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  "id": "RL33426",
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      "date": "2007-11-26",
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      "title": "Superfund: Implementation and Selected Issues",
      "summary": "Superfund is the federal government\u2019s principal program for cleaning up the nation\u2019s contaminated waste sites and protecting public health and the environment from releases of hazardous substances. Enacted into law as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA, P.L. 96-510), the program became known as Superfund because Congress established a large trust fund\u2014originally supported by taxes levied on specific petroleum products and chemicals\u2014to provide the majority of the program\u2019s funding needs. Although the 26-year-old program has seen less attention compared with earlier years, Superfund issues continue to generate debate. This report provides a background and overview of the Superfund program and examines four topics that received interest in recent years.\nThe first issue concerns Superfund program funding: who should pay for the program, general taxpayers or a dedicated tax on industry? The program was originally funded by a tax on industry that expired at the end of 1995. Without dedicated taxes, and with a relatively small balance in the trust fund, Congress has been using general revenues for a larger percentage of cleanup funds. Members introduced bills to reinstate the taxes in the current and past three Congresses, but so far these efforts have lacked the necessary support.\nThe second issue regards Superfund program appropriations. Recent evidence indicates that appropriations from the past several years have fallen short of program needs. The Administration\u2019s FY2007 budget proposal for Superfund also fell below levels that, according to some estimates, are needed to meet program obligations. Without reinstating the Superfund taxes, any increased appropriation would be funded through General Treasury revenues.\nThe third issue involves Superfund interaction with abandoned and contaminated hardrock mines. The number of hardrock mining sites requiring cleanup in future years, particularly those without identifiable responsible parties, could play an important role in the Superfund funding debate. There is also a concern that the threat of CERCLA liability may act as a cleanup disincentive for \u201cgood samaritans\u201d who might offer cleanup assistance at abandoned hardrock mines.\nThe fourth issue concerns Superfund\u2019s role at animal feeding operations. Stakeholders argue about whether these operations should be required to report ammonia air emissions, primarily resulting from animal waste, as hazardous substance releases. This issue also concerns the responsibility for releases of animal waste that reach water bodies.",
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      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
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      "id": "RL33426_2007May24",
      "date": "2007-05-24",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Superfund: Implementation and Selected Issues",
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc815930/",
      "id": "RL33426_2007Mar02",
      "date": "2007-03-02",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Superfund: Implementation and Selected Issues",
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      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs9266/",
      "id": "RL33426 2006-05-17",
      "date": "2006-05-17",
      "retrieved": "2006-09-25T14:28:37",
      "title": "Superfund: Overview and Selected Issues",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Solid wastes",
          "name": "Solid wastes"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Soil remediation",
          "name": "Soil remediation"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Waste disposal sites",
          "name": "Waste disposal sites"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Environmental protection",
          "name": "Environmental protection"
        }
      ]
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  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations"
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}