Impact of Budget Reductions on EPA Programs

As part of a review on the impact of budget reductions for fiscal years 1982 and 1983, GAO was asked to review the reasonableness of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) withdrawal of 43 enforcement cases after they had been referred to the Department of Justice. In view of the discretionary authority of both EPA and Justice to determine which cases were appropriate for referral and litigation, GAO reviewed the cases solely on the basis of the reasonableness of the procedures used in their referral and subsequent withdrawal. EPA stated that its purpose for reassessing its referrals to Justice was to streamline its docket of enforcement cases and to give greater attention to environmentally significant cases. GAO found no evidence that the EPA motivation was other than as stated and concluded that there was no obvious impropriety in the withdrawal of any of the cases. However, GAO questioned the EPA failure to provide adequate, customary documentation in some files. For example, Clean Air Act cases lacked internal supporting documents related to withdrawal decisions. The lack of written documentation for these cases was the result of the informality that prevailed and not the result of any instructions or pressure placed on staff members to reach predetermined conclusions. In the future, EPA should take greater care to maintain appropriate records in support of all withdrawal actions. However, GAO was satisfied that the procedures used by EPA for the initial referrals to Justice and for the subsequent withdrawals appeared to be reasonable.