The Superfund tax expired in 1995, and the trust fund it supported had as much as $3.8 billion in it at one time. But by 2003, the fund had dried up, forcing Congress to pay for clean up of “orphaned” sites—where the responsible party was no longer around—by using taxpayer dollars from the general budget.

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is urging Congress to reimpose the tax. Supporters of the idea say it’s unfair to make taxpayers foot the bill for corporate polluters.

 

Today, there are more than 600 orphaned sites in need of cleanup. But with less funding available to tackle these projects, the EPA is completing far fewer than in the 1990s. Last year, 19 sites were restored—compared to 89 in 1999.

 

The plan to revive the Superfund tax would raise about $19 billion over 10 years by imposing excise taxes of 9.7 cents a barrel on crude oil and refined oil products, excise taxes of 22 cents to $4.87 a ton on certain chemicals, and an income tax of 0.12% on certain corporations’ modified alternative minimum taxable income above $2 million.

 

Oil companies are expected to fight the tax proposal. They argue that the burden is too great, given that Congress is also considering raising the Oil Spill Liability Fund tax from 8 to 49 cents a barrel.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Obama, EPA to Push for Restoration of Superfund Tax on Oil, Chemical Companies (by Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post)