Consequently, DOD’s overall  cost estimates were based on assumptions, estimates, and actual data that  differed across the services and that raise questions about the reliability of  DOD’s estimated costs to clean up operational ranges. Operational Range Inventory Process Lacked a Common Framework and Analytical Rigor

Each service inventoried its operational ranges and collected data on range  acreage and munitions used, using various methodologies over different  periods of time. DOD provided cost assumptions to the services based on operational  range acreage and other variables. However, as reflected in table 4, a tenfold difference in the average cost to  clean up an acre of highly contaminated rangeland calls into question the  mix of different assumptions and data used by the services to estimate  costs. As a result, the services cost estimates are not comparable. DOD Does Not Have a Comprehensive Policy on Contaminants Associated with Military Munitions and Has Not Specifically Cleaned Up Known Perchlorate Contamination

DOD does not have a comprehensive policy requiring sampling or cleanup  of the more than 200 chemical contaminants associated with military  munitions on operational ranges. However, DOD installations have  sampled for and cleaned up munitions-based constituents when directed by  state regulatory authorities. With regard to perchlorate, DOD has issued  sampling policies but does not provide specific funding for such sampling. Three of the seven installations we visited tested for perchlorate under  the Safe Drinking Water Act’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring  Regulation program. Recommendations for Executive Action

In order to the assist Congress, EPA, and state regulators in assessing and  planning for the cleanup of contamination associated with military  munitions at operational ranges, we are making the following two  recommendations:   To improve congressional oversight of DOD and its operational ranges,  including providing Congress with more realistic estimates of the  potential liability associated with cleaning up contamination related to  the use of military munitions, we recommend that DOD, using a more  consistent estimating methodology, use its most complete operational  range inventory to revise its cost estimates for the cleanup of  operational ranges. We acknowledge that DOD is sampling for, and in  some cases, cleaning up munitions constituents when directed to do so by  EPA or a state environmental agency under various environmental laws. Scope and Methodology

You asked us to determine (1) how DOD identified the location and last  active use of all operational ranges and the basis for DOD’s cost estimates  for cleaning up those ranges; and (2) DOD’s policy on sampling for  contaminants linked to the use of ordnance on operational ranges and,  where munitions-related contaminants have been detected, what  corrective actions the services have taken.
Why GAO Did This Study

For decades, the Department of Defense (DOD) has tested and fired munitions on more than 24 million acres of operational ranges. Munition constituents such as lead, trinitrotoluene (TNT), and perchlorate may cause various health effects, including cancer. Concerned about the potential cost to clean up munitions, Congress required DOD to estimate the cost to clean up its operational ranges. Congress asked GAO to determine (1) how DOD identified the location and last use of operational ranges and the basis for DOD's cost estimates for cleaning up those ranges; and (2) DOD's policy to address contaminants linked to the use of munitions on operational ranges and, where contaminants such as perchlorate have been detected, what corrective actions the military services have taken.

What GAO Found

DOD identified the location and status of its operational ranges based on inventory data developed by the individual military services. However, the reliability of DOD's inventory is questionable because the services did not use a common framework to collect and analyze data on the number of existing operational ranges. Because DOD's cost estimates to clean up its operational ranges were based on individual service calculations that combined inventory data with unvalidated DOD cost assumptions, various service assumptions, and computer-generated cost rates, these cost estimates are also questionable. Specifically, GAO found that each service compiled inventory data using various methodologies over different time periods and developed cost estimates using a mix of differing assumptions and estimates, along with actual data. As a result, the services' estimates to clean up an acre of highly contaminated land vary from about $800 for the Air Force to about $7,600 for the Army. DOD does not have a comprehensive policy requiring sampling or cleanup on operational ranges for the more than 200 chemicals associated with military munitions. However, when required by the Safe Drinking Water Act or other environmental laws, DOD has sampled and cleaned up munitions and munitions constituents. With regard to perchlorate, DOD has issued sampling policies but cannot assure funding is provided for such sampling. In some cases, DOD has sampled for perchlorate when required under the Safe Drinking Water Act's Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation and for other contaminants when directed by state environmental agencies. However, DOD generally has not independently taken actions specifically directed at cleaning up munitions contaminants, such as perchlorate, on operational ranges when they have been detected.