I am particularly interested in looking at how EPA manages risk in both the Superfund and RCRA programs. In past years, I often questioned the level of funding for the Superfund program, the cost of Superfund cleanups, the slow pace of cleanups, and the relative lack of attention to or funding for RCRA corrective action cleanups. It seemed to me then, and it still does, that EPA invests too much of its limited resources on Superfund remedial action sites, as compared to other remediation programs that yield more risk reduction per dollar invested, such as RCRA corrective action and the Superfund removal program.
Similarly, on the RCRA corrective action side, hundreds of thousands of sites aren't being cleaned up because EPA's regulations would require expensive cleanups that are not necessary because of the low risk involved at most of these sites. The bottom line is that we're spending too many of our limited resources on cleanups without targeting the greatest risks. EPA's approach seems to be technology driven, rather than risk driven. We need a better system to prioritize the use of funds and resources. I hope to do just that through these kinds of oversight hearings and then later through an EPA authorization bill.
I also plan to take the first legislative step towards a risk-based approach to cleanup by releasing a remediation waste bill. The Committee has been working for two years now to craft a bill that will make it easier and less costly to remediate old dirt. The bill would facilitate the cleanup of 6,000 hazardous waste sites, and 450,000 brownfields sites across the country, removing regulatory obstacles under RCRA that act as a disincentive to cleanup and helping target resources on the sites that present the greatest risk. My goal is to ensure that more of these sites get cleaned up. I believe that EPA shares that goal and hope that we will be able to work together to improve the RCRA corrective action program and bring back these contaminated sites into productive use.
To the extent that EPA has requested additional funds for these sites through the RCRA corrective action program, I applaud that. I remain concerned, however, that the funds requested are still not enough to address high priority risks or even the Agency's GPRA goals. I'll look forward to hearing Mr. Fields address that issue.
I have been working for years to achieve reform in the Superfund Program; however, I recognize that there are numerous issues still outstanding. I will note that the funding requested for the Superfund program is $1.45 billion which is more than the whole budget requested for OSWER. We need to set priorities for the money appropriated to EPA to implement Superfund. If we can't reach consensus on Superfund reform, we should ensure that the money appropriated actually goes to cleanup instead of administrative costs.
I look forward to hearing about the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response budget request for FY01 and hope to work with you in setting priorities for the coming years.