Trump proposes Superfund cleanup funding cuts

President Donald Trump called Feb. 10 for slashing funding for the Superfund hazardous waste program, despite the administration having the biggest backlog of unfunded toxic Superfund cleanup projects in at least 15 years, according to the Associated Press.

The $113 million in Superfund cleanup cuts are part of Trump’s proposal for a $2.4 billion (26 percent) cut in overall funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The four-decade-old Superfund program is meant to tackle some of the most heavily contaminated sites in the U.S., which threaten residents, wildlife and habitat around the sites with dangerous industry pollutants. Trump’s proposal says the cut reflects that his administration is running the Superfund program more efficiently, and “challenges the agency to optimize the use of settlement funds for the cleanup actions” at those Superfund sites where a responsible company has been found to pay for the work.