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 1999-03-23 monographic deposited born digital 18 p. GA 1.13:T-RCED-99-128 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-99-128 P0b002ee180383f27 f:rc99128t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-99-128 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-99-128 T-RCED-99-128 Site selection Environmental monitoring Waste management Water pollution control Hazardous substances Waste disposal Health hazards Environment evaluation Federal/state relations EPA National Priorities List Superfund Program GAO High Risk Program Testimony RCED Despite the long duration past cleanups, Superfund is within sight of completing the construction of cleanup remedies at most of the sites on the National Priorities List. However, management problems and cost control issues that GAO has cited for years persist. Because few sites have been admitted to the program in recent years, the pipeline for the List is clearing out. On the other hand, many sites in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) inventory of potential List sites still need attention and possible cleanup, but EPA and the states have postponed decisions, sometimes for up to 10 years or longer, on how to address them. During the past two decades, states have strengthened their capacity to deal with site cleanups to varying degrees. Some have substantial programs, while others claim to have little ability to pay for cleanups. Moreover, not all of the states have adequate enforcement authority to force responsible parties to pay for cleanups. Because the states now have the lead for screening sites for List consideration, future List sites could disproportionately represent complex cleanups for which responsible parties cannot be found or are unwilling to ante up the full cleanup cost. GAO recommends that EPA work with the states to assign responsibility among themselves for these sites. The Superfund reauthorization process gives Congress an opportunity to help guide EPA and the states in allocating responsibility for dealing with these sites. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-99-128/html/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-99-128.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-99-128/pdf/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-99-128.pdf GAO/T-RCED-99-128 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-99-128 Testimony GAO/T-RCED-99-128; Superfund: Progress, Problems, and Future Outlook; Site selection Environmental monitoring Waste management Water pollution control Hazardous substances Waste disposal Health hazards Environment evaluation Federal/state relations EPA National Priorities List Superfund Program GAO High Risk Program