Who pays for cleaning up a Superfund site?
EPA tries to find out who put the hazardous waste at the site. The individuals or companies who are responsible for putting the waste there are required to pay for the cost of the cleanup. Sometimes EPA also asks the people who put the waste there to help do the cleanup work. If the people who caused the contamination cannot be found, or if the contamination was caused by a company that has gone out of business, then EPA pays for the cleanup. It is paid for by the Superfund Trust Fund, which is a special fund of money that is set aside to help clean up the environment. The money comes from taxes that chemical and oil companies have to pay.
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