The Superfund law authorized the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) as the regulatory agency for this process. The Superfund,
itself, created the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry. The Superfund is important because it is an attempt,
nationally, to clean up the releases of hazardous materials into
the public environment. It gives the EPA the jurisdiction to force
companies to clean up their messes, and it gives them the ability
to sue those who don't comply.