GAO Report Urges Army Corps to Improve Site Monitoring for Emerging Contaminants

摘要

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs to more consistently re-evaluate cleaned up sites where there is potential for emerging contaminants, even in some cases where it is not mandated to do so, according to a Government Accountability Office report on formerly used defense sites, released Oct. 29.rnGAO recommended that the corps follow Environmental Protection Agency guidance calling for five-year reviews at sites where remediation is complete but where institutional controls, such as restrictions on site usage, are in place.rnThe report also called for the corps to implement better management practices for its site review process. The report also recommends that the corps improve how it prioritizes sites, so as to ensure that high-risk sites are addressed before lower-risk sites.rnThe Defense Department acknowledged that more reviews are needed, as required by Environmental Protection Agency guidance, but it disagreed with GAO's recommendation to carry out reviews not required by law.