Waste Management Fights Superfund Cleanup

    In its 2000 Annual Report Waste Management (WMI) stated that it owns or operates 79 closed Superfund sites. (p.28) If actions taken by WMI regarding its Valleycrest site in Dayton, Ohio, are indications of WMI's unwillingness to clean up its sites, the future certainly looks gloomy. In Dayton, WMI along with GM and NCR tried to stop the cleanup. After a citizen and government protest, they lost in their attempt.

   Another approach to Superfund sites by WMI has been to deny responsibility for sites which WMI bought when they took over local trash collecting companies. But they lost in a court battle to shed these massive costs. Nevertheless,  they still are arguing against responsibility. "The majority of situations involving NPL (National Priority List - Superfund) sites relate to allegations that subsidiaries of the Company (or their predecessors) transported waste to the facilities in question, often prior to the acquisition of such subsidiaries by the Company. (2000 Annual Report, p.28)" Despite their lost in court, WMI still squirms trying to deny responsibility!

   Given the massive fines against WMI through the last twenty years and the declarations by governments of their lack of good citizenship, we can expect WMI to continue to fight against spending any more money to clean up their dangerous sites. Studies have shown cancer and other health hazards are great for neighbors living near these sites!  

   In 1995 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) reported on the first fifteen years of the Superfund program. Their summary follows: "Superfund was created to clean up toxic sites that threaten human health and the environment. It has been doing just that for the past 15 years. Superfund was designed so that cleanups are paid for by those who created the problems in the first place. There is certainly room for making Superfund faster, fairer and more responsive, and we are working to improve a good law that has provided enormous public benefits." Click here for the report.

   Waste Management was the second largest contributor to Senator Robert Smith (R) who received the Golden Fleece Award. Since 1994 Smith has championed many industry-sponsored Superfund "reform" bills, though none have passed. WMI's support of Smith is just another indicator of how vigorously this so called environmental company is fighting the Superfund and its cleanup program.