# Plain Language Summary: Superfund Polluter Pays Restoration Act of 2021

This bill is designed to make companies that polluted industrial sites pay for cleaning them up instead of leaving taxpayers with the bill. The Superfund program is a federal initiative that identifies and cleans up some of the most contaminated sites in America—places where hazardous waste was dumped or leaked into the soil and groundwater. Right now, when the original polluters can't be found or have gone out of business, the government uses taxpayer money to fund the cleanup. This bill would change that by creating new taxes on certain industries and chemical manufacturers to build up a fund that pays for these cleanups.

The bill specifically targets companies that produce or use hazardous chemicals and materials. It would impose taxes on petroleum, certain imported chemicals, and other substances commonly found at contaminated sites. The idea is straightforward: the industries that profit from these materials should contribute to fixing the environmental damage they cause. The money collected would go directly into the Superfund, allowing the government to clean up more polluted sites faster without relying as heavily on general tax revenue. This means fewer sites would sit contaminated for years waiting for funding.

For most everyday people, this bill would have indirect effects. If you live near a contaminated industrial site, cleanup could happen sooner, potentially reducing health risks from groundwater contamination or air pollution. The costs to companies would likely be passed along in slightly higher prices for products made from these materials, but the bill's supporters argue this is fair since it makes polluters bear the true cost of their business rather than society at large. Essentially, the bill shifts responsibility from taxpayers to the industries that created the pollution in the first place.

Superfund Polluter Pays Restoration Act of 2021

Booker, Cory A.

Superfund Polluter Pays Restoration Act of 2021 This bill (1) reinstates the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate beginning 60 days after enactment of this bill; (2) increases such rate from 9.7 cents to 17.2 cents per barrel of crude oil (adjusted for inflation after 2021); (3) reinstates and increases the rates of tax on taxable chemicals (adjusted for inflation after 2021); and (4) modifies the definition of crude oil to include any bitumen or bituminous mixture, any oil derived from such mixture (including oil derived from tar sands), and any oil derived form kerogen-bearing sources (including oil derived from oil shale). The bill amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to allow the use of the Superfund for environmental remediation without further appropriation.