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RESOLUTION C. 93-75 <br />A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE POSITION OF <br />LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR SUPERFUND REFORM <br />REGARDING THE REAUTHORIZATION OF THE COMPREHENSIVE <br />ENViRONMENTAL RESPONSE, COMPENSATION & LIABILITY ACT <br />WHEREAS, Local Governments for Superfund Reform (LGSR) was <br />formed to address municipal liability for the cleanup of hazardous <br />substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, <br />Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund). <br />WHEREAS, CERCLA serves a legitimate public interest--cleanup of <br />hazardous waste sites--it neglects other legitimate public interests when <br />forcing or threatening to force CERCLA liability as a potentially responsible <br />party (PRP) on local governments as a result of their efforts to serve local <br />public health and safety interests. <br />WHEREAS, this compels local governments to forego their other <br />responsibilities in order to finance environmental cleanups or respond to <br />third-party lawsuits from private PRPs. <br />WHEREAS, in many instances CERCLA has been misapplied, <br />increasing the burden on municipalities. <br />WHEREAS, CERCLA imposes stringent cleanup standards on local <br />governments, while denying them access to the funding to finance those <br />standards. <br />WHEREAS, this situation is counterproductive, CERCLA must <br />recognize that the municipal share of cleanup costs is a public cost which <br />cannot be imposed on local governments without access to the public <br />funding source (Superfund) that Congress has provided. <br />WHEREAS, Superfund has contributed to some progress in the <br />nation's efforts to clean up hazardous waste sites. However, the Act has <br />failed to do so in a rapid, equitable, cost-effective manner, which recognizes <br />other compelling legitimate public interests. <br />WHEREAS, the technical, legal and administrative costs of a Superfund <br />cleanup average more than $26 million per site and the process consumes <br />an average of eight years. <br />WHEREAS, any meaningful reform of the program must provide an <br />adequate pool of funds, reduce the transaction costs involved in allocating <br />