Summary: From November 1989 through October 1996, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assessed penalties in 61 cases totaling $16.4 million against federal agencies for hazardous waste violations. Penalties were assessed against the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and the Interior and the U.S. Coast Guard. Forty-one cases involving penalties of $8.2 million were settled for $8.4 million, including the value of supplemental environmental projects. Agencies made direct cash payments of $2.4 million and agreed to perform supplemental environmental projects costing about $6 million. Twenty cases with assessed penalties of $8.2 million are still being negotiated. GAO reviewed three settled cases that involved penalties of $6 million against the Departments of Defense and Energy, which represented more than a third of the value of all the assessed penalties. After negotiations--which lasted from seven to 20 months--were finalized, the cases were settled for $3.7 million. EPA and the Department of Defense and Energy spent $364,000 in salaries, travel expenses, and other costs to negotiate these three settlements.
