Getting Down To Business: EPA's Superfund Task Force Report Seeks To Streamline And Rejuvenate The Program

Introduction

On July 25, 2017, the EPA Superfund Task Force convened by Administrator Scott Pruitt issued a broad array of recommendations for streamlining and rejuvenating the Superfund process.¹ The Task Force's recommendations prioritized expediting the cleanup of complex or highly contaminated sites, expanding private sector involvement in cleanups, and identifying opportunities to link remediation and redevelopment with innovative brownfields initiatives that will return contaminated property to productive use. While several of the recommendations by the Task Force only set the stage for further actions, the report provides a clear statement of this Administration's priorities for Superfund, and a road map of the direction the Agency is likely to take in the future. Moreover, Administrator Pruitt simultaneously released a memorandum (Pruitt Memo) directing the Agency to expeditiously implement eleven specific actions based on the Task Force's Recommendations