Superfund Program

Hazardous waste soiling our environment has become a major problem as a result of the industrial age. A federal program named Superfund has been striving to reverse the negative effects of factories, mines, military bases, and many other environmental offenders. Superfund now totals 886 cleanups since the programs its beginning in 1980. But now the program, which originally revolved around the philosophy that the polluters pay, currently faces bankruptcy. Because of ensuing bankruptcy, over the past three years the number of high priority sites cleaned up has fallen. The assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Marianne Lamont Horinko, remarks that the remaining 1,203 sites of the "National Priorities List" are ones that will be "large, expensive, and complex" (Knickerbocker). The Superfund now turns to taxpayers to help finance its goals for the remaining sites.

Sites to consult

Superfund

What has been done so far for Onondaga Lake

Overview of Onondaga Lake

Links to government documents of Onondaga Lake

History of Onondaga Lake