Superfund: Greater Enforcement and Reporting are Needed to Enhance Cleanup at DOD sites

This Report (GAO-09-278) from the Government Accounatbility Office dated March 2009 states that of the 985 DOD sites requiring cleanup of hazardous substances, EPA has oversight authority of the 140 on the NPL; the remaining 845 non-NPL sites are overseen by other cleanup authorities—usually the states. A review of 389 non-NPL DOD sites showed that EPA decided not to list 56 percent because it determined the condition of the sites did not satisfy the criteria for listing or because it deferred the sites to other programs, most often the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act––another federal statute that governs activities involving hazardous waste.

However, DOD does not have agreements for 11 sites, even though they are required under CERCLA. It was not until more than 10 years after these sites were placed on the NPL that EPA, in 2007, pursued enforcement action against DOD by issuing administrative orders at 4 of the 11 sites.