United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Program Evaluation and Methodology Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1994-02-17 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:PEMD-94-9 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-94-9 P0b002ee180380431 f:pe94009 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-PEMD-94-9 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-PEMD-94-9 PEMD-94-9 Quality assurance Water pollution Water pollution control Wastewater management Toxic substances Environmental policies Monitoring Risk management Data bases Health hazards Superfund Program EPA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System EPA Permit Compliance System EPA Water Data Storage and Retrieval System EPA Toxics Release Inventory Program EPA Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative NPDES Chapter Report PEMD The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) controls toxic pollutant discharges into waterways through seven "core" activities spread across several programs. GAO found that some of the information used to analytically support these activities may be of doubtful quality, raising questions about the effectiveness of these activities in controlling toxic pollutants. GAO also found that the current permit process does not limit the vast majority of toxics being discharged from the nation's factories and sewage treatment plants. Although most of these toxicants are "nonpriority" pollutants, they do pose risks to both human health and aquatic life. GAO tried to examine the implications of uncontrolled pollution cases identified in the facility sample population, but the majority of cases could not be evaluated because of a lack of criteria for assessing the health risks posed by the discharges. This is so for most toxicants discharged across the nation. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-94-9/html/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-94-9.htm GAO/PEMD-94-9 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-94-9 Chapter Report GAO/PEMD-94-9; Water Pollution: Poor Quality Assurance and Limited Pollutant Coverage Undermine EPA's Control of Toxic Substances; Quality assurance Water pollution Water pollution control Wastewater management Toxic substances Environmental policies Monitoring Risk management Data bases Health hazards Superfund Program EPA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System EPA Permit Compliance System EPA Water Data Storage and Retrieval System EPA Toxics Release Inventory Program EPA Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative NPDES