Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Rep Earl Blumenauer's superfund bill

If you were outraged by Steve Duin's article about the landfill that the Oregon DEQ is attempting to shift the bill for clean up from the polluter to the Oregon tax payers, then you should applaud Rep. Blumenauer's sponsoring HR 564, which he calls the "Superfund Reinvestment Act."

The Superfund program went bankrupt in 2003 because polluter pays fees legislation lapsed in 1995.  Needless to say the Republican congress under Clinton and the Bush administration did not support reinstating the fees.  The good news is that President Barack Obama recommended restoring Superfund fees in his budget proposal.  Congress is also moving on the long overdue reinstatement with Blumenauer's bill.

Louis Gibbs, Executive Director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, says: "The time to act is now. The country cannot afford to continue bailing out polluters while the list of unfunded sites grows. Congress should restore the polluter pays fees and enable Superfund to move forward and respond to new toxic threats. The core principle of the Superfund program is that polluters, not taxpayers, should pay to clean up these deadly toxic waste sites."

With the Portland Harbor designated a Superfund site, and the fee showing up on our city water bill each month, I am sure you all appreciate my support of Blumenauer's bill.

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