United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1996-06-07 monographic deposited born digital 35 p. GA 1.13:RCED-96-150 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-150 P0b002ee18038f591 f:rc96150 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-150 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-150 RCED-96-150 Federal facilities Site selection Environment evaluation Environmental monitoring Environmental policies Radioactive pollution Waste disposal Hazardous substances Waste management Interagency relations Superfund Program EPA National Priorities List DOD Environmental Restoration Program DOE Environmental Management Program Central Hazardous Materials Fund EPA Hazard Ranking System DOD Base Realignment and Closure Account Letter Report RCED Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed how priorities are being set for hazardous waste cleanups, focusing on: (1) whether the Superfund program is identifying the highest-priority cleanup sites; and (2) the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy (DOE), and the Department of the Interior approaches for ranking risks and prioritizing sites for cleanup.<p/>GAO found that: (1) the Superfund program does not completely and consistently identify the federal facilities presenting the greatest risks to public health and the environment; (2) without a complete inventory of contaminated sites, adequate data on the risks at these sites, and consistent policy guidance, agencies cannot fully prioritize cleanup activities; (3) the National Priorities List (NPL) does not include all eligible contaminated sites and the Hazard Ranking System does not provide sufficient information to rank contaminated facilities on the basis of risk; (4) federal agencies responsible for cleanups do not use a consistent approach to assess relative risk; (5) to help set cleanup priorities and make funding decisions, DOD developed a risk-ranking tool to categorize contaminated sites; (6) DOE uses a qualitative, facility-based approach to evaluate contaminated sites and prioritize cleanups; (7) Interior uses a centralized priority-setting mechanism in the later stages of the Superfund process to rank its contaminated facilities; and (8) while individual agencies use their own risk-assessment processes, it would be more cost-effective for agencies to use a consistent, national approach to rank risks and identify high-priority sites. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-150/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-150.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-150/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-150.pdf GAO/RCED-96-150 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-150 Letter Report GAO/RCED-96-150; Federal Facilities: Consistent Relative Risk Evaluations Needed for Prioritizing Cleanups; Federal facilities Site selection Environment evaluation Environmental monitoring Environmental policies Radioactive pollution Waste disposal Hazardous substances Waste management Interagency relations Superfund Program EPA National Priorities List DOD Environmental Restoration Program DOE Environmental Management Program Central Hazardous Materials Fund EPA Hazard Ranking System DOD Base Realignment and Closure Account