House Commerce Chairman Bliley Tuesday released a GAO study saying that, in 1996, only 49 percent of the EPA's Superfund spending went to actual site cleanups.
Remaining funds were spent on administration, enforcement, and other activities, the report said. But the 1996 spending represents an increase from the 37 percent spent on cleanup in 1987.
Congress appropriated $1.4 billion for Superfund in 1996; of that amount, $696 million was spent on contractor cleanup work, according to the GAO. Included in other spending was work to determine whether sites should be added to the Superfund list, litigation and research.
Bliley singled out a GAO finding that the EPA is spending $40,000 to train attorneys in Superfund litigation. Bliley said the EPA also is wasting millions on "outreach" and job training, such as $118,811 to the George Washington University to identify and quantify the effect of development of lightly contaminated "brownfields" in reducing pressure on undeveloped land.
The GAO said the legal training program, taught at the University of Maryland Law School, "emphasizes technical issues of broad relevance across environmental statutes, highlighting issues relevant to brownfields, and environmental justice."
Asked Bliley, "Why should taxpayers be paying for the next generation of bulldozer chasers?"
NEXT STORY: Anti-Shutdown Bill Inevitable