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Candidates back Superfund cleanup; differ on litigation emphasis and polluter contributions
Summary
Both candidates said Superfund cleanup is necessary; Alan Mickelson emphasized holding responsible parties to account, and Leo Yudetz urged more on-the-ground cleanup rather than litigation.
Superfund cleanup and corporate responsibility for toxic sites came up during the Missoula candidate forum. Leo Yudetz said he would not want to "aggregate" Superfund but stressed changes are needed because the program has been used more for litigation than cleanup: "We spent a lot more money on litigation than we have cleanup. We've got to start actually doing cleanup and, doing on-site, on ground work."
Alan Mickelson said he supports a strong Superfund cleanup program and opposed proposals to balance the federal budget at the expense of environmental protection. He argued that parties who caused contamination should share cleanup costs: "If we can directly put someone, that, that caused the problem, whether it be ARCO or anyone else responsible, they should share those cleanup costs." Mickelson pointed to the statistic that "1 in 4 Americans live near a toxic waste site" to underline the program's importance.
Both candidates said they favored funding or program changes that prioritize actual remediation over protracted litigation. No binding policy changes were proposed during the broadcast.
