Hazardous Waste

If not properly built, land disposal facilities for hazardous waste can release pollutants into the underlying groundwater. This briefing report provides information on the implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency's groundwater monitoring requirements for hazardous waste land disposal facilities. GAO discusses the number of (1) land disposal facilities subject to groundwater monitoring requirements and whether monitoring systems have been installed, (2) facilities where releases to the groundwater have occurred, (3) corrective measures that have been taken to prevent further groundwater contamination, and (4) citations that have been issued for groundwater monitoring violations.

GAO found that: (1) of the 1,209 facilities reviewed, about 976 had monitoring systems capable of immediately detecting groundwater releases, 169 had some monitoring wells that were not capable of detecting a release, and 54 had no monitoring wells in place; (2) of the 890 facilities where releases occurred, about 608 had groundwater monitoring systems capable of determining the rate and extent of migration and the concentrations of hazardous waste in groundwater, 260 facilities had some monitoring wells that were not capable of fully assessing groundwater releases, and 15 facilities had no wells; (3) there was incomplete data on the capability of groundwater monitoring systems at 7 facilities; (4) all facilities were not required to assess releases into the groundwater; (5) 606 facilities have initiated corrective actions to prevent further groundwater contamination and 261 facilities have not initiated any corrective actions; (6) since October 1989, 650 of the 1,209 facilities have been cited for groundwater monitoring violations; (7) the most frequent types of monitoring violations cited were sampling and analysis violations; and (8) as of September 1993, 211 of the 650 facilities were not in compliance with EPA regulations.