Inspector General and GAO Audits and Evaluations

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This page provides brief "At a Glance" summaries of recent Office of Inspector General and Government Accountability Office reports on audits and evaluations conducted on National Water Program areas.

• EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) Audits and Evaluations
• U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) Audits

EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) Audits and Evaluations

Fiscal Year 2012

   

• EPA Should Strengthen Records Management on Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit Notification Reviews for Surface Coal Mining (February 2012)  (PDF) (1 pp, 37K, About PDF)


• Examination of Costs Claimed Under Cooperative Agreement X7-83325501 Awarded to Kathleen S. Hill, Chiloquin, Oregon (January 2012)  (PDF) (1 pp, 85K, About PDF)


• EPA Policy on Financing Local Reserves Needs Revision (January 2012) (PDF) (1 pp, 36K, About PDF)


• Enhanced Coordination Needed to Ensure Drinking Water State Revolving Funds Are Used to Help Communities Not Meeting Standards (December 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 37K, About PDF)


• Congressionally Requested Information on the Status and Length of Review for Appalachian Surface Mining Permit Applications (November 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 111K, About PDF)

Fiscal Year 2011

• EPA and States Should Strengthen Oversight of Clean Water State Revolving Fund Recovery Act Projects (August 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 37K, About PDF)


• Agency-Wide Application of Region 7 NPDES Program Process Improvements Could Increase EPA Efficiency (July 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 38K, About PDF)


• EPA's Terms and Conditions as Well as Process to Award Recovery Act Interagency Agreements Need Improvement (November 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 34K, About PDF)


• EPA Lacks Internal Controls to Prevent Misuse of Emergency Drinking Water Facilities (October 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 35K, About PDF)

Fiscal Year 2010

• EPA Should Revise Outdated or Inconsistent EPA-State Clean Water Act Memoranda of Agreement (September 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 34K, About PDF)


• Agency-Wide Application of Region 7 NPDES Program Process Improvements Could Increase EPA Efficiency (July 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 33K, About PDF)


• EPA Needs Procedures to Address Delayed Earmark Projects (March 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 40K, About PDF)


• EPA Needs Definitive Guidance for Recovery Act and Future Green Reserve Projects (February 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 41K, About PDF)


• EPA Action Needed to Ensure Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Projects Meet the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Deadline of February 17, 2010 (December 2009) (PDF) (53 pp, 319K, About PDF)


• EPA Needs a Better Strategy to Identify Violations of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (October 2009) (PDF) (3 pp, 114K, About PDF)

Fiscal Year 2009

• EPA Needs a Cohesive Plan to Clean Up the Great Lakes Areas of Concern (September 2009) (PDF) (1 pp, 48K, About PDF)


• EPA Needs to Accelerate Adoption of Numeric Nutrient Water Quality Standards (August 2009) (PDF) (1 pp, 56K, About PDF)


• EPA Needs a Cohesive Plan to Clean Up the Great Lakes Areas of Concern (July 2009) (PDF) (1 pp, 59K, About PDF)


• EPA Region 10 Took Adequate Corrective Actions for Alaska Village Safe Water Program (January 2009) (PDF) (1 pp, 32K, About PDF)

Fiscal Year 2008

• Innovative Techniques for State Monitoring of Revolving Funds Noted (September 2008) (PDF) (1 pp, 32K, About PDF)


• EPA Actions Should Lead to Improved Grants Accountability (September 2008) (PDF) (1 pp, 43K, About PDF)


• Border 2012 Program Needs to Improve Program Management to Ensure Results (September 2008) (PDF) (1 pp, 48K, About PDF)


• EPA Assisting Tribal Water Systems but Needs to Improve Oversight (September 2008) (PDF) (1 pp, 33K, About PDF)


• EPA Needs to Better Report Chesapeake Bay Challenges – A Summary Report (July 2008) (PDF) (1 pp, 203K, About PDF)


• Millions of Federal Dollars Remain for Colonias Projects (June 2008) (PDF) (1 pp, 35K, About PDF)


