Summary

GAO reported on Superfund issues, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.

GAO found that the cost and scope of the hazardous waste problem, the degree of health risks involved, and the cost of correcting these problems are unknown. Under the act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has no mandate to set nationwide cleanup standards or oversee state-conducted cleanups. The absence of standards complicates an already lengthy, complex process for cleaning up hazardous waste sites. EPA estimated that federal cleanup costs for priority sites, in 1983 dollars, could range from $7.6 billion to $22.7 billion and that cleanups could take until fiscal year 1999. As a result of the lack of national standards and compliance enforcement, EPA expects to clean up relatively few of the nation's uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. Further, although individual states are assisting in cleanup efforts, the situation is not resulting in uniform protection from the dangers posed by hazardous waste sites. GAO concluded that the resolution of this issue may require Congress to weigh competing priorities and determine the extent to which it believes an expanded federal role at non-National Priorities List (NPL) sites is necessary.