reduce the planned cleanup time by 40%. To enhance economic redevelopment, the BCT worked with the Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency to use base structures for approximately 150 low-income families as a replacement for substandard housing in six counties. The BCT earned national recognition for this unique reuse plan. As a result of EPA's involvement in the BRAC program, cost savings in excess of $275 million have been documented.
SUPERFUND REAUTHORIZATION
As the result of the progress made in cleaning up Superfund sites in recent years. and the program improvements resulting from EPA's Administrative Reforms, there is not a need for comprehensive legislation. Comprehensive legislative proposals seriously could undermine the current progress of the program and weaken current law by creating barriers to cleanup, carving out overbroad liability exemptions, and undermining the federal safety net. Comprehensive legislation could actually delay cleanups by creating uncertainty and litigation.
The Administration would support targeted liability relief for qualified parties that builds upon the current success of the Superfund program. We believe that targeted legislation to clarify liability provisions in the statute enjoys broad bipartisan support and would be useful in speeding the cleanup of brownfields, including;
-- prospective purchasers of contaminated property;
-- innocent landowners; and
-- contiguous property owners.
This legislation should also provide funding for brownfield assessment and cleanup through grants and loans. Further, the legislation should provide support for effective State Voluntary Cleanup Programs, however, the Federal safety net must be preserved to address circumstances which may present an imminent and substantial endangerment. The Administration also supports targeted legislation that addresses the liability of small municipal waste generators and transporters.
In addition, legislation to support the President's Budget is also needed to reinstate the Superfund taxes, and to provide EPA with access to mandatory spending. The Superfund tax authority expired December 31, 1995. The President's fiscal year (FY) 2001 Budget requests reinstatement of all Superfund taxes (including excise taxes on petroleum and chemicals, and a corporate environmental tax). The Trust Fund balance (unappropriated balance) was roughly $1.5 billion at the end of fiscal year 1999. The Trust Fund balance will be approximately $200 million at the end of fiscal year 2001.
In the absence of the taxes, we estimate a windfall of approximately $4 million per day for those parties that would normally pay the tax. To date, the Trust Fund has lost approximately $5 billion as a result of the failure of Congress to reinstate the taxes. This $5 billion windfall has been passed on to those that would normally be funding cleanups, and the need for
appropriations from general revenue in order to fund cleanups mean that the burden of these costs is shifted to the tax-paying public.
FUTURE SITE CLEANUP CHALLENGES
EPA has made a great deal of progress, but the job is not done. Environmental contamination continues to be a concern at a large number of properties across the United States. Brownfields, which are abandoned and contaminated properties once used for industrial and commercial purposes, generally pose a low risk to human health and the environment and best are addressed through local, State, or Tribal authorities. EPA's job at brownfields sites principally is to provide technical and financial assistance to these authorities in order to build the capacity of their brownfields programs. A much smaller number of higher-risk sites, however, pose a more serious threat to public health and the environment and would qualify under EPA's Hazard Ranking System (HRS) for placement on the NPL for cleanup. A mix of approaches will need to be employed in the future to address these problems, including tools that were not available twenty years ago when Congress enacted CERCLA. Although alternatives involving Federal, State, and other authorities exist for managing the cleanup of these sites, in some cases the best alternative will be listing these sites on the NPL.
EPA, State, and local authorities must work together with private parties and community interests to ensure that the most appropriate approach is taken in each case to address any property with real or suspected environmental contamination. EPA long has recognized that the assessment and cleanup of properties with potential or actual environmental contamination is a shared responsibility. What matters most is that these sites are addressed as efficiently and as effectively as possible.
EPA will face three central challenges in the future as it continues its work to address our nation's site contamination problems. A primary focus of the Superfund program is to continue the cleanup of NPL sites, as well as to continue to address contamination problems through removal actions at sites across the country. Second, through grants and technical assistance, EPA will continue to serve as a catalyst to promote brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. Third, new sites posing serious threats to human health and the environment will be identified, and EPA has a shared responsibility with the States and other authorities to work with potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and the community through a variety of means to get these sites cleaned up.
CURRENT SITES ON THE NPL
Superfund's immediate priority is the cleanup of sites on the current NPL. The Agency will continue to emphasize the completion of construction at NPL sites, and, as in the last several years, EPA will maintain its current construction completion goal of 85 sites for FY 2000. The program is on target to achieve the President's goal of 900 construction completions by the end of FY 2002. At the same time, we will continue to employ the Superfund Administrative Reforms to ensure fairness, effectiveness, and efficiency in the way cleanups are conducted. We will work closely with PRPs to leverage resources whenever possible to get the job done. By working with communities to ensure the selection of appropriate remedies at sites, EPA will strive to foster productive reuse of Superfund properties that are cleaned up.
