The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has added 12 sites to the Superfund National Priorities List and plans to add five more, according to a March 17 news release.
These sites are designated as zones of contamination that pose serious risks to human health and the environment.
“No community deserves to have contaminated sites near where they live, work, play and go to school. Nearly two out of three of the sites being proposed or added to the priorities list are in overburdened or underserved communities,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan stated.
According to the EPA, thousands of contaminated sites have appeared around the country as a result of hazardous materials being discarded or improperly handled. The EPA also said cleaning these contaminated sites is essential for community "health, safety and revitalization."
“EPA is building a better America by taking action to clean up some of the nation’s most contaminated sites, protect communities’ health and return contaminated land to safe and productive reuse for future generations,” Regan said.
President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Act will expedite the EPA's efforts to assist communities in cleaning up these contaminated sites by investing $3.5 billion in the Superfund Remedial Program. According to the agency, this investment will greatly increase the EPA's capacity to deal with hazards to public health and the environment.
In anticipation of this funding, the EPA has taken steps to begin the cleanup of 49 hazardous sites. EPA is also withdrawing a previously proposed site, the Riverside Groundwater Contamination site, in Indianapolis, Ind.
