The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and liability act of 1980, also known as the Superfund, gives the federal government the authority to identify and regulate potentially hazardous waste sites. TCS endorses the ‘polluter pays’ principle that the Superfund was founded on: financing for the fund was originally provided by those most often responsible for toxic waste.

Actions taken by state and federal agencies to clean up the Clark Fork River Basin provide an excellent example of the Superfund at its best, making polluter’s pay for their mistakes, not taxpayers.