FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: ECOS Executive Director Ben Grumbles, (202) 266-4929 or bgrumbles@ecos.org or
Lia Parisien, (202) 266-4931 or lparisien@ecos.org
Environmental Council of the States (ECOS)
ECOS Welcomes U.S. EPA’s Historic Superfund Funding Announcement
Washington, DC — ECOS welcomes U.S. EPA’s announcement today of a billion-dollar investment through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to initiate cleanup and clear the backlog of 49 previously unfunded Superfund sites and accelerate cleanup at dozens of other sites across the country. EPA Administrator Michael Regan made the announcement this afternoon alongside Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf at the Lower Darby Creek Area site, one of several sites with ongoing work that will receive a boost from the funding.
The investment is the first wave of funding from the $3.5 billion in the BIL to help clean up a backlog of previously unfunded sites on the National Priorities List (NPL). The role of states at NPL sites ranges from required cost sharing in federally funded cleanups to active site management.
“ECOS applauds EPA on this historic commitment to undertake new or accelerated construction projects at these 49 Superfund sites in 24 states and territories around the country,” remarks ECOS President Ben Grumbles, Secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment.
More than 60 percent of these sites are in historically underserved communities that have been awaiting cleanup funds for four years or even longer. “State environmental agencies stand with EPA in its commitment to ensuring that this cleanup work is carried out effectively and with environmental justice and equity considerations in mind,” adds ECOS Past President Patrick McDonnell, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
ECOS is the national nonprofit, nonpartisan association of state environmental agency leaders. For more information, visit www.ecos.org.
