OIG Report: Evaluation of the EPA’s 7th DWINSA and the Resulting Allocation for LSLRs
On May 16, 2024, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued, "Data Reliability Issues Impede the EPA’s Ability to Ensure Its Allotment of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Funding for Lead Service Line Replacements Reflects Needs” related to Project No. OSRE-FY24-0022, Report No. 24-N-0039. The Office of Water disagrees with the OIG’s assertion that there is risk associated with the FY23 LSLR allotment.
The SRF programs have several checks and balances to safeguard against any misuse of the funding, including a self-correcting mechanism where funding not used by states will be reallotted to states that need it. EPA used the best available data collected to date on service line materials, provided extensive training, and conducted quality assurance and quality control checks on the information. Office of Water has already taken several important steps to enhance the information we originally received for the 7th DWINSA by providing the opportunity for states and water systems to do a voluntary one-time update. This updated information was used to allot the FY24 DWSRF LSLR funding. EPA’s 7th DWINSA, improved with the one-time update, provides the best available national and state-level projections of materials and service line counts in the country.
EPA will continue to work closely with states, territories, Tribes, communities, and other partners to ensure these funds are properly utilized and work to reduce lead in drinking water.
Provided below are the complete set of documents.
- Data Reliability Issues Impede the EPA’s Ability to Ensure Its Allotment of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Funding for Lead Service Line Replacements Reflects Needs. May 15, 2024 | Report No. 24-N-0039
- Memorandum: Response to the Draft Memorandum: Risks to Allotment of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Funding for Lead Service Line Replacements Due to Data Reliability Issues, Project No. OSRE-FY24-0022, April 4, 2024 (pdf)