On April 17th Taxpayers Will Pay To Clean Up After Polluters At Toxic Wastes Sites
Executive Summary
To
address the public health threats created by toxic waste sites,
Congress established the nation’s premier toxic cleanup program, the
Superfund, in 1980. Congress designed a funding structure for Superfund
that placed the financial burden of cleaning up toxic contamination on
the polluters by collecting three established fees from polluting
industries. Collectively, the three fees, known as the Superfund
“polluter pays” fees, relieved regular taxpayers from paying for toxic
cleanups by compelling polluting industries to take financial
responsibility for cleaning up toxic waste sites.
In 1995, Superfund’s polluter pays fees expired. Since then,
the financial burden to clean up toxic waste has shifted entirely from
polluters to regular taxpayers. Taxpayers now pay for all Superfund-led
toxic cleanups, spending well over $1 billion annually to protect
public health from the irresponsible business practices of polluting
industries. As valuable public dollars are spent on these cleanups (see
table below), polluting industries are enjoying a $4 million per day
tax break courtesy of the American taxpayer. In order to shift the
financial burden of toxic waste cleanups from taxpayers back on to
polluters, Congress must act the reinstate Superfund’s polluter pays
fees. Polluter Pays Fees Reinstating Superfund’s polluter pays fees
will shift the financial burden for cleaning up toxic pollution from
American taxpayers back on to the industries associated with
contamination at the nation’s worst toxic waste sites. The three
polluter pays fees, now expired, include: • Crude Oil Tax: The oil industry is one of the most polluting
industries on the planet. Each year, at least 14,000 oil spills occur
in the United States. Congress originally put a 9.7-cent per barrel tax
on the purchase of crude oil by refineries and other industries. In a
political compromise, Congress eliminated most Superfund liability for
oil spills. Since the fees expired, oil companies have enjoyed a tax
holiday and liability exemptions for the toxic contamination they cause. • Chemical Feedstock Tax: Congress assessed a fee on the purchase of
42 toxic chemicals associated with dangerous substances at Superfund
sites. The amount of tax ranged from $0.22 to $4.87 per ton, except
xylene, which was taxed at $10.13 per ton. Also, the tax exempted
certain chemicals when used for certain purposes (e.g. methane and
butane when used for fuel) or when produced in certain ways (e.g. any
listed chemicals derived from coal). • Corporate Environmental Income Tax: Congress collected taxes on
the profits of large corporations at a rate of 0.12 percent on taxable
profits in excess of $2,000,000. Corporations in the manufacturing
industrial sector (e.g. chemical and allied products, petroleum and
coal products, electrical and electronic equipment) and mining sectors
paid about 41 percent of this tax; these sectors are responsible for
about 43 percent of all Superfund sites. Financial institutions,
insurance, and real estate corporations accounted for almost 30 percent
of the tax, with large corporations in the utility and other sectors
making up the remainder.
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