Skip to main content

Superfund: EPA Action Could Have Minimized Program Management Costs

RCED-93-136 Published: Jun 07, 1993. Publicly Released: Jun 15, 1993.
Jump To:

Highlights

Pursuant to congressional requests, GAO assessed: (1) the extent of and reasons for high Superfund program management costs and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) initiatives to reduce these costs on current Alternative Remedial Contracting Strategy (ARCS) contracts; and (2) EPA plans to control program management costs on new Superfund clean-up contracts.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Environmental Protection Agency To ensure adequate control over contract capacity and program management costs on RAC, the Administrator, EPA, should direct officials of the Office of the Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response and the Office of the Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resources Management to coordinate the development of SACM, other policy initiatives, and major program changes that may occur during Superfund's reauthorization with the development of RAC, modifying the contracts as needed to avoid unnecessary cost to the government.
Closed – Implemented
The new Superfund acquisition manager and a group of senior resource management officials have been given responsibility for tracking and coordinating all Superfund contracting needs. They meet periodically to review any changes in regional contracting needs and to discuss the impact of any legislative and policy changes.
Environmental Protection Agency To minimize program management cost expenditures, the Administrator, EPA, should direct the Assistant Administrators for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response and Administration and Resources Management to review the remaining capacity of each ARCS contract and, in those regions where there is excess capacity, perform a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether terminating some contracts would be more cost-effective than continuing to pay program management costs for the remaining life of underutilized contracts.
Closed – Implemented
EPA's Office of Emergency and Remedial Response (OERR) completed its review of ARCS contract capacity in December 1993. OERR decided not to terminate contracts at that time because the new indemnification policy and conflict of interest requirements carried uncertainties about the number of contractors who would be available to complete work.

Full Report

Full Report (52 pages)

Office of Public Affairs

Topics

Natural Resources and Environment
Accounting systemsContract administrationContract costsContract oversightCost controlEnvironmental monitoringProjectionsRisk managementWaste managementProgram management