Superfund sites contaminated with toxic waste are increasingly exposed to natural disasters, according to two reports released by the EPA’s Office of Inspector General, with the inspector general warning that some cleanup plans may not adequately prepare for floods and wildfires. The office examined weather-related vulnerabilities of the 157 federal Superfund sites prioritized for cleanup due to their serious risks to public health and the environment, and it found that dozens of those sites face exposure from multiple disaster types.
The inspector general said about 100 of the most contaminated toxic waste sites are in areas prone to flooding and wildfires, potentially affecting surrounding communities. The office also reported that roughly 3 million Americans live within a mile of a Superfund site and 13 million live within 3 miles, placing more people within reach of pollutants if contaminants are released during extreme weather.
In the coastal category, the inspector general found 49 Superfund sites at risk from sea-level rise or storm surge from hurricanes, with many located near highly populated areas and major ecological locations including the Chesapeake Bay. The review also identified 47 sites in low-lying areas vulnerable to inland flooding from heavy rain.
The inspector general’s second report examined wildfire exposure and found 31 Superfund sites in areas at high risk for wildfires. In some locations, the review said sites were exposed to more than one hazard, combining flooding threats with fire risk.
Betsy Southerland, described by the inspector general as a former director in the EPA’s water protection division who spent more than 30 years at the agency, said the planning gap is “a big problem because it means the site managers are not planning mitigation measures.” She added that “The communities living near those sites should be made aware of this planning failure and should insist on robust plans,” in remarks quoted in the AP report.
The inspector general said the five-year plans that govern the expensive and time-consuming cleanup often failed to account for damage posed by flooding from sea-level rise and more frequent storms and wildfire. It said the lack of planning could allow contaminants to be released into nearby communities and waste taxpayer dollars already invested in remediation.
The EPA said in response that it is reviewing the inspector general’s findings. The agency also said the Superfund program does factor “the impacts of extreme weather events and other hazards as a standard operating practice in the development and implementation of cleanup projects.”
The inspector general reports were issued last week as part of a series assessing the weather-related vulnerabilities of federal Superfund sites. The AP report noted that the office issued no mention of climate change, a term the Republican administration has removed from federal websites, and it described a shakeup in the inspector general’s office after President Donald Trump fired Inspector General Sean O’Donnell at the start of the president’s second term.
Lara J. Cushing, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles who has studied the effects of a changing climate on toxic waste sites and other hazardous facilities, said the reports were “noteworthy and important.” She said: “Although President Trump may wish to ignore it, the fact is the climate is changing and we need to be proactive in responding to rising seas and more extreme weather or face the consequences of increasingly frequent cascading natural-technological disasters that poison communities and local ecosystems.”
The inspector general’s findings also echoed an Associated Press investigation from 2017 that found 327 Superfund sites vulnerable to flooding driven by climate change. The AP said that investigation was launched after Hurricane Harvey, which caused flooding in parts of Houston that included seven Superfund sites and triggered spills from tanks holding cancer-causing toxic waste. The EPA’s new report, according to the AP account, said that during Harvey dioxin chemicals were carried by floodwaters into streets, yards and homes near the San Jacinto River.
Kim Wheeler, a spokesperson for the inspector general’s office, said the series “shines a light on potential threats to federal facility Superfund sites and the critical role of five-year reviews in addressing them.” Wheeler added that, by identifying sites at risk from weather-related events, the office aimed to “raise awareness and encourage forward looking planning.”