[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 107 (Friday, September 10, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1592-E1593]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CONFERENCE OF MAYORS CALLS FOR ADDITIONAL SUPERFUND DOLLARS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 9, th04

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, as the representative of a 
district which contains a number of abandoned industrial sites, I have 
a particular interest in the Superfund program. Sadly, the priorities 
of the congressional majority and the current administration do not 
include Superfund, and as a consequence, this important environmental 
cleanup program has been denied the resources needed to meet the 
promise we have made to many American communities.
  In my own district there are three Superfund sites on which I have 
worked hard, and where we have made some progress, but where inadequate 
funding threatens to deny the people of the city of New Bedford and the 
towns of Fairhaven and Norton the full environmental response to which 
they are entitled by federal law.
  This is a problem of national scope, as evidenced by the fact that 
the United States Conference of Mayors, one of the leading voices for 
sensible public policies in our country, recently passed a resolution 
at its 72nd annual meeting in Boston calling for ``increasing 
appropriation levels for Superfund.'' The resolution notes the slowdown 
in remediation that is taking place because of the preference for tax 
cuts for the wealthy over important public needs, and urges us to 
increase the Superfund appropriation by $300 million a year for the 
next 5 years.
  This is a very well informed and important statement from a group of 
thoughtful public officials who share with us the responsibility for 
public policy in this country, and I ask that the Conference of Mayors' 
very cogent resolution be printed here.

             Increasing Appropriation Levels for Superfund

       Whereas, the Environmental Protection Agency has developed 
     plans, designs, and records of decision for the remediation 
     of large hazardous waste sites, many of them located in or 
     near urban areas; and
       Whereas, such plans, designs, and records of decision were 
     developed at great cost and over many years, in close 
     consultation with local and state governments; and
       Whereas, EPA and its state and local partners have fielded 
     teams capable of remediating such sites; and
       Whereas, because of inadequate funding, actual performance 
     of the agreed upon remedies has been put on hold, or slowed 
     down; and
       Whereas, because of inadequate funding some large sites, 
     such as New Bedford Harbor, in New Bedford, MA, have been put 
     on a 26 year cleanup schedule; and
       Whereas, such a stretched out remediation is likely to 
     greatly increase the ultimate cost of cleanup to the federal 
     and state governments; and
       Whereas, such a stretched out or delayed cleanup schedule 
     is likely to undermine the feasibility of selected remedies, 
     necessitating a new and expensive planning and design process 
     in the future; and
       Whereas, such delays perpetuate the public health and 
     environmental threat posed by such sites; and
       Whereas, delays in cleanup impose severe obstacles 
     to economic development in many cities; and
       Whereas, the money needs of many of the largest sites, 
     which have been in the system for many years, have created a 
     blockage in the system, interfering with EPA's ability to 
     list new sites or to perform remedies at smaller sites; and
       Whereas, the problems presented by large sites that are 
     ready for construction can be resolved through an increase in 
     appropriations for Superfund of $300 million a year for the 
     next five years; and

[[Page E1593]]

       Whereas, such an increase would actually reduce the cost of 
     the Superfund program over time, and confer significant 
     public health, environmental and economic benefits on many 
     American cities.
       Now, Therefore, be it resolved that The U.S. Conference of 
     Mayors urges Congress to increase the appropriation for 
     Superfund by $300 million a year for the next five years, and 
     to dedicate such increase to financing actual cleanup at 
     ready to go sites.

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