Place U.S. Postage Stamp Here Washington, D.C. 20548 U.S. General Accounting Office United States General Accounting Omce Place U.S. Postage Stamp Here Washington, D.C. 20548 U.S. General Accounting Office United States General Accounting Omñce Place U.S. Postage Star:p Here Washington, D.C. 20548 U.S. General Accounting Office Title/Subtitle (Testimony Titles Are Bracketed) Document Report Number Pagination Document Date Addressee Type of Document Author GAO Issue Area GAO Contact Budget Function (Code Numbers in Parentheses) Agency/Organization Concerned Hazardous Waste: Status of Private Congressional Relevance Legislative Authority Abstract Findings/Conclusions 136459 (Management of Public Rangelands by the Bureau of Land Management). T-RCED-88-58. August 2, 1988. 6 pp. plus 2 attachments (8 pp.). Testimony before the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs: National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee; by James Duffus, III, Associate Director, Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division. Refer to RCED-88-80, June 10, 1988, Accession Number 136027; and RCED-88-105, June 30, 1988, Accession Number 136218. Contact: Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division. Organization Concerned: Bureau of Land Management. Congressional Relevance: House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs: National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee. . Authority: Grazing Act. Land Policy and Management Act. Abstract: GAO discussed how the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administered public rangelands. GAO found that: (1) although Congress mandated that BLM manage rangelands for the benefit of all and to ensure their future maintenance, much rangeland remained in unsatisfactory condition; (2) almost 60 percent of the grazing allotments were in only poor or fair condition and the riparian areas were worse; (3) the primary cause of rangeland and riparian degradation is poorly managed livestock grazing, since livestock tend to congregate in riparian areas, eat most of the vegetation, and trample streambanks; (4) BLM has done little to reduce authorized grazing levels in overgrazed areas and has not established appropriate grazing levels; (5) BLM staff believe that neither BLM management nor ranchers would support efforts to improve riparian areas; and (6) BLM reduced staffing levels for those specialist positions needed to achieve range management goals. GAO believes that BLM needs to: (1) establish finite goals for riparian-area restoration; and (2) annually measure the progress made to achieve those goals. Peter W. Rodino; Rep. Marge Roukema; Rep. Christopher H. Smith; Rep. Robert G. Torricelli; by J. Dexter Peach, Assistant Comptroller General, Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division. Refer to RCED-89-84, May 8, 1989, Accession Number 138774; RCED-89-189, September 14, 1989, Accession Number 139584; T-RCED-90-4, October 26, 1989, Accession Number 139890; and RCED-90-11, October 12, 1989, Accession Number 140041. Issue Area: Transportation: Other Issue Area Work (6691). Contact: Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division. Budget Function: Transportation: Air Transportation (402.0). Organization Concerned: Department of Transportation; Federal Aviation Administration. Congressional Relevance: House Committee on Appropriations: Transportation Subcommittee; House Committee on Public Works and Transportation; Senate Committee on Appropriations: Transportation Subcommittee; Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; Rep. Matthew J. Rinaldo; Rep. Dean A. Gallo; Rep. James J. Florio; Rep. Jim Courter; Rep. Robert G. Torricelli; Rep. Christopher H. Smith; Rep. Marge Roukema; Rep. Peter W. Rodino, Jr.. Authority: Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (National). Abstract: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) implementation of its Expanded East Coast Plan, focusing on: (1) agencies' responsibilities for assessing the environmental impact of revising air routes and flight procedures; (2) the plan's effects on noise and air routes; (3) how FAA measured aircraft noise; (4) reasons why FAA did not perform an environmental assessment of the plan; and (5) actions FAA took in response to citizens' complaints regarding increased aircraft noise. Findings/Conclusions: GAO found that FAA: (1) designed the plan to reduce air traffic delays by revising air traffic control routes and flight procedures; (2) had sole responsibility for assessing the plan's environmental impact and used a measure of day-night noise level (Ldn) to determine cumulative exposure to aircraft noise; (3) did not assess the plan's environmental impact, based on its long-standing policy to exempt routes and flight procedures carried out at over 3,000 feet from such assessment; and (4) concluded that the plan significantly 136504 Aircraft Noise: Implementation of FAA's Expanded East Coast Plan. RCED-88-143; B-230870. August 5, 1988. 