Superfund

A growing consensus has emerged in recent years among many in the administration, state governments, and Congress that the states should take on more responsibility for leading the cleanup of the Superfund program's highest-priority sites, which are included on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Priorities List. This report examines ways in which interested states can successfully assume greater cleanup responsibilities at National Priorities List sites. GAO discusses (1) the lessons learned from the experiences of five states--Minnesota, New Hampshire, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin--that already have led National Priorities List cleanups and (2) how EPA can ensure that interested states are successful in their efforts to assume increased Superfund responsibilities.

GAO noted that: (1) on the basis of GAO's review of the five states' cleanup programs, two critical factors affect a state's ability to successfully lead cleanups at National Priorities List (NPL) sites: (a) the ability of EPA and the state to develop a constructive and efficient relationship that is characterized by a clear division of responsibility and by a level of oversight by EPA that is commensurate with the state's cleanup capabilities; and (b) the availability of technical and financial support to help a state perform its additional responsibilities; (2) in connection with the EPA-state relationship, GAO found instances in which EPA disagreed with the state's view that it could assume added responsibilities without EPA's detailed oversight; (3) on the positive side, however, GAO found cases in which the elimination of a duplication of effort by EPA and state regulators led to a more efficient utilization of resources and an ability to achieve cleanups more quickly and at a lower cost; (4) a useful practice in establishing this relationship has been an explicit agreement between senior management representing both EPA and the state agency that articulates each agency's responsibilities and the manner in which EPA's oversight will be exercised; (5) in connection with technical and financial support, all of the states contacted by GAO indicated that: (a) the need for EPA's research and technical support will continue and, in some instances, may increase as the states' cleanup responsibilities grow; and (b) the states' capability and willingness to participate in future Superfund cleanups will also be contingent on continued federal financial participation; (6) GAO identified a number of areas in which action by EPA could help ensure that greater state involvement in the Superfund program leads to effective and more efficient cleanups; (7) in particular, EPA has yet to develop criteria needed by its regions to determine and communicate the circumstances under which the states may assume increased responsibilities; (8) guidance is also needed to: (a) promote a consistent approach among EPA regions that reduces the duplication of responsibilities by EPA and state regulators; and (b) encourage the use of explicit agreements between the two parties to document and communicate the understandings reached; and (9) in connection with the states' technical and financial needs, EPA has acknowledged that it must play an increased role in this area, but it has yet to detail a specific plan that identifies what the states' specific needs are and how the agency will meet them.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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