SARA also required the Secretary of Defense to carry out the Defense  Environmental Restoration Program (DERP). Funding Levels and Cleanup Status for Active and BRAC Sites and FUDS

DOD uses the same method to propose funding for cleanup at active and  BRAC sites and FUDS; and cleanup funding is based on DERP goals and is  generally proportional to the number of sites in each of these categories. Specifically, officials in the Military Departments, Defense Agencies, and  FUDS program who are responsible for environmental restoration at the  sites under their jurisdiction formulate cleanup budget proposals based on  instructions in DOD’s financial management regulation and DERP  environmental restoration performance goals. DOD’s DERP goals include  reducing risk to human health and the environment,    preparing BRAC properties to be environmentally suitable for transfer,    having final remedies in place and completing response actions, and  fulfilling other established milestones to demonstrate progress toward  meeting program performance goals. For sites included under the  first four BRAC rounds, the goal is to reach the RIP/RC milestone at IRP  sites by 2015 and at MMRP sites by 2009. For sites included under the 2005  BRAC round, the goal is to reach the RIP/RC milestone at IRP sites by 2014  and at MMRP sites by 2017. DOD’s military components plan cleanup actions that are required to meet  these goals at the installation or site level. DOD requires the components  to assess their inventory of BRAC and other sites by relative risk to help  make informed decisions about which sites to clean up first. Using these  relative risk categories, as well as other factors such as stakeholder  interest and mission needs, the components set more specific cleanup  targets each fiscal year to demonstrate progress and prepare a budget to  achieve those goals and targets. DOD data show that, in applying the broad restoration goals,  performance goals, and targets, cleanup funding is generally  proportional to the number of sites in the active, BRAC, and FUDS  site categories. As the table indicates, the total number of BRAC sites requiring cleanup is  about 17 percent of the total number of defense sites, while the $440.2  million obligated to address BRAC sites in fiscal year 2008 is equivalent to  about 25 percent of the total funds obligated for cleaning up all defense  waste sites. Challenges to DOD’s Environmental Cleanup Efforts

Our past work has also identified a number of challenges to DOD’s efforts  in undertaking environmental cleanup activities at defense sites, including  BRAC sites. For example, we have reported the following:    DOD’s preliminary cost estimates for environmental cleanup at specific  sites may not reflect the full cost of cleanup. However, we have  reported that three key factors can lead to delays in the cleanup and  transfer of sites. These factors are (1) technological constraints that limit  DOD’s ability to accurately identify, detect, and clean up unexploded  ordnance from a particular site, (2) prolonged negotiations between  environmental regulators and DOD about the extent to which DOD’s  actions are in compliance with environmental regulations and laws, and  (3) the discovery of previously undetected environmental contamination  that can result in the need for further cleanup, cost increases, and delays  in property transfer. Addressing this challenge, however, is critical because  environmental cleanup has historically been a key impediment to the  expeditious transfer of unneeded property to other federal and nonfederal  parties who can put the property to new uses.
Why GAO Did This Study

Under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP), the Department of Defense (DOD) is responsible for cleaning up about 5,400 sites on military bases that have been closed under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, as well as 21,500 sites on active bases and over 4,700 formerly used defense sites (FUDS), properties that DOD owned or controlled and transferred to other parties prior to October 1986. The cleanup of contaminants, such as hazardous chemicals or unexploded ordnance, at BRAC bases has been an impediment to the timely transfer of these properties to parties who can put them to new uses. The goals of DERP include (1) reducing risk to human health and the environment (2) preparing BRAC properties to be environmentally suitable for transfer (3) having final remedies in place and completing response actions and (4) fulfilling other established milestones to demonstrate progress toward meeting program performance goals. This testimony is based on prior work and discusses information on (1) how DOD allocates cleanup funding at all sites with defense waste and (2) BRAC cleanup status. It also summarizes other key issues that GAO has identified in the past that can impact DOD's environmental cleanup efforts.

What GAO Found

DOD uses the same method to propose funding for cleanup at FUDS, active sites, and BRAC sites; cleanup funding is based on DERP goals and is generally proportional to the number of sites in each of these categories. Officials in the Military Departments, Defense Agencies, and FUDS program, who are responsible for executing the environmental restoration activities at their respective sites, formulate cleanup budget proposals using the instructions in DOD's financial management regulation and DERP environmental restoration performance goals. DERP's goals include target dates for reaching the remedy-in-place or response complete (RIP/RC) milestone. For example, for sites included under the first four BRAC rounds, the goal is to reach the RIP/RC milestone at sites with hazardous substances released before October 1986 by 2015 and for sites in the 2005 BRAC round by 2014. DOD's military components plan cleanup actions that are required to meet DERP goals at the installation or site level. DOD requires the components to assess their inventory of BRAC and other sites by relative risk to help make informed decisions about which sites to clean up first. Using these relative risk categories, as well as other factors, the components set more specific restoration targets each fiscal year to demonstrate progress and prepare a budget to achieve those goals and targets. DOD data show that, in applying the goals, and targets, cleanup funding has generally been proportional to the number of sites in the FUDS, active, and BRAC site categories. For example, the total number of BRAC sites requiring cleanup is about 17 percent of the total number of defense sites requiring cleanup, while the $440.2 million obligated to address BRAC sites in fiscal year 2008 is equivalent to about 25 percent of the total funds obligated for this purpose for all defense waste sites. GAO's past work has also shown that DOD's preliminary cost estimates for cleanup generally tend to rise significantly as more information becomes known about the level of contamination at a specific site. In addition, three factors can lead to delays in cleanup. They are (1) technological constraints that limit DOD's ability to detect and cleanup certain kinds of hazards, (2) prolonged negotiations with environmental regulators on the extent to which DOD's actions are in compliance with regulations and laws, and (3) the discovery of previously unknown hazards that can require additional cleanup, increase costs, and delay transfer of the property.