The Government Accountability Office on Monday, Aug. 16, 2010, released a report that shows the United States still has a long way to go to clean up key defense installations from World War II and the ensuing Cold War eras, when the Department of Defense had other objectives occupying it than the millions of acres of soil and water it might be contaminating with rocket fuel, nuclear research, weapon testing and other activities. The EPA currently has 141 DOD installations on its National Priorities List for cleanup, but according to the GAO report, after over a decade of being a "National Priority," 11 installations had not yet even signed the interagency agreements to allow the EPA to get in.

GAO visited three such installations, reviewed the relevant statutes, and advised future actions, among those a clarification of language, since the DOD and EPA seem to, at times, be speaking in entirely different ones.

Read the full report (pdf) at www.gao.gov/new.items/d10348.pdf.

SOURCE: GAO report