What is the EPA national priorities list?

Understanding the EPA’s National Priorities List

The National Priorities List, or NPL, is a key tool used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to identify the most serious hazardous waste sites in the country. These are locations where toxic substances have been released—or are at risk of being released—into the environment, posing significant threats to public health and ecosystems.

Managed under the federal Superfund program, established after the passage of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) in 1980, the NPL helps prioritize sites for long-term cleanup actions. Being on the list doesn’t mean immediate remediation, but it does make a site eligible for federal funding and oversight through the EPA’s Superfund program.

Sites are added to the NPL after a thorough evaluation using the Hazard Ranking System (HRS), a scoring method that assesses the risks posed by contaminated soil, groundwater, surface water, and air. Only sites that score above a certain threshold are proposed for inclusion, followed by a public comment period before final listing.

As of October 1, 2025, the list includes hundreds of locations across the United States and its territories—ranging from abandoned industrial plants and landfills to former military installations. Iconic examples include the Love Canal in New York and the Hanford Site in Washington state.

While inclusion on the NPL is not a designation of guilt or responsibility, it often triggers legal and financial accountability for potentially responsible parties (PRPs). When such parties can’t be identified or are unable to pay, cleanup is funded by the Superfund trust, originally supported by taxes on the chemical and petroleum industries.

The NPL remains a critical instrument in the nation’s effort to confront its environmental legacy—ensuring that the most dangerous sites receive the attention and resources needed to protect communities and restore land for future use.