What do films such as A Civil Action and Dark Waters have in common? They both tell the story of towns struggling with the legacies of environmental pollution, Superfund sites. These films tell the story of the big-shot lawyers who fight for everyday people. These films have made towns like Woburn, MA and Parkersburg, VA well known. But for every infamous Superfund site, there are hundreds of others existing in obscurity but which are just as urgent

What is a Superfund site? 

A Superfund site is a place where industrial contamination has occurred and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is using funds—the Superfund—to clean the area. Superfund sites are unique to the United States as the cleanup process is overseen by the U.S. Federal government. 

How does an area get designated as a Superfund site? 

The process starts when someone, often a citizen or state agency, notifies the EPA of a location with possible contamination. Once the EPA has been notified, the site is entered into the Superfund Enterprise Management System (SEM) which is the EPA’s inventory of locations with hazardous waste. 

Next, the EPA conducts a site investigation: identifying what substances are at the site and how they are moving. Using this information, the EPA scores the site using the Hazard Ranking System. The score is based on traits such as the toxicity of waste and the people affected by the site. The score then qualifies or disqualifies a site to be cleaned under the Superfund program.  

Why does the U.S. even need the Superfund?

In an ideal world, companies would take responsibility for their own pollution.  In practice, companies often avoid taking responsibility, sometimes they go out of business, and sometimes there are polluted sites and no one knows who is responsible. In these cases, the Superfund can step in and cover costs.

How did the program first start? 

Congress established the Superfund in 1980 when it passed the  Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). CERCLA and the Superfund program are one and the same, Superfund is just easier to say. CERCLA was passed in large part due to the public outcry over sites such as Love Canal in New York where toxic waste contaminated a highly populated area. 

The Superfund of the 1980s is markedly different from the Superfund of today, however. The Superfund was originally financed by a trust fund consisting of money gained through taxes paid by polluting companies. In 1995, the Superfund tax expired and the fund was no longer financed by polluters. After the tax expired, the money which made up the Superfund was funded by taxes on U.S. citizens. For nearly 30 following years, the federal government, not polluters, funded the cleanup of Superfund sites. It was only in 2022 that a tax was reinstated on some polluters—petroleum and crude oil producers—to finance the Superfund.   

But really, what does it actually mean to be a Superfund site? 

Being designated as a Superfund site comes with more than just cleanup funds.  It often comes with a negative stigma as well. Being known as a Superfund site often results in an area being thought of as dangerous to live in and even financially impacting the town. 

Being a registered Superfund site also does not actually even guarantee timely cleanup of waste. In fact, the process of enacting cleanup at Superfund sites has slowed down over the years. This is mostly due to a lack of enforcement or technical challenges. The change in funding from polluter tax to general taxes has also resulted in the purchasing power of the Superfund decreasing roughly 40% from 2000 which has also slowed down the Superfund cleanup process.  

Does the Superfund program work? 

The answer is sort of. When considering sites such as the Tar Creek Superfund site in Oklahoma, which has been a Superfund site for over 40 years, it feels that the program hasn’t made much tangible progress in making the site a safe place to live. Communities near sites like Tar Creek often feel that the EPA and Superfund program have failed them. In contrast, at the Brick Township Landfill in New Jersey, site cleanup has been completed and the Superfund site is now a solar panel farm. This site is even listed on the EPA’s Superfund success stories list. 

Why do Superfund sites matter? 

These sites matter because they are in millions of people’s backyards, not just on movie screens. For roughly 78 million people living within 3 miles of a Superfund site, these sites are a part of everyday life. That includes 24% of all children under the age of 5 in the U.S., a group at high risk for health impacts often correlated with Superfund sites. Those who live within 3 miles of a Superfund site are also disproportionately minorities, live below the poverty line, are linguistically isolated, and/or hold less than a high school level of education. 

Superfund sites have the potential to directly impact millions of people and are found in nearly two thousand different communities. Sites are an environmental, health, and social justice issue. This means that removing Superfund sites is not only the premise for a movie but the key to a better future for everyone.