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Superfund: Integrated Site Assessments May Expedite Cleanups

RCED-97-181 Published: Jul 24, 1997. Publicly Released: Aug 27, 1997.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the efficiency of the Superfund process, focusing on: (1) whether integrated site assessments have the potential to expedite hazardous waste cleanups, reduce their costs, and improve coordination among various Superfund units; (2) the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) implementation of this approach; and (3) any factors that could limit the use of integrated site assessments.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Environmental Protection Agency To encourage the full, appropriate use of integrated site assessments, the Administrator, EPA, should evaluate the regions' implementation of the integrated approach to determine why some regions have made little use of it and how its use has affected the time and costs of the Superfund process. If the assessment shows that the integrated approach has improved the Superfund process, then the Administrator should consider establishing goals for the wider use of integrated assessments.
Closed – Implemented
EPA established goals for fiscal year 1998 for the regions to conduct a certain number of integrated site assessments. Similar goals are planned for future years.
Environmental Protection Agency To encourage the full, appropriate use of integrated site assessments, the Administrator, EPA, should evaluate the regions' implementation of the integrated approach to determine why some regions have made little use of it and how its use has affected the time and costs of the Superfund process. If the assessment shows that the integrated approach has improved the Superfund process, then the Administrator should identify best practices in regional offices and share them with all of the regions so that the other regions can incorporate the best practices in their own guidance and policies.
Closed – Implemented
EPA has compared regional experiences with integrated site assessments and shared information on the assessments at several national conferences.
Environmental Protection Agency To encourage the full, appropriate use of integrated site assessments, the Administrator, EPA, should evaluate the regions' implementation of the integrated approach to determine why some regions have made little use of it and how its use has affected the time and costs of the Superfund process. If the assessment shows that the integrated approach has improved the Superfund process, then the Administrator should provide regional officials with updated training on the integrated approach to ensure its effective use and to improve coordination among regional officials in various programs.
Closed – Implemented
EPA has recently covered integrated site assessment concepts in its training courses.

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Topics

Best practicesCost controlEnvironment evaluationEnvironmental policiesFederal agency reorganizationHazardous substancesInspectionIntergovernmental relationsWaste disposalHazardous waste sites