Laws & Regulations

Report: Region 4 Quickly Assessed Water Systems After Hurricane Irma but Can Improve Emergency Preparedness

Report #20-P-0001, October 7, 2019. EPA staff training with state partners and development of standard operating procedures could improve emergency response.

Report: EPA Region 6 Quickly Assessed Water Infrastructure after Hurricane Harvey but Can Improve Emergency Outreach to Disadvantaged Communities

Report #19-P-0236, July 16, 2019. Enhancements to environmental justice outreach efforts during emergencies could improve the public health protections of communities impacted by hurricanes or other disasters.

Report: Insufficient Practices for Managing Known Security Weaknesses and System Settings Weaken EPA's Ability to Combat Cyber Threats

Report #19-P-0158, May 21, 2019. Missing POA&M data and incorrect security settings limit the EPA's ability to manage enterprise risk and strengthen its security procedures.

Report: CSB Still Needs to Improve Its 'Incident Response' and 'Identity and Access Management' Information Security Functions

Report #19-P-0147, May 9, 2019. The CSB lacks established procedures for automated processes and authentication technologies, which could permit unauthorized access to agency systems.

Report: EPA Consistently Implements Processes Within Its Information Security Program, but Opportunities for Improvement Exist

Report #19-P-0058, January 30, 2019. Further improvements are needed to strengthen internal processes to better protect human health and environmental data from cybersecurity threats.

Report: EPA’s Information Security Program Is Established, but Improvements Are Needed to Strengthen Its Processes

Report #18-P-0031, October 30, 2017. Although the EPA has an effective information security program, management emphasis is needed to achieve a higher level of maturity for the agency’s information security program.

Report: Drinking Water Contamination in Flint, Michigan, Demonstrates a Need to Clarify EPA Authority to Issue Emergency Orders to Protect the Public

Report #17-P-0004, Oct 20, 2016. To avoid future public health harm through drinking water contamination, the EPA needs to clarify for its employees how its emergency authority can and should be used to intervene in a public health threat.

Report: EPA Has Developed Guidance for Disaster Debris but Has Limited Knowledge of State Preparedness

Report #16-P-0219, June 29, 2016. The EPA can reduce the risk of future unsafe debris disposal practices by improving its understanding and awareness of the quality and completeness of state disaster debris management plans.

Report: Quality Assurance Review of EPA OIG Audit Assignments Completed in Fiscal Year 2018

Report #19-N-0167, June 4, 2019. OIG audit reports issued in FY 2018 demonstrated high levels of compliance with OIG quality assurance procedures, receiving average compliance scores of 94 percent.

Report: EPA Demonstrates Effective Controls for Its On-Road Heavy-Duty Vehicle Compliance Program; Further Improvements Could Be Made

Report #19-P-0168, June 3, 2019. The EPA's HD vehicle compliance program currently has controls to effectively detect and prevent noncompliance—a precursor to potential fraud.

Report: Further Efforts Needed to Uphold Scientific Integrity Policy at EPA

Report #20-P-0173, May 20, 2020. Improving implementation of the SI Policy will enable the EPA to more effectively carry out its mission to protect human health and the environment.

Report: EPA Needs to Improve Its Information Technology Audit Follow-Up Processes

Report #16-P-0100, March 10, 2016. The EPA’s audit follow-up oversight for offices reviewed did not ensure that agreed-to corrective actions were managed effectively in the agency’s Management Audit Tracking System (MATS).

Report: The EPA Complied with the Payment Integrity Information Act for Fiscal Year 2022

We conducted this audit to determine whether the EPA complied with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019, or PIIA, and related Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, guidance during fiscal year 2022.

Report: The EPA’s January 2021 PFBS Toxicity Assessment Did Not Uphold the Agency’s Commitments to Scientific Integrity and Information Quality

The EPA did not follow the typical intra-agency review and clearance process during the development and publication of the January 2021 perfluorobutane sulfonic acid, or PFBS, toxicity assessment.

Report: The EPA Is Not on Track to Reach Its National Compliance Initiative Goals to Stop Aftermarket Defeat Devices and Tampered Vehicles

Report #23-E-0006, January 25, 2023.
The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, or OECA, is not on track to achieve ten (25 percent) of the 40 measures and deliverables in its National Compliance Initiative, or NCI, strategic plan.

Report: The EPA Needs to Improve the Transparency of Its Cancer-Assessment Process for Pesticides

Report #22-E-0053, July 20, 2022. Deficiencies and a lack of transparency in the 1,3 D pesticide cancer assessment process has undermined scientific credibility and public confidence.

Report: Additional Internal Controls Would Improve the EPA’s System for Electronic Disclosure of Environmental Violations

Report #22-E-0051, June 30, 2022. Without additional internal controls, the EPA cannot ensure that it effectively screens regulated entities’ self-disclosures of environmental violations to identify and mitigate significant concerns.

Report: The EPA’s Approval and Oversight of Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Loans Complied with Federal Law and Regulations

Based on our audit, we determined that the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 program’s loan award process and subsequent monitoring activities provided reasonable assurance that WIFIA loans were administered in accordance with federal

Report: The EPA Needs to Develop a Strategy to Complete Overdue Residual Risk and Technology Reviews and to Meet the Statutory Deadlines for Upcoming Reviews

Report #22-E-0026, March 30, 2022. As of November 1, 2021, the EPA had 93 overdue RTRs or TRs, almost half of which were overdue by more than five years. These reviews are used to establish limits for air toxics emissions and to protect public health.

Report: EPA Should Conduct New Residual Risk and Technology Reviews for Chloroprene- and Ethylene Oxide-Emitting Source Categories to Protect Human Health

Report #21-P-0129, May 6, 2021. The EPA should conduct new RTRs for chloroprene- and ethylene oxide-emitting source categories to address elevated individual lifetime cancer risks impacting over 464,000 people, and to achieve environmental justice.