Environmental, Economic, and Political Issues Impede Potomac River Cleanup Efforts
Highlights
GAO reviewed the difficulties state and local governments and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have experienced over the past decade in implementing water quality programs in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. GAO selected the D.C. area for a case study concerning federally mandated water quality programs because many of the problems identified in this report are similar to those occurring in many other areas. The study cites three areas which have been created as a result of the difficulties of the past 10 years: (1) the program has been much more costly than originally expected and current federal, state, and local fiscal constraints raise significant concerns regarding the affordability of water quality standards; (2) meeting environmental standards creates a problem of sludge disposal which has not yet been satisfactorily resolved; (3) the need for the rigorous water quality standards of the existing programs and the public benefits to be derived by additional investment to meet the standards have not yet been shown.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Congress should, in considering reauthorization of and amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, retain the essential design of the act's regional planning provisions. Congress should also reemphasize that EPA requires, as necessary, regional planning and program implementation mechanisms for metropolitan areas as a prerequisite for them to obtain federal water quality project grants. | The amendment to the act retained areawide planning, but with a different approach than the two options GAO advocated. | |
| Congress should consider alternative approaches if it determines that the recommended optimal regional approach is not acceptable. These include: (1) requiring EPA to become a more active participant; and (2) eliminating regional planning as a federal requirement, including federal funding for such planning, and assessing projects on a case-by-case basis using as criteria available alternatives within the applicant jurisdiction's boundaries. | The amendment to the act retained areawide planning but with a different approach than the two options GAO advocated. | |
| Congress should consider placing more emphasis on a cost/benefit approach in funding advanced wastewater treatment projects. | There is no indication that Congress intends action on this recommendation. |
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Protection Agency | The Administrator of EPA should ascertain how the agency can manage its programs in a more integrated manner and make recommendations to Congress on what, if any, legislative changes may be required. |
There is no indication that agency action will be taken in near to mid-term.
|
| Environmental Protection Agency | The Administrator of EPA should renew earlier priority efforts to establish and issue regulations for the distribution and marketing of sewage sludge products. |
There is no indication that agency action will be taken in near to mid-term.
|
| Environmental Protection Agency | The Administrator of EPA should undertake a more active role in assisting local jurisdictions in finding suitable methods for disposing of their sewage sludge and leading them through the regulatory maze to ensure they can be implemented. |
There is no indication that the agency will take action in near to mid-term.
|
| Environmental Protection Agency | The Administrator of EPA should approve no treatment plant upgrading or expansion without first having an approved program for disposing of the resulting increased sludge volumes. |
There is no indication that the agency will take action in near or mid-term.
|
| Environmental Protection Agency | The Administrator of EPA should fund no new planning efforts for wastewater treatment plants or related projects in metropolitan areas where regional approaches are needed until involved state and local governments have developed the institutional mechanisms needed to ensure thorough regional assessments of alternatives and implementation of resulting recommendations. |
Recent amendments to the Clean Water Act eliminating facilities planning grants as a separate grant make this recommendation moot. However, EPA is revising its regulations to assist state and regional agencies in developing necessary institutional mechanisms.
|