Superfund Work Force Issues

GAO discussed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund program's shortage of skilled personnel, employee turnover, pay differentials with the private sector, and employee training needs. GAO found that: (1) Superfund employees believed that there were staffing and skill shortages in the program in early 1987; (2) full EPA use of additional fiscal year (FY) 1987 positions should have alleviated perceived shortages; (3) EPA needs to use more objective techniques and productivity measures to better support and analyze future staffing and skill requirements; (4) the turnover rate for Superfund employees more than doubled between FY 1985 and FY 1986, surpassing the overall federal rate by 2 percent; (5) former Superfund employees most frequently cited lack of advancement opportunity as the reason they left EPA; and (6) Superfund employees receive less pay than their private-sector counterparts. GAO also found that EPA: (1) took action to enhance employee promotion opportunities; (2) is considering ways to increase Superfund employee compensation through bonuses and added fringe benefits; and (3) developed a plan to improve its Superfund training program.