Illegal Wastes on U.S. Lands Held Perilous

Illegally dumped hazardous wastes buried on federal lands have created underground caldrons of poison that contaminated wells in New Mexico and threaten ground water in other states, a House panel was told Monday.

Unsanctioned disposal at 450 active and 1,000 to 3,000 inactive landfills on land leased from the Bureau of Land Management “may well be one of the most significant hazardous waste issues facing public land managers,” Mark Gebicke, a General Accounting Office investigator, testified.

The Energy subcommittee on government operations is investigating whether the federal government “did its job” in protecting the landfills from illegal toxics, Chairman Mike Synar (D-Okla.) said.

20 Contaminated Sites

Nearly half the 450 active dump sites on Bureau of Land Management land are in California, Nevada, Idaho and New Mexico, and more than 20 are known to be contaminated, the bureau says.

The bureau banned dumping of hazardous waste at its landfills in 1979 but has found it difficult to force compliance, an official admitted to the panel.

David O’Neal, bureau deputy director, said the agency cannot constantly watch all the sites and often does not find out about hazardous waste dumping until someone reports an odor or files a complaint.

Once trouble is discovered, the bureau is delayed by a cumbersome permit process that took five months for approval to fence Lee Acres Landfill near Farmington, N. M., where leaking toxic gas injured 15 people in April, 1985, he said.