GAO urges EPA to track effectiveness of Superfund cost recovery

The Government Accountability Office's latest report finds that the Environmental Protection Agency recovered less than half of the $25.8 billion it spent on nonfederal National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund cleanups during fiscal years 1996-2024. GAO says EPA does not currently assess the effectiveness of its cost-recovery efforts, limiting the agency's ability to determine which strategies work best.

From fiscal years 2006-2024, the Hazardous Substance Superfund Trust Fund received about $34 billion in constant 2024 dollars, primarily from General Fund transfers, while Congress appropriated roughly $32.8 billion for the Superfund program. Revenue from reinstated Superfund taxes contributed substantially in fiscal year 2024. EPA's expenditures at nonfederal NPL sites totalled about $25.8 billion, with remedial activities accounting for roughly half of that amount.

GAO recommends that the EPA Administrator ensure the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) establishes explicit goals for cost-recovery effectiveness, routinely collects performance information on those goals, and regularly uses the data to assess progress and guide future enforcement actions. The report notes that EPA has performance goals for timely cost-recovery steps but lacks tools to evaluate overall effectiveness across sites or regions.

EPA has agreed with all three recommendations, which remain open. GAO will monitor agency actions and update its assessment when EPA reports on implementation of the recommended goals, data collection processes, and use of performance information.