Obama DOD Official Sees Stable Cleanups For Military Even With EPA Cuts

In an exclusive interview with Inside EPA last month, Rachel Jacobson, who recently left her post as the Obama administration's top Defense Department lawyer on environmental matters, says she sees DOD fulfilling its cleanup responsibilities even if EPA's budget for overseeing such cleanups were to be cut under the Trump administration, but notes that funding for DOD cleanups has nonetheless always been a challenge.

Her remarks are significant coming shortly before the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for the first time added federal environmental cleanups -- including those for which DOD is responsible -- to its list of programs that pose a "high risk" of fraud, waste or abuse.