Laws & Regulations

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.

Report: EPA Failed to Develop Required Cost and Benefit Analyses and to Assess Air Quality Impacts on Children's Health for Proposed Glider Repeal Rule Allowing Used Engines in Heavy-Duty Trucks

Report #20-P-0047, December 5, 2019. The EPA's actions regarding the proposed Glider Repeal Rule lacked transparency and deprived the public of required information.

Report: EPA Overpaid Invoices Due to Insufficient Contract Management Controls

Report #19-P-0157, May 20, 2019. All 11 invoices tested did not comply with contract requirements.

Report: Fiscal Year 2019 U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board Management Challenges

Report #19-N-0156, May 20, 2019. The CSB faces two challenges in FY 2019 that, if not addressed, may impede its ability to efficiently and effectively achieve its mission or meet its goals.

Report: EPA’s Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards Program Lacks Adequate Support and Transparency and Should Be Assessed for Continuation

Report #15-P-0279, September 15, 2015. Without data verification and transparency, the EPA risks reporting Green Chemistry Award results that are unreliable.

Report: U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board's Compliance in Fiscal Year 2020 with Improper Payments Legislation and Guidance

Report #21-E-0084, February 23, 2021. The OIG found that the CSB was fully compliant with improper payments legislation and guidance during fiscal year 2020.