Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cleanup of the nation’s most polluted sites cost $135 million more than budgeted, thanks to unauthorized spending, a government watchdog reported Monday.
The $135 million reported by the EPA’s Inspector General (IG) could underestimate all cost increases, since the watchdog excluded projects that were permitted to go over budget.
The cost estimates are included in Superfund State Contracts (SSC), which are agreements between the EPA and states regarding hazardous waste cleanups, the IG said.
“The EPA should improve its financial oversight of SSCs to increase monitoring and prevent SSC expenses from exceeding the estimated project costs,” the report said. “With improved monitoring, the EPA could reduce the risk of: interrupting an ongoing cleanup, delaying the environmental cleanup and public health protection or making expenditures for which the state is not contractually bound to share in paying.”
Of the 504 SSCs reviewed, 51 — or 10 percent — exceeded those projects by more than $135 million total.
“EPA expenditures that exceed the SSC cost estimates violate EPA policy and could lead to disputes with states that may prevent the EPA from continuing a remedial action at a site,” the report said.
Meanwhile, the EPA created 1,308 slush fund-like accounts since 1990 from which officials have secretly spent more than $3.3 billion that they refuse to make public, The Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported.
The EPA has refused to release information about spending from those accounts or Superfund contracts, making it impossible to determine if estimated cleanup costs were exceeded.
Also, 20 of 56 reviewed SCCs were either inaccurately closed or were left open between four and 28 years after site cleanups were completed. Prolonging close-outs could “delay the availability of appropriated funds that could be used for other sites” if contracts have any leftover money.
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