Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Chairman, my simple amendment would add $13 million to the Hazardous Substance Superfund to equal the level requested by the EPA.

Superfund cleanup is the right thing for the environment, right for the economy, and certainly right for public health.

I am from the Garden State. We are known across the country for having the best tomatoes, corn, blueberries, and cranberries we grow. But in south Jersey, we have a history as a cornerstone of heavy industry. New Jersey found out the hard way what you can and what you can't dump into the lakes, backyards, and other facilities.

Then companies left, leaving our constituents holding the bag. Representative Jim Florio, who held my seat from 1975 to 1990, saw these very issues in south Jersey and across the country. That is why he authored the Superfund legislation back in 1980. Almost four decades later, the list of Superfund sites is still overflowing. There are well over 1,000 contaminated sites across the country, and I have 13 in my district alone.

In 2015, the GAO studied the progress of the Superfund program. The report found that, in real dollars, appropriations to the EPA Superfund program declined almost $1 billion from 1999 to 2013.

Congress has funded less than 40 percent of shovel-ready cleanup projects. The EPA is often forced to prioritize one seriously contaminated site over another, leaving those other sites to be contaminated, in some cases, up to 50 years.

This amendment would help the EPA clean up more contaminated materials in their parks, backyards, and commercial properties sooner rather than later.

Mr. Chairman, later the House will consider another amendment of mine that would designate an additional $15 million within the Superfund account, specifically for the enforcement division.

Not only do we consistently underfund Superfund cleanup activities, we have even underfunded the EPA office that is supposed to go after those polluters who have been found guilty of dumping and polluting our environment.

As I mentioned earlier, in my district alone, I have over 13 sites that lay contaminated today. I just briefly want to tell you about three of them. The sites are named after the company that was accused and has been found liable, that is the Sherwin-Williams site. These sites include the Sherwin-Williams/Hilliard's Creek site located in Gibbsboro, the Route 561 Dump Site in Gibbsboro, and United States Avenue Burn Site in Gibbsboro. Those other sites include part of Voorhees also.

Back in the 1930s, Sherwin-Williams opened a paint factory. For 20 years, they dangerously dumped these chemicals that were related to their synthetic varnish to be produced and dumped in around the Gibbsboro and Voorhees area.

These toxic chemicals from the varnish seeped into the groundwater, contaminating not only the commercial properties, but the streams, lakes, and homes for miles around. After the devastating events of Flint, Michigan, I know I don't have to tell you about the horrific effects of lead exposure on children's developmental issues and pregnant women. According to the EPA, long-term exposure to high levels of arsenic can lead to cancers like skin cancer, bladder cancer, and lung cancer.

This is why my constituents and, quite frankly, all Americans across the country are faced with this decision. They need relief today--not in a few years from now. We must hold companies like Sherwin-Williams accountable for the havoc that they have wreaked in communities like Gibbsboro and Voorhees. We owe it to our constituents to do everything in our power to protect their health.

Mr. Chairman, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this amendment.

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Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Chairman, this is about protecting public health from designated sites that have been contaminated for literally decades.

Mr. Chairman, I urge a ``yes'' vote.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

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