Congress to Explore How EPA Draws up Superfund Lists

While the EPA deals with a superfund site in Midwest City, its efforts at cleaning up the rest of the nation’s most polluted tracts will be under review Thursday in a House subcommittee hearing.

The Energy and Commerce’s Environment Subcommittee, led by Illinois Republican Rep. John Shimkus is curious about how the agency came up with its list of sites that need immediate and intense action.

Shimkus joined Republican Reps. Greg Walden of Oregon, who is chairman of the full committee and Fred Upton of Michigan who heads the Energy Subcommittee requested the agency to respond to their inquires in December. Oklahoma U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin is a member of the full Commerce Committee but not the subcommittee.

They were most interested in 21 out of the 1,340 Superfund sites. Their inquiry came a day after EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, the former Oklahoma Attorney General released the list of sites last month.

The Thursday hearing will begin at 9:15 a.m. Oklahoma Time and feature Barry Breen, principal deputy assistant administrator of the EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management. Others to testify will be representatives of states and environmental organizations.