It plans to complete the selection of remedies for an additional 22 percent of these sites by the end of fiscal year 1999. Status of Remedy Selection

As of September 30, 1997, EPA had completed the selection of remedies at 926 (about 70 percent) of the 1,327 NPL sites listed as of that date that the Superfund program is expected to clean up. In addition, EPA had selected at least one remedy at another 222 sites. Remedy selection was not as far along at federal sites as at nonfederal ones. All remedies had been selected for about 76 percent of the nonfederal sites (890 of 1,169 sites) compared with about 23 percent of the federal sites (36 of 158 sites). EPA officials said that the slower pace of remedy selection at federal sites occurred because many were listed on the NPL after nonfederal sites and were larger and more complex. Remedies will have been selected for about 95 percent of nonfederal sites (1,109 of 1,169 sites) and for about 67 percent of federal sites (106 of 158 sites). To test the reliability of CERCLIS data regarding the cleanup phase reached at NPL sites, we selected a random sample of 98 NPL sites that had not reached the “construction complete” stage as of September 30, 1997, and sought confirmation from EPA’s regional offices of the most recent remedial activity reported by CERCLIS for each operable unit at the sites. Regions reported that at five sites CERCLIS incorrectly recorded the status of cleanup work. At two of these sites, one or more operable units had not reached the cleanup stage recorded in CERCLIS; at two other sites, an operable unit had progressed beyond the stage indicated by CERCLIS; and at the fifth site, an action that was recorded as a remedial action in CERCLIS was actually a removal action. On the basis of our sample results, we estimate that the cleanup status of NPL sites reported by CERCLIS, as of September 30, 1997, was accurate for 95 percent (plus or minus 4.4 percent) of these sites. EPA officials expect that about $100 million will be available to fund new cleanup actions by the end of the fiscal year, leaving a shortfall of about $163 million. Estimates of the funds available for cleanup and the identity and number of the sites ready for cleanup action are subject to revision as the year progresses. Scope and Methodology

To determine the progress the Superfund program has made in selecting remedies, we obtained a copy of the CERCLIS database dated December 15, 1997. V.
To verify the accuracy of the information in CERCLIS on sites’ cleanup progress, we selected a statistically random sample of 98 sites. On the basis of this survey, we estimated the accuracy of the CERCLIS data on site status. V.)
To determine the number of cleanup projects that cannot be started in fiscal year 1998 because of a lack of funding, we interviewed the chair of the National Prioritization Panel and other EPA officials, obtained lists of sites considered by the Panel for funding, and confirmed with regional officials that the listed sites were expected to be ready for new cleanup actions in fiscal year 1998. Federal and Nonfederal Sites for Which Final Remedies Will Be Selected After Fiscal Year 1999

Table VI.1: Nonfederal Sites for Which Final Remedies Will Be Selected After Fiscal Year 1999 Number of remedies selected as of 9/30/97 (continued)
Number of remedies selected as of 9/30/97 (continued)
Table VI.2: Federal Sites for Which Final Remedies Will Be Selected After Fiscal Year 1999 Number of remedies selected as of 9/30/97 (continued)
Number of remedies selected as of 9/30/97 (continued)

Sites Expected to Be Ready for Cleanup Action in Fiscal Year 1998 but Not Approved for Funding as of June 5, 1998

Table VII.1 shows sites that are expected to be ready for new cleanup actions requiring Superfund outlays in fiscal year 1998 and that had not been approved for funding as of June 5, 1998.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the status of sites on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Priorities List (NPL), focusing on the: (1) progress the Superfund program has made in selecting remedies at both federal and nonfederal sites; (2) accuracy of the information in the Superfund database on sites' cleanup progress; and (3) number of cleanup projects that cannot be started in FY 1998 because of a lack of funding.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) as of September 30, 1997, EPA had completed the selection of cleanup remedies at about 70 percent of the 1,327 NPL sites listed as of that date that were expected to require a Superfund remedy; (2) no remedies had been selected at 13 percent of the sites; (3) EPA had selected 1,925 remedies at NPL sites and planned to select another 828 remedies; (4) remedy selection at federal sites has lagged behind selection at nonfederal sites because, according to EPA officials, many of the federal sites present more complex cleanup problems and were added to the NPL after nonfederal sites; (5) at the end of FY 1997, EPA had completed remedy selection for about 76 percent of the nonfederal sites and for about 23 percent of the federal sites; (6) EPA plans to complete remedy selection at an additional 19 percent of nonfederal sites and an additional 44 percent of federal sites by the end of FY 1999; (7) if these plans are realized, EPA will have completed remedy selection at about 95 percent of the nonfederal sites and about 67 percent of the federal sites that were listed as of September 30, 1997; (8) GAO tested the accuracy of the data in EPA's Superfund database on the progress of sites through the cleanup process for a statistically random sample of 98 NPL sites; (9) GAO estimates that the cleanup status of NPL sites reported by the Superfund database as of September 30, 1997, was accurate for 95 percent of the sites; (10) GAO found that this database incorrectly recorded the status of cleanup work at five sampled sites; (11) two of these sites had not progressed as far as the database indicated, two other sites had progressed beyond the cleanup phase indicated by the database, and at the fifth site, an action had been classified incorrectly; (12) EPA identified 46 sites that could start cleanup actions requiring Superfund financing in FY 1998 at an estimated cost of about $263 million; (13) EPA officials expected to have about $100 million available for new actions, an amount that they said could fund up to 20 sites; (14) as a result of this anticipated funding shortfall, at least 26 sites could be ready for cleanup but have no work begun in FY 1998; and (15) the amount of funds that proves to be available for cleanup by the end of the fiscal year and the number and the identity of sites ready for funding could vary from EPA's estimates, depending on the funding demands of competing Superfund activities, the progress of sites toward completing cleanup design, and other factors.