by Richard J. Mahoney

About the author: Richard J. Mahoney is the chairman of the executive committee of the Monsanto Company, a chemical company based in St. Louis, Missouri. He served on the National Superfund Commission from 1993 to 1994.

Most observers would agree that the Superfund law is among the most poorly crafted and counterproductive statutes of recent years. Because of its perverse and conflicting incentives, parties are inclined to litigate and delay, rather than clean up.

However, the law and its follow-on regulations, which led to expenditures through Fiscal Year 1994 of about $28,000,000,000 (not including corporate legal costs) have not been a total waste. While the price per site cleanup has been exorbitant, at least something got done.

Just the Beginning

At 293 Superfund sites, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assessment, the...