Of the 1,343 current Superfund National Priority List (NPL) sites in the nation, over 15 percent are in New Jersey or Pennsylvania. One hundred and fourteen of the sites are in New Jersey, and 95 are in Pennsylvania, the first and third highest totals of any state. The NPL is intended to target and identify the most severe or complex contaminated sites in the country. Interested parties in these or other contaminated sites in the region should not be surprised, then, if the federal government’s renewed focus on the Superfund program is particularly impactful on our region.
A change in presidential administrations offers federal regulators and the regulated community alike the opportunity to reflect on the progress of federal programs and refocus on goals for the future. The federal Superfund program, which the current administration has identified as a priority for improvement, is a prime example. In recent months, both the federal government and a major private coalition of regulated entities, the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), issued reports evaluating the program and offering general recommendations for its improvement. Analyzing these reports and EPA data related to sites in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, this article takes an abbreviated look back at the 37-year progress of the program and examines how the public and private recommendations may affect our region.
