$48-Million Stopgap Superfund Bill OKd

WASHINGTON — Congress, moving to avert a shutdown of the Superfund program, has provided $48 million in stopgap funding to keep the program running through September.

Faced with warnings that cleanup could stop at 200 toxic waste dumps, the House and Senate approved the bill by voice votes Friday as the lawmakers prepared for their three-week recess.

The bill, which now goes to the White House for President Reagan’s signature, will give Congress time to complete action on a more comprehensive measure.

Superfund has been operating on a scaled-down basis since last August, when EPA Administrator Lee Thomas halted cleanup activities at many of the country’s worst hazardous waste sites to save money to pay for essential work at other locations.