Superfund

Actions Needed to Correct Long-Standing Contract Management Problems Gao ID: T-RCED-92-78 July 8, 1992

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) $15-billion program to clean up the nation's most dangerous hazardous waste sites remains highly vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse despite repeated warnings of problems in how EPA manages its contracts with private firms. GAO is concerned about EPA's extensive use of cost-reimbursable contracts, with potential values of nearly $10 billion, and the agency's history of contract management problems. Although EPA's cost-reimbursable contracts in the Superfund program cry out for effective cost control measures, EPA has failed to live up to its responsibilities. Until recently, EPA top management had not focused on this issue. EPA's promises to improve contracting activities are a hopeful start to correcting these long-standing contracting problems. It is crucial, however, for EPA to follow through on this pledge--an area in which EPA has fallen short in the past. Unless the effort is sustained and substantive changes occur, scarce Superfund resources will remain vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse.



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