Environmental Contamination: Information on the Funding and Cleanup Status of Defense Sites

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Under the Defense Environ. Restoration Program (DERP), DoD is responsible for cleaning up 5,400 sites on military bases that have been closed, as well as 21,500 sites on active bases, and over 4,700 formerly used defense sites, properties that DoD owned or controlled and transferred to other parties prior to Oct. 1986. The goals of DERP include: (1) reducing risk to human health and the environ.; (2) preparing properties to be environ. suitable for transfer; (3) having final remedies in place and completing response actions; and (4) demonstrating progress toward meeting program performance goals. This testimony discusses information on: (1) how DoD allocates cleanup funding at all sites with defense waste; and (2) cleanup status.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency that works for Congress. The GAO watches over Congress, and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayers dollars. The Comptroller General of the United States is the leader of the GAO, and is appointed to a 15-year term by the U.S. President. The GAO wants to support Congress, while at the same time doing right by the citizens of the United States. They audit, investigate, perform analyses, issue legal decisions and report anything that the government is doing. This is one of their reports.

Cleaning up known hazards at the 4,700 formerly used defense sites (FUDS) -- sites transferred to other owners before 10/86 -- will require 50+ years and cost $18 billion. This estimate excludes any additional needed cleanup of emerging contaminants -- generally, those not yet governed by a health standard. FUDS cleanup is the responsibility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). In addition to FUDS, DoD is responsible for cleaning up 21,500 sites on active bases and 5,400 sites on realigned or closed bases. This report examined: (1) the extent to which the Corps reevaluates sites to identify emerging contaminants; (2) how DoD allocates cleanup funds; (3) how the Corps prioritizes FUDS for cleanup; and (4) FUDS program overhead costs. Illus.