It definitely is a stigma. It makes the polluters accountable. We can't ever expect the polluter to step up to the plate. In most states, the EPA is in charge of Superfund cleanups. In recent years, it has begun delegating cleanup responsibility to state authorities, including the Washington Department of Ecology.
States say they think local control is superior to federal oversight.
Conservationists, as noted above, have doubts about the EPA and its relaxing of PCBs standards in Commencement Bay. But in Washington state, Ecology may be the more widely mistrusted agency among environmentalists. For the department, the government or anybody talking about salmon recovery, it's insane to be eliminating the resources necessary for dealing with the problem. We do know the governor may be putting money back into the budget. Joel Hirschhorn, the consultant for the environmental groups, said such questions underscore the need for federal Superfund involvement.