Show your support for a Superfund program that cleans up sites effectively today, and doesn't just pass the problem along to our children. This is an example of the sort of email that you can send from our server. Remember that the service is free. However, you have to register as a Scorecard user in order to send email because otherwise we won't be able to sign your letter.

Stephen Johnson, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Dear Administrator Johnson:

I have just reviewed data on Superfund sites and ongoing disposal of 
toxic chemicals on land, as shown on the Environmental Defense 
Scorecard (www.scorecard.org).  While I recognize that the pace of 
Superfund cleanups has accelerated dramatically in recent years, I am 
concerned that too many remedies now fail to require actual treatment 
of wastes to make them less toxic and less mobile.  According to EPA 
figures, only about 30% of cleanups now involve treatment.  At the 
least, EPA should always require treatment of toxic "hot spots" at 
Superfund sites.  EPA should also assure that cleanups keep clean 
groundwater from getting dirty, and restore contaminated groundwater 
where practical.  

I am also concerned that too many cleanups rely on "institutional 
controls" of questionable effectiveness.  With institutional controls, 
contaminants are allowed to remain on the site, and use of the site is 
restricted through zoning, deed restrictions, or other legal devices.  
While this approach makes for cheaper cleanups today, it simply shifts 
threats to tomorrow if the institutional controls break down.  Recent 
studies indicate that many local governments believe that their ability 
to track and enforce institutional controls is limited.  EPA should 
only rely on institutional controls that are recorded in an easily-
tracked central location, that apply to all future owners of the land, 
that are fully enforceable by citizens as well as government agencies, 
and that are acceptable to the local community.

Please keep me informed on your efforts to assure that sites cleaned 
up today don't come back to haunt us and our children tomorrow.

Sincerely,

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