The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency still does not know the full extent of the problem even though the highly contaminated spots were identified two decades ago, said the report by the agency's inspector general.
"Without improved management, coordination and accountability, EPA will not succeed in achieving the results intended" for the recovery program, said the report, issued Monday.
Toxic sediment cleanup is among the goals of a $20 billion Great Lakes restoration plan developed by government agencies and nonprofit groups in 2005.
President Barack Obama has pledged $5 billion toward carrying out the plan and requested $475 million in his 2010 budget. Roughly one-fourth of that amount would be devoted to the cleanups.
The plan estimates the total cleanup price at $2.25 billion in federal money, with state and local governments kicking in an additional $1.2 billion.
The inspector general's report analyzes the government's handling of Great Lakes "areas of concern" -- rivers, harbors and other locations where bottomlands are laced with toxic chemicals such as mercury, PCBs and heavy metal wastes.
"In the absence of coordinated planning, costs can escalate, resources are wasted, and risks to human health and the environment increase due to delays in site cleanups," it says.
Matt Doss, policy director for the Great Lakes Commission, which represents the region's eight states, also defended the EPA. The audit rehashed information about long-standing problems caused mostly by lack of money, he said.
"Why was it necessary to spend nearly $400,000 on a report to state the obvious?" Doss asked.
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