Environmental Liabilities: EPA Should Do More to Ensure That Liable Parties Meet Their Cleanup Obligations

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 2005-08-17 monographic deposited born digital 88 p. GA 1.13:GAO-05-658 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-658 P0b002ee18038e74b f:d05658 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-658 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-658 GAO-05-658 Bankruptcy Environmental law Environmental monitoring Hazardous substances Liability (legal) Regulatory agencies Waste disposal Waste management Environmental cleanups Government/business relations Superfund Program Other Written Product A33339 Environmental Liabilities: EPA Should Do More to Ensure That Liable Parties Meet Their Cleanup Obligations The burden of cleaning up Superfund and other hazardous waste sites is increasingly shifting to taxpayers, particularly since businesses handling hazardous substances are no longer taxed under Superfund and the backlog of sites needing cleanup is growing. While key environmental laws rely on the "polluter pays" principle, the extent to which liable parties cease operations or restructure--such as through bankruptcy--can directly affect the cleanup costs faced by taxpayers. GAO was asked to (1) determine how many businesses with liability under federal law for environmental cleanups have declared bankruptcy, and how many such cases the government has pursued in bankruptcy court; (2) identify challenges the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) faces in holding bankrupt and other financially distressed businesses responsible for their cleanup obligations; and (3) identify actions EPA could take to better ensure that such businesses pay for their cleanups. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-658/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-658.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-658/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-658.pdf GAO-05-658 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-658 Other Written Product GAO-05-658; Environmental Liabilities: EPA Should Do More to Ensure That Liable Parties Meet Their Cleanup Obligations; Bankruptcy Environmental law Environmental monitoring Hazardous substances Liability (legal) Regulatory agencies Waste disposal Waste management Environmental cleanups Government/business relations Superfund Program