In addition to the high priority EPA places on construction completion at NPL sites, the Agency will continue its efforts to ensure that remedies in place remain protective over the long term. It is important to understand that the job of cleanup does not end when a site achieves construction completion, and that Federal oversight is necessary to ensure the cleanup's long-term protectiveness. In the case of groundwater contamination, for example, treatment technologies in place may require ten years or more to achieve cleanup goals, and groundwater must be monitored thereafter. CERCLA requires that EPA conduct a five-year review at each Superfund site where wastes remain in place to make sure that the remedy remains effective and that the community is protected. This statutory requirement and other responsibilities associated with the Agency's role in ensuring the protectiveness of cleanups over the long term, such as oversight of operation and maintenance activities, underscore the need for continuing Agency resources for these purposes.
BROWNFIELDS
A second EPA priority is to continue to promote brownfield assessments and cleanups. Brownfields, found in almost every community, represent by far the largest number of properties affected by concerns related to environmental contamination. In 1995, the General Accounting Office (GAO) estimated that approximately 450,000 brownfields exist in this country. These sites typically do not pose the type of risk addressed by Superfund NPL cleanups.
Through pilots, and in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, EPA continues to provide technical assistance and seed money to local, State, and Tribal entities engaged in the revitalization of brownfields properties in order to build the capacity of brownfields programs. EPA's role is to empower these government authorities, community groups, and others to achieve the assessment, safe cleanup, and successful reuse of brownfields. To date, EPA has entered into Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) with 14 States to facilitate the cleanup of contaminated sites that generally pose lower risks than sites EPA would consider listing on the NPL. In FY 2000, EPA is providing States and Tribes with $10 million to support the development and enhancement of effective State Voluntary Cleanup Programs (VCPs).
SITES BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF SUPERFUND
Third, EPA will ensure that sites not presently being addressed and that present serious threats to human health and the environment are cleaned up. Through identification by States, private citizens, and others, EPA has catalogued almost 43,000 sites nationally in its CERCLIS database. EPA has performed preliminary assessments at 41,000 of these CERCLIS sites and more detailed investigations at 20,000. The Agency has archived close to 32,000 of the 43,000 sites for which no further action under Superfund is necessary. EPA either is in the process of investigating the remaining sites or considering their listing on the NPL. In 1998, the GAO estimated that, 232 sites were likely candidates to be placed on the NPL in the future out of a universe of nearly 1,800 CERCLIS sites awaiting a listing decision. It is important to be aware that these figures do not include the approximately 500 new sites added to the CERCLIS inventory each year, most of which have been pre-screened. Since the GAO analysis, we know that only about a quarter of the sites EPA has proposed for listing were among the 232 sites identified in the GAO report in 1998. Others include more recently identified sites or sites for which Governors have specifically requested a proposed NPL listing. The Agency has averaged 28 listings per year for the past seven years.
The decision how to address the cleanup of sites brought to EPA's attention through CERCLIS depends on a range of technical, policy and resource considerations, as well as other site-specific factors. Many of these sites can be addressed under State VCPs and State Superfund programs. In other cases, PRPs may clean up sites of potential Federal interest either before or after proposal to the NPL, and EPA will continue to use its enforcement authorities to oversee the cleanup. In still other cases, EPA may determine that NPL listing is the most appropriate way to clean up a site, such as sites which present complicated intergovernmental or stakeholder issues or sites where a State requests a listing. The Agency continues to support a cooperative approach with the States on NPL listing and will continue to request a Governor's concurrence prior to any proposed or final NPL listing decision. Listing on the NPL would be necessary for more sites were it not for the availability of these alternative approaches to site cleanup.
CONCLUSION
With the success of EPA's Administrative Reforms, the Superfund program now is fairer, faster, and more efficient. The significant progress achieved during the Clinton Administration in cleaning up hazardous waste sites has made comprehensive Superfund reform unnecessary. However, the Administration believes that an agreement can be reached with Congress on bipartisan targeted brownfields legislation this year. We look forward to building upon the success of our Administrative reforms and in partnership with State and local governments. communities, and the private sector, to ensure the protection of human health and the environment through the cleanup of our Nation's hazardous waste sites.