Tag: gao

Gao: Biofuel Distribution Problems

  • The GAO found distribution of biofuels is an obstacle to its wider use. (Photo by Lester Graham)

The federal government has no comprehensive plan to deal with an expected
increase in the production of biofuels. That’s according to a new study from
the Government Accountability Office. Dustin Dwyer reports that the lack of
a plan has some real consequences:

Transcript

The federal government has no comprehensive plan to deal with an expected
increase in the production of biofuels. That’s according to a new study from
the Government Accountability Office. Dustin Dwyer reports that the lack of
a plan has some real consequences:


Mark Gaffigan studies energy issues for the GAO. He says there are real problems
getting biofuel capable vehicles where they need to be. For example, when officials at the Post Office tried to buy these so-called flex-fuel vehicles, the only options available were trucks with a larger engine than it needed. On top of that, officials had trouble getting biofuel, so they just ran the vehicles on gasoline.


“So, in effect, what you had was the government with vehicles using more fuel, using
more oil because they weren’t as efficient, when the intent was to try to encourage people
to use flex-fuel vehicles and use some of this ethanol to displace oil.”


The GAO says the Secretary of Energy needs to develop a new strategy that considers
both the production and distribution of biofuels.


For the Environment Report, I’m Dustin Dwyer.

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Leaky Tanks Forever

A government report indicates to clean up fewer than half of the leaky
underground storage tanks in the nation it would cost billions of
dollars. But the Bush administration budget only calls for millions.
Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

A government report indicates to clean up fewer than half of the leaky
underground storage tanks in the nation it would cost billions of
dollars. But the Bush administration budget only calls for millions.
Lester Graham reports:


Leaking underground storage tanks of gasoline or other hazardous
liquids can contaminate drinking water and soil. There are 117,000
known leaks from underground storage tanks across the nation.


A Government Accountability Office report indicates to clean up just
half that number would cost 12 billion dollars. The Bush
administration has requested less than 73 million dollars in the budget
currently before Congress.


The chair of the House Energy and Commerce committee, John Dingell,
calls the Bush request disgraceful and inadequate. But in the last
budget, Congress only appropriated 70 million to clean up leaky
underground storage tanks.


States across the nation expect to discover more than 16,000 new leaks
in the next five years. That could mean the current government funding
of clean-ups will never catch up with the actual number of leaky
underground storage tanks.


For the Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.

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Gao Reports Food Safety at High Risk

A government watchdog agency is adding to
its list of high-risk problems that the federal
government is failing to fix. Lester Graham reports
that keeping up with transportation demands and keeping
food safe are issues being added to the high-risk list:

Transcript

A government watchdog agency is adding to
its list of high-risk problems that the federal
government is failing to fix. Lester Graham reports
that keeping up with transportation demands and keeping
food safe are issues being added to the high-risk list:


Every two years the Government Accountability Office
identifies areas where the government is putting people or
tax money at risk.


This time the GAO identified three new high-risk areas.
First is financing transportation needs. Government
funding is eroding as traffic congestion is growing. The
second is protecting defense technologies from espionage.
The report says outmoded methods don’t work in a high-tech
world. The third high-risk area is food safety. The
report says the current fragmented federal system causes
inconsistent oversight, ineffective coordination and
inefficient use of resources.


The GAO says the government needs a better system to detect
and respond to food problems, such as the recent E. coli
bacteria contamination of spinach. Congress and the White
House pay attention to the GAO’s high-risk report, although
solutions to the problems often take years to develop.


For the Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.

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Epa to Survey Health of Us Lakes

The US Environmental Protection Agency will conduct an extensive three-year study on the health of the nation’s lakes. Mark Brush has more:

Transcript

The US Environmental Protection Agency will conduct an extensive three-year study on the health of the nation’s lakes. Mark Brush has more:


The EPA says it will survey a total of 909 inland lakes, ponds, and reservoirs across the country. The survey will be done in cooperation with state agencies and some Native American tribes.


They’re hoping to determine how many US lakes are in good, fair, or poor condition. Researchers will test water samples for levels of nutrients, bacteria from human and animal wastes, some pesticides, and they’ll take a look at the conditions of the waterways’ shorelines.


This study is being done after criticisms have been leveled against the EPA. The Government Accountability Office and the National Research Council, among others, have said that the EPA doesn’t know enough about the condition of the nation’s waterways. They say there’s not enough data to make good water management policy at the federal, state and local levels.


The EPA says the nationwide survey will be completed in 2009.


For the Environment Report, I’m Mark Brush.

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Government Losing Grip on Natural Gas Pricing?

When natural gas prices were deregulated in the 1990s, your bills were supposed to go down. You may have noticed that’s not what happened. Lester Graham reports the government has had a difficult time determining why:

Transcript

When natural gas prices were deregulated in the 1990s, your bills were supposed to go down. You may have noticed that’s not what happened. Lester Graham reports the government has had a difficult time determining why:


There are three things that affect the price you pay for natural gas. The first is the local distribution system that gets the gas to your home. The second is the national pipeline distribution system. Those prices haven’t changed that much since deregulation.


But the third portion of your bill, the portion that makes up the bulk of it, has nearly doubled since deregulation of the natural gas market in 1993. The commodity price used to make up about 30% of the consumer price. Today, it’s more like 60% of your bill.


The Government Accountability Office reports, since deregulation, even though the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission doesn’t control natural gas prices, it’s supposed to make sure the prices are fair. But, since there are millions of natural gas commodity transactions, the Commission says it’s hard to tell if there’s any market manipulation that could cause prices to rise unfairly.


