About 1,800 Sites Classified as Awaiting a National Priorities List Decision Remain Potentially Eligible for the List

The responses to our surveys of officials of EPA, other federal agencies, and states indicate that 1,789 of the 3,036 sites classified by EPA’s database as awaiting a National Priorities List decision are potentially eligible for the list. Another 1,234 sites are unlikely to become eligible for the Superfund program for various reasons. Officials of EPA, other federal agencies, and states who responded to our survey characterized the risks presented by about two-thirds of the potentially eligible sites. They said that about 17 percent of the sites currently pose high human health and environmental risks; another 10 percent of the sites potentially pose high future risks. In addition, officials were unsure about the severity of site conditions for a large proportion of potentially eligible sites. 6) if they are not cleaned up. Average current risks (455 sites)
Low current risks (443 sites)

	EPA’s and States’ Cleanup Activities at Potentially Eligible Sites Have Been Limited

The 1,789 sites that are potentially eligible for the National Priorities List include (1) 686 sites where some cleanup activities have reportedly taken place or are currently being conducted but the final cleanup remedies are not yet under way and (2) 1,103 sites where officials reported that no substantive cleanup activities beyond initial site assessments or investigations have occurred or no information on cleanup progress is available. 8). 9). As shown in figure 10, one-third of the sites that have been known for 10 to 14 years and another third of the sites that have been in the inventory for 15 years or more have undergone some cleanup activities. 11). They estimated that 536 (30 percent) of the sites will be cleaned up under state programs but usually could not give a date for the start of cleanup or say whether responsible parties would participate. 12). Although respondents from EPA, other federal agencies, and states jointly believed that as many as 232 of the potentially eligible sites may eventually be placed on the list, none of these sites has yet been proposed for listing. Recommendations

Because of the need for current and accurate information on the risks posed by the 1,789 sites that are potentially eligible for the National Priorities List in order to set cleanup priorities and delineate cleanup responsibilities, we recommend that the Administrator, EPA, in consultation with each applicable state, (1) develop a timetable for EPA or the state to characterize and rank the risks associated with the potentially eligible sites and (2) establish interim cleanup measures that may be appropriate for EPA and the state to take at potentially eligible sites that pose the highest risks while these sites await either placement on the National Priorities List or state action to fully clean them up; in consultation with each applicable state, (1) develop a timetable for determining whether EPA or the state will be responsible for cleaning up individual sites, taking into consideration, among other factors, some states’ limited resources and enforcement authority, and (2) once a determination is made, notify the public as to which party is responsible for cleaning up each site; and correct the errors in the CERCLIS database that incorrectly classify sites as awaiting a National Priorities List decision and prevent the recurrence of such errors so that the database accurately reflects whether sites are awaiting a listing decision. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives in this review were to (1) determine the number of sites awaiting an NPL decision that remain potentially eligible for the list; (2) describe the characteristics of these sites, including their health and environmental risks; (3) determine the status of any actions to clean up these sites; and (4) collect the opinions of EPA and other federal and state officials on the likely final disposition of these sites, including the number of sites that are likely to be added to the Superfund program. For example, these three states account for 54 percent of the sites for which we could not obtain an official’s estimate of the risks to human health and the environment. Additional Information on Potentially Eligible Sites That Have Undergone Some Cleanup Actions

We asked officials of EPA, other federal agencies, and states about the cleanup actions that have been conducted at the potentially eligible sites. Officials of about a quarter of the responding states told us that their state’s financial capability to clean up potentially eligible sites, if necessary, is excellent or good, and more than half said that their state’s ability to fund these cleanups is poor or very poor.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO surveyed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regions, other federal agencies, and states to: (1) determine the number of sites classified as awaiting a National Priorities List (NPL) decision that remain potentially eligible for the list; (2) describe the characteristics of these sites, including their health and environmental risks; (3) determine the status of any actions to clean up these sites; and (4) collect the opinions of EPA and other federal and state officials on the likely final disposition of these sites, including the number of sites that are expected to be added to the NPL.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) on the basis of surveys of EPA regions, other federal agencies, and states, GAO has determined that 1,789 of the 3,036 sites that EPA's database classified as awaiting a NPL decision in October 1997 are still potentially eligible for placement on the list; (2) GAO considered the 1,234 other sites as unlikely to become eligible for various reasons; (3) the other sites do not require cleanup in the view of the responding officials, have already been cleaned up, or have final cleanup activities under way; (4) officials of EPA, other federal agencies, and states said that many of the potentially eligible sites present risks to human health and the environment; (5) the potentially eligible sites are generally located in populated areas; (6) officials of EPA, other federal agencies, and states said that about 17 percent of the potentially eligible sites currently pose high human health and environmental risks and that another 10 percent could also pose high risks in the future if they are not cleaned up; (7) however, these officials were unsure about the severity of risks for a large proportion of the sites; (8) responding officials said that some cleanup actions have taken place at 686 of the potentially eligible sites; (9) no cleanup activities beyond initial site assessments or investigations have been conducted, or no information is available on any such actions, at the other 1,103 potentially eligible sites; (10) many of the potentially eligible sites have been in states' and EPA's inventories of hazardous sites for extended periods; (11) 73 percent have been in EPA's inventory for more than a decade; (12) no cleanup progress was reported at the majority of the sites that have been known for 10 years or more; (13) responding officials did not indicate whether or how more than half of the potentially eligible sites would be cleaned up; (14) collectively, EPA and state officials believed that 232 of the potentially eligible sites might be placed on the NPL in the future; (15) however, EPA and the states agreed on the listing prospects of only a small number of specific sites; (16) officials estimated that almost one third of the potentially eligible sites are likely to be cleaned up under state programs but usually could not give a date for the start of cleanup activities; (17) officials of about 20 percent of the states said that their state's enforcement capacity to compel responsible parties to clean up potentially eligible sites is fair to very poor; and (18) officials of about half of the states told GAO that their state's financial capability to clean up potentially eligible sites is poor or very poor.