U.S. Superfund reform bill clears House committee

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Thursday August 5, 8:21 pm Eastern Time

U.S. Superfund reform bill clears House committee 
Reuters(Excerpts)

WASHINGTON, Aug 5 - Legislation to reform the Superfund toxic waste removal
program cleared the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Thursday, but the Clinton administration remains against portions of the bill.

By a 69-2 vote, the panel approved the Recycle America's Land Act, with
backers saying it
encourages development of abandoned industrial sites, called Brownfields,
lets states take a
greater role in cleaning up hazardous sites, exempts ``innocent''
individuals and small businesses from Superfund liability and protects
municipalities from litigation.

``We still have concerns about the legislation as it currently stands.
We're concerned that it
does away with the important principle of 'polluter pays','' said the EPA
official, who wished to remain anonymous.

The administration said there are also too many loopholes for large
corporations and special
interests to exploit, and key fees on large chemical companies have been
cut, eliminating a
source of revenue to pay for the program.