Science & Technology

Report: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Findings for Consideration in the Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Report #22-N-0061, September 30, 2022. We conducted this review to provide considerations for the EPA to strengthen its corrective action certification process. When the Agency certifies to the completion of corrective actions that have not been completed,

Report: Fiscal Year 2022 Oversight Plan

December 14, 2021. The Fiscal Year 2022 Oversight Plan reflects the priority work that the OIG believes is necessary to keep the EPA, the CSB, and Congress fully informed about issues relating to the administration of Agency programs and operations.

Report: EPA's Purchase Card and Convenience Check Program Merits an Audit in Fiscal Year 2020

Report #20-P-0006, October 18, 2019. A longer-than-expected transition to the EPA’s new purchase card contract adversely affected the agency’s internal controls over its purchase card and convenience check program.

Report: EPA Did Not Identify Volkswagen Emissions Cheating; Enhanced Controls Now Provide Reasonable Assurance of Fraud Detection

Report #18-P-0181, May 15, 2018. After uncovering VW's emissions fraud, the EPA's light-duty vehicle compliance program added controls to effectively detect and prevent noncompliance—a precursor to potential fraud.

Report: EPA Established a Web Management Program, but Improvements Are Needed in Deploying Web Analytics

Report #22-P-0013, December 20, 2021. Without fully implementing web analytics, the EPA could be without vital usage information to meet the needs of the public, regulatory agencies, industries, and other stakeholders when conveying environmental issues.

Report: Pandemic Highlights Need for Additional Tribal Drinking Water Assistance and Oversight in EPA Regions 9 and 10

Report #21-E-0254, September 27, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic negatively impacted the oversight and assistance that Regions 9 and 10 provide to the tribal drinking water systems under their purview.

Report: EPA Needs to Re-Evaluate Its Compliance Monitoring Priorities for Minimizing Asbestos Risks in Schools

Report #18-P-0270, September 17, 2018. Asbestos exposure risk is higher in children because they are more active, breathe at higher rates and through the mouth, and spend more time closer to the floor where asbestos fibers can accumulate.

Report: Improved EPA Oversight of Funding Recipients' Title VI Programs Could Prevent Discrimination

Report #20-E-0333, September 28, 2020. Despite elimination of the case backlog, additional improvements in the EPA's oversight of Title VI funding recipients could prevent discrimination.

Report: Delayed Cleanup of Asbestos Debris at the Old Davis Hospital Site Necessitates Changes for EPA Region 4 and North Carolina

Report #18-P-0271, Sept 18, 2018. EPA Region 4 and North Carolina followed procedures at the Old Davis Hospital site; but, those procedures did not result in the timely removal of asbestos that posed a potential threat to human health and the environment.

Report: EPA's Purchase Card and Convenience Check Program Controls Are Not Effective for Preventing Improper Purchases

Report #18-P-0232, August 20, 2018. Ineffective oversight at the EPA contributed to improper purchases totaling $57,017 from sampled transactions.

Remediation Technologies for Cleaning Up Contaminated Sites

Information on technologies used to remediate contaminated sites.

RE-Powering America’s Land Electronic Decision Tree (October 2015)

Overview of the RE-Powering America’s Land initiative’s Electronic Decision Tree.

Report: EPA Can Strengthen Its Process for Revising Air Quality Dispersion Models that Predict Impact of Pollutant Emissions

Report #18-P-0241, September 5, 2018. Air quality estimates derived from air quality dispersion models are used to make important decisions to protect public health, such as setting emissions limits.

Report: EPA Needs a Comprehensive Vision and Strategy for Citizen Science that Aligns with Its Strategic Objectives on Public Participation

Report #18-P-0240, September 5, 2018. Without uniform guidance and direction, the EPA will be unable to fully use citizen science data that could contribute to the agency's mission.

Report: EPA Region 5 Needs to Act on Transfer Request and Petition Regarding Ohio's Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation Permit Program

Report #19-N-0154, May 15, 2019. EPA Region 5's lack of timely decisions on program transfer requests and petitions leave state programs without clarity and petitioners unaware of petition status.