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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Inspector General
At a Glance
08-P-0169
June 2, 2008
Catalyst for Improving the Environment
why we Did This Review Improved Controls Would Reduce Superfund Backlogs
The Office of Management
and Budget requested us to
evaluate the U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency's
(EPA's) management of the
backlog of Superfund sites.
Our objective was to
determine why some
hazardous waste sites in the
Superfund program that
existed prior to October 1986
have not yet had remedial
construction completed. We
also reviewed the impacts
resulting from sites not yet
achieving construction
completion.
Background
As of February 2007, there
were 144 non-federal sites that
had been on the National
Priorities List (NPL) for over
20 years but had still not
reached construction
completion. We focused our
review on sites in New Jersey
because that State has 38 of
the 144 sites, or 26 percent,
which is more than any other
State.
For further information,
contact our Office of
Congressional and Public
Liaison at (202) 566-2391.
To view the full report,
click on the following link:
www.epa.qov/oiq/reports/2008/
20080602-08-P-0169.pdf
What We Found
Neither EPA nor the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
(NJDEP) took actions needed to ensure progress at seven New Jersey-led
Superfund site clean-ups. These sites were listed on the NPL over 20 years ago
but still have not had a final clean-up remedy constructed (construction
completion). Delays occurred primarily because EPA Region 2 and New Jersey
did not use available authorities to prevent delays and implement internal controls.
Region 2 and NJDEP did not implement agreements on clean-up milestones,
Agency responsibilities, and enforcement actions. As a result, Region 2 did not
ensure proper oversight of these Superfund clean-ups. Over the past year,
Region 2 and NJDEP have worked together to revise site clean-up schedules and
complete clean-ups. Continued clean-up delays will result in increased costs,
prevent appropriate land reuse and redevelopment, and perpetuate concern about
the risks associated with living near these sites.
For the seven sites reviewed, various interim clean-up actions had been taken to
address the impact of site contaminants on human health. However, the site
progress profiles on EPA's public Website did not include these interim actions as
part of the status of clean-up progress. As a result, progress being made on sites
may not be readily communicated to the public.
What We Recommend
We recommend that the Region 2 Administrator direct staff to coordinate with
NJDEP officials the clean-up of specified sites more than 20 years old. Region 2
should assume lead status from New Jersey for those sites where both agencies
agree it would be beneficial and develop Letters of Agreement for those sites. We
also recommend that the Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency
Response, where appropriate, improve site profiles in EPA's public Superfund
Website to accurately depict EPA and State actions taken to protect human health
and the environment. In its response to the draft report, EPA agreed with all of
our recommendations and its proposed corrective actions should address our
recommendations. However, the recommendations will remain open until the
agreed-upon actions are completed.

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