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Hazardous Waste: Responsible Party Clean Up Efforts Require Improved Oversight

RCED-86-123 Published: May 06, 1986. Publicly Released: May 06, 1986.
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Highlights

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed cleanup activities at priority hazardous waste sites, specifically: (1) the number, estimated value, and purpose of settlement agreements between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and responsible parties; and (2) how well EPA is overseeing responsible-party compliance with the settlement terms.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Environmental Protection Agency To adequately ensure that responsible parties comply with settlement conditions and cleanup goals, the Administrator, EPA, should strengthen the EPA settlement oversight function by providing project managers with: (1) guidance and procedures on work-load management, how to organize, prioritize, and perform duties and responsibilities, and how to use quality assurance reviews; and (2) procedures and standards for oversight recordkeeping and reporting, determining settlement noncompliance, and taking appropriate enforcement actions.
Closed – Implemented
EPA is taking steps to improve responsible party oversight. Site-by-site contractor support has been provided and a comprehensive system has been developed to track Superfund enforcement information. A longer term effort is underway to develop an oversight guidance manual. Staff turnover has delayed completion of these efforts.

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Topics

Environmental legislationEnvironmental policiesHazardous substancesHealth hazardsPollution controlWaste managementHazardous waste sitesHazardous wastesQuality assuranceRegulatory noncompliance