10 pp. plus 8 appendices (49 pp.). Report to Rep. Jim Courter; Rep. James J. Florio; Rep. Dean A. Gallo; Rep. Matthew J. Rinaldo; Rep. reduced flight delays, but failed to link any delay reductions to specific plan components. GAO also found that: (1) the plan resulted in three new departure routes, two new arrival routes, and six realigned routes over New Jersey; (2) New Jersey residents lodged numerous complaints about increased aircraft noise after the plan's implementation; (3) a 1day FAA study in one affected area showed aircraft noise to be within FAA guidelines; and (4) in response to citizen complaints, FAA directed air traffic controllers to, when possible, direct flights along more varied paths to spread traffic over a wider area. Recommendation To Agencies: The Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator, FAA, to improve the information base available on which to assess the merits of the Expanded East Coast Plan and other such major airspace changes by: (1) preparing an environmental assessment of the effects of the plan and, if significant impacts from the plan are found, preparing an environmental impact statement; (2) making a qualitative determination of which portions of the reduced delays are due to the plan and which are due to other factors; and (3) preparing an environmental assessment of any major proposal for making widespread air route or flight procedure changes on the West Coast or in other areas of the country where delays and congestion warrant such changes. 136508 Contact: Office of Special Investigations. 5 appendices (11 pp.). Report to relationships. GAO noted that the Environmental Quality; Department of Buffalo, New York-based firm, Defense; Department of the Navy. incorporated in July 1984: (1) specialized Congressional Relevance: House in the disposal of polychlorinated Committee on Appropriations: biphenyls (PCB); and (2) had commercial, Transportation Subcommittee; House industrial, and government customers, Committee on Public Works and at one time deriving 60 percent of its Transportation: Aviation Subcommittee; business from the Defense Logistics Senate Committee on Appropriations: Agency. GAO also noted that the: (1) Transportation Subcommittee; Senate former owner of another waste Committee on Commerce, Science and management firm allegedly broke his Transportation: Aviation Subcommittee; noncompetition agreement with its Sen. Jesse A. Helms. acquirers by lending $1 million to Authority: Environmental Policy Act of finance the establishment of the firm 1969 (National). Aviation Act. under investigation; (2) firm allegedly Abstract: In response to a congressional repaid the loan by selling stock into a request, GAO evaluated the Federal trust fund for the lender's daughter; (3) Aviation Administration's (FAA) lender became a consultant with the management of special-use airspace set firm shortly after the noncompetition aside for military training, focusing on agreement expired; (4) lender owned the its: (1) approval process for special-use property the firm leased for its proposals; and (2) monitoring of existing headquarters and waived the firm's lease special-use airspace. payments when it experienced financial Findings/Conclusions: GAO found that difficulties; (5) firm frequently conducted FAA: (1) lacked adequate data to business with other companies the effectively manage special-use airspace lender owned; (6) firm's owners, areas and did not require military stockholders, and executives were jointly services to provide such data; (2) did not involved in numerous business establish guidance for its regions to enterprises; (7) firm had an exclusive reduce or eliminate inappropriate use of marketing agreement with two Kansas special airspace areas; and (3) planned to City waste disposal firms; and (8) discuss its role in evaluating military Environmental Protection Agency environmental assessments in specialrepeatedly cited those two firms and use proposals with the Council on some of their affiliates for Environmental Quality. GAO noted that, noncompliance with PCB regulations. In in 1987, two Navy staff studies on addition, GAO noted that many of the special-use airspace utilization showed individuals involved with the firm that the Navy: (1) lacked a standard, declined to talk with GAO but denied centralized system for documenting and allegations regarding their financial reporting its airspace usage; and (2) backing of and involvement with the inefficiently and inappropriately used firm. special airspace areas. Recommendation To Agencies: The 136566 Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator, FAA, to Airspace Use: FAA Needs to require standardized user reporting of Improve Its Management of Special actual usage data for restricted areas Use Airspace. RCED-88-147; B and expand the reporting requirement to 226538. August 5, 1988. other areas, such as military operations Released August 15, 1988. 9 pp. plus 11 areas. The Secretary of Transportation appendices (30 pp.). Report to Sen. Jesse should direct the Administrator, FAA, to A. Helms; by J. Dexter Peach, Assistant review periodically the usage reports Comptroller General, Resources, and ensure that the airspace is being Community, and Economic Development used for the designated purpose. The Division. Refer to RCED-88-133FS, April Secretary of Transportation should 29, 1988, Accession Number 135748; and direct the Administrator, FAA, to RCED-89-84, May 8, 1989, Accession establish standards for measuring the Number 138774. effectiveness of special-use airspace Issue Area: Transportation: FAA utilization to develop a starting point for Management of the Controller Work all regional discussion of modification or disestablishment of special-use airspace. 136581 Protecting Human Health and the Organization Concerned: Federal Environment Through Improved Aviation Administration; Department of Management. RCED-88-101; BTransportation; Council on 231234. August 16, 1988. 235 pp. plus Issue Area: Environmental Protection: |
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