Dear Anonymous,

More than 800 toxic Superfund sites could flood due to rising sea levels over the next 20 years and expose local communities to chemical contamination. Yet the Trump administration is doing nothing about it.1

Even as the threat of flooding grows more severe, the administration has deprioritized climate change research, which is essential when assessing and planning for flood risks at these toxic sites.2 This means we're dangerously unprepared for floods and the havoc they could wreak on our communities.

We can't afford to stand by and wait for these hazardous areas to flood. Tell EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler: Incorporate climate science into flood planning at toxic Superfund sites.

Superfund sites are hazardous places like decaying manufacturing facilities, landfills and mines that have been contaminated by toxic waste, including deadly contaminants like mercury and lead.

Whether it's a canal in New York polluted by sewage and industrial pollutants or an old garbage incineration facility in Florida depositing toxics into nearby soil and water, Superfund sites can be found all over the U.S.3,4

These sites are supposed to be cleaned up by the EPA. But due to a backlog and a lack of funding at the federal level, they often sit untouched for years.5 A flood at any one of these sites could wash potentially deadly chemicals into the surrounding communities, putting peoples' health at risk.

Though it's clear that rising sea levels will lead to greater flooding, the Trump administration's EPA is failing to take that into account in its flood risk assessment and planning for Superfund sites.

It's the EPA's responsibility to keep these sites from putting our health at risk. Tell Administrator Wheeler to stop ignoring climate science.

Flooding due to sea-level rise is already a threat to Americans across the country. The last thing people need is for flooding to bring toxic chemicals into their homes or poison their drinking water.

Like climate change, the risk is real. We need the EPA to take action now, not when the water is at our doorsteps.

Take action.

Thank you,

Hannah Collazo
State Director

P.S. Our work to defend the environment can't stop and won't stop in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. We'll keep advocating on your behalf -- at a safe social distance -- for clean air, clean water, clean energy, wildlife and open spaces, and a livable climate.

1. David Hasemyer, "Hundreds of Toxic Superfund Sites Imperiled by Sea-Level Rise, Study Warns," InsideClimate News, July 28, 2020.
2. David Hasemyer, "Hundreds of Toxic Superfund Sites Imperiled by Sea-Level Rise, Study Warns," InsideClimate News, July 28, 2020.
3. "Gowanus Canal," Environmental Protection Agency, last accessed August 7, 2020.
4. "Wingate Road Municipal Incinerator Dump," Environmental Protection Agency, last accessed August 7, 2020.
5. Ellen Knickermeyer, Matther Brown, and Ed White, "Backlog of toxic Superfund clean-ups grows under Trump," AP News, January 3, 2020.