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Environmental Protection: Opportunities to Recover Funds Obligated for Completed Superfund Projects

T-RCED-97-134 Published: Apr 15, 1997. Publicly Released: Apr 15, 1997.
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Highlights

GAO discussed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) efforts to recover funds obligated for completed Superfund projects, focusing on the: (1) total amount of unspent obligated funds remaining on completed contract work orders and assistance agreements and the EPA offices and regions primarily responsible for administering these funds; and (2) timeliness of EPA's recovery of such funds.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Environmental Protection Agency To recover unspent funds on inactive Superfund contract work orders and assistance agreements, the Administrator of EPA should develop a strategy for identifying, deobligating, and recovering unspent funds within the period specified for contracts by the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and for assistance agreements by EPA's Final Closeout Policy for Assistance Agreements.
Closed – Implemented
EPA has taken the action necessary to successfully implement the recommendation, including the development of a Deobligation Task Force Annual Deobligation Guidance document that outlines the policy and procedures for recovering unspent funds. as well as decertification priorities for each year.

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Topics

Budget obligationsContract administrationCooperative agreementsDeobligationsEmergency responseGovernment collectionsHazardous substancesUnexpended budget balancesWaste disposalHazardous waste sitesRecoupment