For the Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.

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Gao: Agencies Should Streamline Park Fees

A government watchdog agency is calling for recreation fees at parks and other public lands to be more coordinated. Lester Graham reports it could affect how you much you have to pay to get into parklands:

Transcript

A government watchdog agency is calling for recreation fees at parks and other public
lands to be more coordinated. Lester Graham reports it could affect how you much you
have to pay to get into parklands:


For the past nine years, agencies such as the National Park Service, and the Fish
and Wildlife Service have been allowed to come up with new fees and fee collection
programs, with the idea of improving visitor services at certain sites.


The Government Accountability Office studied how recreation entrance fees and user
fees are applied and used. The GAO found that some sites were bringing in more money
than they could use and others didn’t pull in enough money to keep up basic
maintenance. The report also indicated that a new annual visitor’s pass that would allow
you to get into sites regardless of which agency owned it was to be issued starting the
first of next year, but the agencies still haven’t come up with a price for the pass.


Finally, the GAO says many sites don’t have proper controls or audits on collected fees.
Sites say they trust their staff to handle the money properly, but the GAO indicates that’s
not quite good enough.


For the Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.

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Gao Report: Epa Can’t Properly Review Chemical Safety

  • The Government Accountability Office is urging Congress to give the EPA help in assessing chemical safety. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Government Printing Office)

A government report reveals that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cannot assess the health risks of most of the chemicals in the products we use. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

A government report reveals that the U.S. Environmental Protection agency cannot assess the health risks of most of the chemicals in the products we use. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:


The investigative arm of Congress, the Government Accounability Office, found the EPA didn’t have the authority or the funding to properly review 85% of the chemicals in use today.


Chemicals that have been in use for years have not been properly reviewed because the EPA only has access to limited information. The laws, as they are written now, protect a chemical or other company’s secrets over public knowledge of the health risks.


Independent studies have indicated many of the close to eighty thousand chemicals in use might be threats to human health. The GAO report also indicates the EPA “…lacks sufficient data to ensure that potential health and environmental risks of new chemicals are identified.”


The GAO recommends that Congress give the EPA more authority to improve its ability to assess chemical risks.


For the GLRC, this is Lester Graham.

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Still No Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Sites

A new government report finds that twenty-four years after the federal government told the states to find ways to dispose of low-level radioactive waste, not a single site has been built. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

A new government report finds that 24 years after the federal government told the states
to find ways to dispose of low-level radioactive waste, not a single site has been built.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:


In 1980, the states became responsible for providing disposal sites for most of the low-
level radioactive waste. Low-level waste includes things such as clothing and tools
exposed to radiation in medicine, research and at nuclear power plants. But to date… not
one disposal facility has been built by a state. The investigative arm of Congress, the General
Accounting Office, reports that an older facility in South Carolina is the only
site still accepting waste… but it’s expected to restrict shipments by the middle of 2008.
The GAO’s Robin Nazzaro says it’s not a crisis situation yet…


“The bottom line fall back, though, is that sites can also store this waste at their facilities.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission does allow for storage of waste as long as it’s safe
and secure.”


The GAO says a few states have plans to build facilities in the future… but nothing is
under construction right now.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

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Utilities Obstructed in Long-Term Planning Efforts

Municipal water and sewer plants are gathering better data on how their systems are used, for better planning. But a government report finds that short-sighted local governments sometimes end up derailing the utilities’ long-term plans. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

Municipal water and sewer plants are gathering better data on how their systems are used for
better planning, but a government report finds that short-sighted local governments sometimes
end up derailing the utilities’ long-term plans. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester
Graham reports:


A lot of federal money is used to build local drinking water and wastewater facilities. So, the
Congress asked its investigative arm, the General Accounting Office, to see if the money is used
wisely. The GAO found that many municipal utilities are using comprehensive asset
management for planning purposes. That’s closely looking how systems are used, where the
demand is growing, and how best to plan for future growth.


But the utilities are running into some problems. Collecting and managing all of that data is a bit
overwhelming. The GAO recommends the Environmental Protection Agency help municipalities
share data on an EPA website so that every utility is not gathering the same kind of information
over and over.


There’s still one more problem. Even with better information, the GAO found… often the local
politicians who oversee the utilities have short-term goals that hamper long-term planning by the
utilities.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

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States Say Feds Falling Short on Invasives

State officials say the federal government is failing to do enough to stop invasive species of plants and animals from damaging the environment and the economy. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

State officials say the federal government is failing to do enough to stop invasive species of plants
and animals from damaging the environment and the economy. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:


The investigative arm of Congress, the General Accounting Office, surveyed state officials about
invasive species, the non-native plants and animals that sometimes stow away in shipments to the
U.S.


Many of the pests get loose in the wild and do a lot of damage, such as the zebra mussels that are
harming the ecosystems of lakes and rivers and emerald ash borers that are killing ash trees.


State officials say there are gaps in federal legislation, leaving no money or no requirements to
control the invasive species that have been here for a long time. State officials also say that
international trade agreements can make it difficult to regulate products that might harbor
invasive species because the trade agreements don’t address the problem.


The end result is often cheap imported goods that don’t consider or factor in the cost of the pest
that can be brought in with the cheap goods. Some state officials also noted that it would be more
effective to prevent the species from getting here in the first place instead of fighting them later.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.