Washington, D.C. – Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials, today released an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Inspector General (IG) report that identifies a funding shortfall in President Bush’s budget of more than $225 million dollars which will dramatically slow the pace of cleanup at the nation’s most toxic waste sites listed on the Superfund List. Thirty-three sites in 19 states are adversely affected.

"The goal of the Superfund program is to expeditiously cleanup the most dangerous contaminated toxic waste sites in the country to protect public health and the environment. This goal is being seriously imperiled by the slowdown in cleanups caused by inadequate funding in the President’s Budget," said Dingell. "The Bush Administration has dramatically decreased cleanups, opposed efforts to renew the polluter taxes, and resisted Congressional oversight efforts."

"The Inspector General's report confirms my deepest fears that the Bush Administration refuses to fund the necessary cleanup of toxic sites around the nation," said Pallone. "The report also clearly contradicts EPA Administrator Whitman's statement last year claiming her agency would 'continue to emphasize construction completions as a key priority for the Superfund program.' If this sorry record shows a key priority within EPA, I would hate to see what kind of attention the agency's other 'priorities' are receiving. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration's funding neglect of the Superfund program is beginning to seriously undermine what for the past decade has been a very successful program."

This IG investigation was conducted at the request of Congressmen Dingell and Pallone after it became clear that the pace of cleanups completed at Superfund toxic waste sites had fallen by more than 45% from the average of 87 sites per year in President Clinton’s second term. In 2001, EPA Administrator Christine Whitman informed Dingell and Pallone that the Agency intended to finish 75 sites but completed only 47. The Bush Administration originally predicted that would cleanup 65 sites during fiscal 2002 but now says the number will only be 40.

Administrator Whitman also continues to hinder Congressional oversight efforts into the Superfund cleanup slowdown by failing to answer inquiries about why the Administration’s projections for cleanup completions for FY 2002 dropped 38% from 65 to 40 and refusing to provide Members of Congress with key documents such as the Remedial Action Prioritization List which determines which sites get Superfund cleanup dollars.