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Politico Misleads On Trump EPA’s Progress Cleaning Up Superfund Sites

Contact Information: EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

The Trump EPA has made it a priority to speed up the Superfund process to cleanup sites and return land to productive use. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) stated that the Agency’s efforts ‘complied with applicable laws and rules’ while also highlighting that they ‘heard positive feedback from task force members, such as it was a collaborative process or a helpful effort.’ We are pleased that the OIG and others approve of the efforts of the career staff who helped establish and carry out the goals of the Superfund Task Force, because we are making great progress for the American public.

A reader of Politico would have been rightfully confused about the results of this inquiry from OIG. It is only fair to ask why they chose to ignore the key findings of this report.

As a reminder, under the Trump Administration, the EPA deleted all or part of 22 sites from Superfund’s National Priorities List in FY 2018 – the largest number of deletions in one year since FY 2005.

To read more about our Superfund Task Force, click here.