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Recent Developments in the EPA Office of the Ombudsman
Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials
Prepared Statement of The Honorable Billy Tauzin Thank you Chairman Bilirakis and Chairman Gillmor for conducting today's joint Subcommittee hearing to evaluate recent developments relating to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Solid and Hazardous Waste Ombudsman. Two
years ago, this Committee held a hearing at which concerns were raised about the
adequacy of the independence of the Office of Ombudsman from the Office of Solid
Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER), which runs the programs that the Ombudsman
investigates. At that time, the
Office of the Ombudsman was located within OSWER.
After the hearing, Chairman Bilirakis requested that the General
Accounting Office (GAO) conduct a study and report back to the Committee on the
adequacy of the Ombudsman's independence.
On July 27, 2001, GAO issued its report
recommending that EPA: (1) strengthen the Ombudsman's independence by
relocating him outside of the solid waste program; (2) provide the Ombudsman
with a separate budget and staff; and (3) increase the Ombudsman's
accountability by directing him to develop specific criteria for his
investigations. In
response to the GAO report, on November 27, 2001, Administrator Whitman issued a
memorandum relocating the Office of Ombudsman from OSWER to the Office of the
Inspector General - which is an independent office within EPA - in order to
provide the Ombudsman with a greater level of independence. It is my understanding that the EPA Solid and Hazardous Waste
Ombudsman is now operating as part of the EPA Inspector General's office. I
support the need for greater independence and accountability for EPA's
National Solid and Hazardous Waste Ombudsman, and therefore I support the
Administrator's decision to move the Ombudsman to the Inspector General's
office to provide him with greater independence and accountability.
Today's hearing represents a useful opportunity: (1) to hear from GAO
on its detailed recommendations regarding the Ombudsman, (2) to assess the
status of the Agency's transfer of the Ombudsman to the Inspector General's
Office, and (3) to get a better understanding of the effectiveness of the EPA
Ombudsman's past efforts to investigate and respond to complaints received
from citizens from across the country. I
think most of us recognize that without the assistance of an effective Ombudsman
the average citizen has very little hope of penetrating the Federal bureaucracy
in order to have his or her concerns raised in a timely manner.
It is important that we give citizens who live in the communities near
hazardous waste sites opportunities to have their views heard about local
cleanup decisions. Let
me commend Mr. Bilirakis for his persistence and attention to the need to ensure
that the EPA Ombudsman has the level of autonomy and accountability that will
enable him to perform his duties effectively.
I hope that the steps taken by the Administrator will help to enhance the
Ombudsman's independence, but I also want to be clear that the Ombudsman must
also be accountable and effective within the Agency - he must establish a
strong track record for promptly initiating, documenting and concluding
investigations of solid and hazardous waste complaints received from the public. I
yield back the balance of my time.
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