Reauthorize Superfund

If I was an advisor to President Bush, I would highly recommend that he do what Bill Clinton didn't, reauthorize the Superfund. Superfund was a tax on businesses that have been known in the past to pollute such as refineries, chemical producers and other industries in the same vein. Clinton didn't reauthorize it because he needed the support of these businesses or they had supported him during the '96 election. Currently the Superfund is funded by tax dollars from the general fund.

Why should Bush support reauthorization? Because it is of the utmost importance that these contaminated sites get remediated, I see them on a daily basis and it is not pretty. Contaminated water wells, soil and streams are the norm in areas where housing is prevalent. In the spirit of openess, if Superfund was reauthorized it would increase the work available for my company and would benefit me. That said, I am not a nutty environmentalist who thinks that we should all be driving Prius' and building windmills in our back yards. I see the people who have been living next to these sites and the shock of finding out that you and your children have been drinking from a tainted well can't be at all pleasant.

If Bush chose to reauthorize Superfund, he must first insist that the way the money is distributed and the process of getting businesses to comply is streamlined. The government can do nothing cheaply, a job that should cost $3-million costs $7-million and the liable company is forced to pay up. Perhaps offering companies the option of voluntary clean-up under the direction of the EPA or state regulatory agencies within a set time period such as two years would be a step in the right direction. In it's current state, the Superfund program is cleaning up projects that were identified in the early 1980's.