United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-06-22 monographic deposited born digital 77 p. GA 1.13:GAO-01-313 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-313 P0b002ee18038cee5 f:d01313 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-313 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-313 GAO-01-313 Air pollution control Environmental monitoring Environmental research Pollution monitoring Research and development Water pollution control EPA Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems Other Written Product A01265 The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) mission is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment. This includes regulating pollution generated by facilities such as sewage treatment plants, power generation plants, chemical manufacturers, and pulp and paper mills. Monitoring is a key component of the efforts by both the government and private parties to address these threats. Many of the technologies that are currently used to monitor environmental conditions have been in use for several decades. In recent years, however, a number of technologies have been identified that may offer improved measurement and performance capabilities. Concerned that many of these improved technologies are not being used to their full potential, GAO's report (1) identifies technologies whose wider use can improve the monitoring of pollutants entering the nation's air and water, (2) determines the extent to which these improved technologies are being used and steps that EPA can take to encourage their wider use, and (3) identifies the factors that influence the development of new technologies and steps that EPA can take to encourage greater development of new technologies. GAO found that several monitoring technologies exist that can improve the capability to measure the emission or discharge of pollutants from stationary air sources, wastewater sources, and nonpoint water sources. These technologies offer improvements over older, more commonly used methods by detecting pollutants at lower levels, reducing monitoring costs, and increasing the reliability of monitoring results. GAO further found that the primary barriers preventing wider use of these technologies differ considerably across stationary air, wastewater, and nonpoint water sources. Specifically, (1) entities responsible for stationary air sources may not make greater use of advanced technologies because of their potential to identify instances of noncompliance and violations, (2) wastewater dischargers are not allowed to use the advanced technologies because EPA has yet to approve them for Clean Water Act compliance monitoring, and (3) entities responsible for nonpoint water sources have been discouraged from using the technologies because of cost concerns. Lastly, GAO found that equipment manufacturers tend to develop new technologies only when strong prospects exist for a return on their investments. Accordingly, many of the constraints that impede the use of existing advanced monitoring technologies have limited such investments. Without regulatory requirements, manufacturers have little incentive to bring new technologies to market. In the absence of private investment, EPA and other agencies have sponsored some research in this area, but EPA has limited resources and research conducted by other agencies does not always provide results that are acceptable for regulatory purposes. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-313/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-313.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-313/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-313.pdf GAO-01-313 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-313 Other Written Product GAO-01-313; Environmental Protection: Wider Use of Advanced Technologies Can Improve Emissions Monitoring; Air pollution control Environmental monitoring Environmental research Pollution monitoring Research and development Water pollution control EPA Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems