Pursuit's Take
OIG did this review to evaluate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) progress in meeting Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) minimum inspection requirements at hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities (TSDFs).
Overall, the EPA had a high inspection completion rate of 91 percent (656 out of a universe of 718 TSDFs reviewed). However, specific inspection completion rates varied for the three types of TSDFs: 94 percent for private TSDFs; 85 percent for federal TSDFs; and 54 percent for state or local TSDFs. Although the EPA’s overall inspection completion rate is high, the agency did not fully meet the legal requirement for inspecting 100 percent of operating TSDFs for fiscal year 2014.
OIG also found that the EPA recognizes state-conducted inspections of federal TSDFs as meeting the federal inspection requirement. Because this practice was inconsistent with the EPA’s documented compliance monitoring strategy, the agency updated its strategy in September 2015 to allow this practice.
Media Coverage
The Hill: Watchdog: EPA behind on hazardous waste inspections
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