The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on December 17 a $1 billion investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to initiate cleanup and clear the backlog of 49 previously unfunded Superfund sites and accelerate cleanup at dozens of other sites across the country.
The $1 billion investment is the first wave of funding from the $3.5 billion in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help clean up polluted Superfund sites in communities. The backlog of previously unfunded sites that will now be receiving funding are in 24 states and territories and all 10 EPA regions, including some communities that have been waiting for cleanup for more than four years.
A review of the sites shows that 42 of the 49 sites (86 percent) involve contaminated groundwater. Twenty-four (57 percent) of the contaminated groundwater sites involve institutional controls with an additional 12 (29 percent) of the groundwater-impact sites being likely to have institutional controls because of long-term remediation occurring or planned. Thus, a total of 36 of the 49 sites will likely have restrictions on groundwater use, in some cases, perhaps indefinitely, with municipal and private wells having been impacted.
Click here to see the list of the 49 sites to receive funding for new clean-up projects.