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$25-35 million in Recovery Act funds added to cleanup at New Bedford Harbor Superfund Site

Release Date: 04/15/2009
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(New Bedford, MA – April 15, 2009) - EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced $25 to $35 million in new funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for the New Bedford Harbor Superfund site at a joint news conference with Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman Barney Frank today. This Recovery Act funding will accelerate the hazardous waste clean-up already underway at the site. It will also jumpstart the local economy by creating jobs in the New Bedford area. This Recovery Act funding is part of the $600 million that Congress appropriated to the Federal Superfund remedial program.

“EPA has an answer to these challenging economic times,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Under the Recovery Act, we're getting harmful pollutants and dangerous chemicals out of these communities and putting jobs and investment back in.”

This funding will provide a tremendous boost to the cleanup of New Bedford Harbor that could more than triple the amount of PCB-contaminated sediment removed compared to recent years. The progress anticipated this year will significantly expedite the timetable to return a clean harbor back to the community.

The Federal Superfund program was created in 1980 to clean up uncontrolled hazardous waste sites that pose unacceptable risks to human health and the environment. Superfund sites are often found in industrial areas hardest hit by the recession. Superfund cleanups are major construction projects which employ thousands of workers nationwide. The Superfund program is implementing new or expanded cleanup actions at 50 sites around the country and since it began, the program has completed construction of remedies at more than 1,060 of the 1,586 sites on its National Priorities List.

By starting or speeding up cleanup at Superfund sites, Recovery Act funding is also increasing the speed with which these sites are returned to productive use. When a Superfund site is redeveloped, it can offer significant economic benefits to local communities including future job creation.

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on February 17, 2009 and has directed the Recovery Act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can see how every dollar is being invested at www.Recovery.gov.

For more information on the New Bedford Harbor Superfund Site, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/ne/nbh/history.html

For more information on Superfund, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/

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