Summary: GAO was requested to review the status of state solid waste management plans, the conduct of the open-dump inventory, and the impact of reduced funding on state solid waste activities.
GAO found that over $47 million was awarded to states from October 1977 to March 1981 to develop state solid waste management plans and to conduct an open-dump inventory. However, plan development has been slow. No state plans have been approved by EPA as of June 1981. The open-dump inventory published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in late May 1981 is incomplete and is not the management tool intended to apprise Congress and the public of the overall magnitude of solid waste land disposal problems throughout the Nation. Funding for state grants is authorized through fiscal year (FY) 1982; the EPA proposed budget does not provide funding for FY 1982 because EPA expects the states' programs to be self-reliant and self-supporting by then. The States believe that, if additional federal funding is not provided, their solid waste efforts, including implementing the state solid waste management plans and continuing the open-dump inventory, will be significantly curtailed. EPA has encouraged the states to explore alternative funding sources to finance state programs as federal financial assistance was gradually being phased out.
