The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency obligated $524 million in fiscal year 2005 to cleaning up Superfund sites, according to an annual summary released Nov. 22.

The summary for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 reports that the agency completed work at 40 sites, conducted ongoing cleanup projects at 422 sites, and funded new work at 17 projects across the country.

The agency listed 18 new sites and proposed adding another 12 sites to the National Priorities List.

The EPA also conducted or oversaw more than 400 emergency response and removal actions to address spills and accidental releases that threatened communities.

The Superfund program, launched 25 years ago, has completed cleanup operations at 966 sites. That represents 62 percent of the sites on the National Priorities List.

"EPA continues to make progress in cleaning up the nation´s most contaminated sites," said Thomas Dunne, acting assistant administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.