Fiscal Year 2024 Top Management Challenges Podcast


Ashley: Hello! My name is Ashley Gonzalez and I work in the congressional and public affairs unit within the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Joining me today is Claire McWilliams, an auditor with the OIG. Claire, thanks for talking with me!

Claire: Thanks, Ashley, I’m happy to be here!

Ashley: We just issued a report on the top management and performance challenges facing the EPA in fiscal year 2024. Claire, could you tell us, in general terms, what these challenges are and why our report on them is important?

Claire: Absolutely! The Reports Consolidation Act of 2000 requires federal inspectors general to report annually on the most serious management and performance challenges facing their agencies. The top management challenges represent the programs and activities most vulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, where barriers may exist that prevent the EPA from efficiently and effectively achieving its mission to protect human health and the environment. The OIG’s oversight responsibilities provide that we conduct audits, evaluations, and investigations of Agency programs and operations in order to detect and prevent fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. The OIG uses the top management challenges to plan audits, evaluations, and investigations that will help the EPA mitigate these challenges and achieve its mission in the most economical, efficient, and effective manner possible.

Ashley: What does the Agency do with these challenges?

Claire: That’s a good question, Ashley. The OIG identifies these challenges, but it’s the EPA’s responsibility to address them, and we provide oversight to ensure that the Agency meets its mission of protecting human health and the environment. 

Ashley: Thanks for that overview, Claire. Looking at the new report, I see that we identified seven challenges for fiscal year 2024. Some of the challenges seem similar to the ones we identified for fiscal year 2023; are any of them carryovers from last year? 

Claire: Yes, most are carryovers from fiscal year 2023. Through our assessment of the top management and performance challenges affecting the EPA’s programs and operations, we determined that the Agency continues to face similar obstacles as it has in previous years in the areas of climate change mitigation, implementing environmental justice, safeguarding chemical safety, protecting scientific integrity, cybersecurity, and enforcing compliance with environmental laws and regulations. 
In addition, we have identified a couple of challenges for 2024 that are similar to 2023 but we’ve redefined their scope.

Ashley: Thanks, Claire. What are the two challenges identified for 2024 that have a refined scope?

Claire: I’ll talk about them one at a time, Ashley.  Last year, we identified an EPA challenge that addressed increased funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in a broader context but didn’t address Inflation Reduction Act funding. This year, we’ve refined that challenge to be more narrowly focused on grant and contract management programs under not just IIJA funding but also IRA funding.
As background, in addition to its regular, annual appropriation, the Agency has received billions of dollars in supplemental funding via the IRA and IIJA. The Agency will face challenges when trying to award and manage this money through existing and new programs, sometimes under tight timelines. That’s why we identified grant and contract management – in particular, involving state revolving fund programs – as an Agency challenge for the next fiscal year. Beyond grant and contract management, we’re concerned about how the Agency stores and maintains data associated with these programs. Ultimately, the Agency needs the data to track and assess metrics such as performance. OIG needs the same data to provide robust oversight. 
As for the remaining challenge, last year it focused on the Agency’s responsibility to protect critical infrastructure from cyber attacks. For 2024, we have refined that challenge, too. Instead of addressing critical infrastructure broadly, it now addresses only water and wastewater systems, including managing investments in water and wastewater infrastructure improvements. The challenge also encompasses protection against physical attacks along with cyber attacks.  

Ashley: So, specifically, what are the seven challenges we identified for fiscal year 2024?

Claire: The seven challenges, in no particular order, are:
1. Mitigating the causes and adapting to the impacts of climate change,
2. Integrating and implementing environmental justice,
3. Safeguarding the use and disposal of chemicals,
4. Promoting ethical conduct and protecting scientific integrity,
5. Managing grants, contracts, and data systems,
6. Maximizing compliance with environmental laws and regulations, and
7. Overseeing, protecting, and investing in the water and wastewater systems.
In our report, we explain each of these challenges in detail. Our hope is that the EPA will use this information to focus its resources and mitigate the challenges.

Ashley: Thank you, Claire. One more question. How did we determine that these were the most serious challenges facing the Agency? 

Claire: Good question. We completed an independent and objective assessment, like we do each year. Specifically, we solicited input from senior EPA leaders; analyzed related oversight work from the U.S. Government Accountability Office; and considered issues raised by Congress, the administration, and others. 

Ashley: Thanks, Claire. I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today. And thank you, listeners, for checking out our podcast. To read our full report and other EPA OIG reports, please visit our website at www.epaoig.gov.