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Stories from the WBFO newsroom on the 40th anniversary of Love Canal being named a federal health emergency.

Love Canal's influence on the EPA

Photo from Google map

This week marks the 40th anniversary of the first emergency declaration signed by President Jimmy Carter for the toxic waste dump Love Canal in Niagara Falls.

The 70-acre Love Canal site, which includes a 16-acre hazardous wasteland fill, is still a scar on Niagara Falls history.

The site has been remediated and in 2004, the site was deleted from the EPA’s National Priorities List of Superfund projects. But Regional Administrator Pete Lopez says the struggle isn’t over.

“The mode the EPA is in right now is one of vigilance," Lopez said. 

Lopez says Love Canal set in motion a whole series of environmental protections.

“Love Canal is really the forerunner of the modern EPA and the modern superfund program," he said.

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