Summary: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1991 began operating its Resource Conservation and Recovery Information System to help the federal government and the states better manage their hazardous waste cleanup programs. GAO found that the system fall short of meeting its goal because it has not met three of its main objectives. Although the system gives the states their own individual databases, data entry and retrieval are so difficult that most users do not rely on the system. Moreover, although the system was intended to be flexible enough to meet individual needs, most users do not attempt to do this because of the difficulties using and modifying the system. Furthermore, the data in the system are unreliable, forcing users to manually verify the information. The system's shortcomings have not significantly affected implemented of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act because it is not relied on as a key tool for managing the program. Instead, users rely on systems that they have independently developed as well as other workarounds that have been created. Recognizing that the system is not meeting the needs of federal and state users, EPA recently began reassessing information needs and system support for the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act program.
