Environmental and Disposal Liabilities

The Environmental and Disposal Liabilities (EDL) Program is a financial reporting process that estimates the Department’s future outflow of resources related to environmental liabilities. EDL reporting is required by the Federal Financial Accounting Standard Number 5 and is recorded annually as part of the Department’s financial statement. Some key aspects covered by the Environmental and Disposal Liabilities Program are:

  • Identification and Assessment;
    EDL site

  • Financial Planning;
  • Compliance with Regulations;
  • Remediation and Cleanup;
  • Monitoring and Reporting; and, 
  • Risk Management.

The EDL Program is crucial for organizations to proactively manage and mitigate their environmental impacts, protect human health, and comply with environmental regulations. It helps ensure that potential liabilities are properly accounted

for, risks are minimized, and responsible actions are taken to

address environmental concerns.

"A Future Outlay of Resources"

As defined by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, an environmental liability is a probable, measurable, and reasonably estimable future outflow or expenditure of resources that exists as of the financial reporting date for environmental cleanup costs resulting from past transactions or events. Identifying, recording, and managing environmental liabilities are challenging for Department of the Interior environmental and financial management programs, as the Department owns a vast variety of assets that may generate environmental liabilities, and the records of those assets may go back centuries, with varying degrees of quality. 

 

ECCD Documents 

Back to OEPC

Was this page helpful?

Please provide a comment