Laws & Regulations

NPDES Permit for F.E. Warren Air Force Base Missile Launch Facilities in Colorado

Under NPDES permit CO-0034789, the USAF, F. E. Warren Air Force Base, is authorized to discharge from the Missile Launch Facilities located in northeastern Colorado to unnamed drainage ditches located in the Cedar, Pawnee, and Spring Creek drainage basins.

Report: Fiscal Year 2011 Federal Information Security Management Act Report Status of EPA’s Computer Security Program

Report #12-P-0062, November 9, 2011. Attached is the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG’s) Fiscal Year 2011 Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) Reporting Template, as prescribed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Report: EPA Should Improve Policies and Procedures to Ensure Effective DCAA Audit Report Resolution

Report #12-P-0071, November 10, 2011. EPA should improve its policies and procedures to ensure timely and accurate tracking and reporting of the resolution of DCAA reports.

Report: Agreed-Upon Procedures Applied to EPA Grants Awarded to Summit Lake Paiute Tribe, Sparks, Nevada

We found that the tribe was addressing some of the issues raised in the 2008 and 2009 single audits.

Report: Audit of EPA’s Fiscal 2011 and 2010 Consolidated Financial Statements

Report #12-1-0073, November 15, 2011. We noted a noncompliance issue involving EPA’s Oil Spill Response Account in relation to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill response.

Report: Congressionally Requested Information on the Status and Length of Review for Appalachian Surface Mining Permit Applications

Report #12-P-0083, November 21, 2011. After reconciling discrepancies and vetting information, we identified 185 surface mining permit applications to review from the list of 237 that we received from the senator.

Report: Close-Out of Complaint on Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Incurring Inappropriate Expenses on Recovery Act Projects

Report #12-X-0090, November 22, 2011. Our review did not disclose any indication of misuse of funds provided to the district by Illinois’ CWSRF loans or Recovery Act funds provided through EPA.

Report: Enhanced Coordination Needed to Ensure Drinking Water State Revolving Funds Are Used to Help Communities Not Meeting Standards

Report #12-P-0102, December 1, 2011. The DWSRF program is not taking full advantage of the data and tools that are available to identify noncompliant systems that may benefit from DWSRF funding.

Semiannual Report: Apr 1, 2011 - Sept 30, 2011

Semiannual Report #EPA-350-R-11-036, Nov, 2011. We have made great progress and I look forward to fulfilling the new Office of Inspector General vision of being the best in public service and oversight for a better environment tomorrow.

Report: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Site Visit of the Elizabeth City Well Field Expansion Project, Elizabeth City, North Carolina

Report #12-R-0109, December 8, 2011. We conducted an unannounced site visit of the Elizabeth City Well Field Expansion Project in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, in July 2010.

Report: EPA Must Improve Oversight of State Enforcement

Report #12-P-0113, December 9, 2011. EPA does not administer a consistent national enforcement program.

Report: Early Warning Report: Use of Unapproved Asbestos Demolition Methods May Threaten Public Health

Report #12-P-0125, December 14, 2011. The Office of Inspector General received allegations that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has authorized the use of unapproved methods to demolish buildings containing asbestos.

Report: Training Contractor Not Promptly Paid Under Purchase Order EP07H001074

Report #12-P-0160, December 28, 2011. EPA did not pay LSI for services rendered in 2007 because EPA did not receive an invoice from LSI until after the July 2011 congressional inquiry.

Report: Close-Out of Hotline Complaint on Unreasonable Cost Increase to the Wastewater Treatment Facility Improvements, Perkins, Oklahoma

Report #12-X-0161, December 29, 2011. We have closed a hotline complaint that project costs increased unreasonably due to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) requirements because we found no evidence to support the complaint.

Report: EPA Needs to Manage Nanomaterial Risks More Effectively

Report #12-P-0162, December 29, 2011. We found that EPA does not currently have sufficient information or processes to effectively manage the human health and environmental risks of nanomaterials.

Report: Region 10 Technical and Computer Room Security Vulnerabilities Increase Risk to EPA’s Network

Report #12-P-0220, January 20, 2012. OIG technical vulnerability scans conducted at Region 10 headquarters revealed a multitude of high-risk and medium-risk vulnerabilities.

Report: Examination of Costs Claimed Under Cooperative Agreement X7-83325501 Awarded to Kathleen S. Hill, Chiloquin, Oregon

Report #12-4-0224, January 23, 2012. Kathleen S. Hill did not have a financial management system that met federal standards.

Report: EPA Policy on Financing Local Reserves Needs Revision

Report #12-P-0231, January 25, 2012. EPA policy that allows states to use SRF funds to establish local reserve accounts conflicts with other regulations.

Report: EPA Should Strengthen Records Management on Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit Notification Reviews for Surface Coal Mining

Report #12-P-0249, February 2, 2012. EPA staff in Regions 3, 4, and 5 should better document their records of review activities on CWA Section 404 surface mining permit notifications.

Report: Stronger Management Controls Will Improve EPA Five-Year Reviews of Superfund Sites

Report #12-P-0251, February 6, 2012. The FYR process benefited from OSRTI reviews of draft reports, but improvements could be made to increase the impact of these reviews.