• Summary of Recent Developments in EPA's Drinking Water Program and Areas for Additional Focus (March 2008) (PDF) (1 pp, 43K, About PDF)


• Improvements Needed to Ensure Grant Funds for U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program Are Spent More Timely (March 2008) (PDF) (1 pp, 60K, About PDF)


• Framework for Developing Tribal Capacity Needed in the Indian General Assistance Program (February 2008) (PDF) (1 pp, 42K, About PDF)

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U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) Audits

Fiscal Year 2012

• Uranium Mining - Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight of Financial Assurances (May 2012) (PDF) (1 pp, 82K, About PDF)


• Energy-Water Nexus - Information on the Quantity, Quality, and Management of Water Produced During Oil and Gas Production (January 2012) (PDF) (1 pp, 84K, About PDF)


• Critical Infrastructure Protection - Cybersecurity Guidance Is Available, but More Can Be Done to Promote Its Use (December 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 80K, About PDF)


• Environmental Justice - EPA Needs to Take Additional Actions to Help Ensure Effective Implementation (October 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 142K, About PDF)

Fiscal Year 2011

• Chesapeake Bay - Restoration Effort Needs Common Federal and State Goals and Assessment Approach (September 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 106K, About PDF)


• Environmental Health - Action Needed to Sustain Agencies' Collaboration on Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water (August 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 205K, About PDF)


• Environmental Protection Agency - To Better Fulfill Its Mission, EPA Needs a More Coordinated Approach to Managing Its Laboratories (July 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 115K, About PDF)


• Climate Engineering - Technical Status, Future Directions, and Potential Responses (July 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 1073K, About PDF)


• Recovery Act  - Funds Supported Many Water Projects, and Federal and State Monitoring Shows Few Compliance Problems (June 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 84K, About PDF)


• Antibiotic Resistance - Data Gaps Will Remain Despite HHS Taking Steps to Improve Monitoring (June 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 78K, About PDF)


• Drinking Water - Unreliable State Data Limit EPA's Ability to Target Enforcement Priorities and Communicate Water Systems' Performance (June 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 90K, About PDF)


• Recovery Act - Preliminary Observations on the Use of Funds for Clean and Drinking Water Projects (May 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 98K, About PDF)


• Safe Drinking Water Act - EPA Should Improve Implementation of Requirements on Whether to Regulate Additional Contaminants (May 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 117K, About PDF)


• Energy-Water Nexus - Amount of Energy Needed to Supply, Use, and Treat Water Is Location-Specific and Can Be Reduced by Certain Technologies and Approaches (March 2011) (PDF) (1 pp, 472K, About PDF)

Fiscal Year 2010

• Critical Infrastructure Protection - DHS Efforts to Assess and Promote Resiliency Are Evolving but Program Management Could Be Strengthened (September 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 121K, About PDF)


• Aviation and the Environment - Systematically Addressing Environmental Impacts and Community Concerns Can Help Airports Reduce Project Delays (September 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 146K, About PDF)


• Climate Change - A Coordinated Strategy Could Focus Federal Geoengineering Research and Inform Governance Efforts (September 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 133K, About PDF)


• Perchlorate - Occurrence Is Widespread but at Varying Levels; Federal Agencies Have Taken Some Actions to Respond to and Lessen Releases (August 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 52K, About PDF)


• Critical Infrastructure Protection - Key Private and Public Cyber Expectations Need to Be Consistently Addressed (July 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 95K, About PDF)


• Wastewater Infrastructure Financing - Stakeholder Views on a National Infrastructure Bank and Public-Private Partnerships (June 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 123K, About PDF)


• Biosurveillance - Efforts to Develop a National Biosurveillance Capability Need a National Strategy and a Designated Leader (June 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 103K, About PDF)


• Coal Power Plants - Opportunities Exist for DOE to Provide Better Information on the Maturity of Key Technologies to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions (June 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 82K, About PDF)


• Recovery Act - States' and Localities' Uses of Funds and Actions Needed to Address Implementation Challenges and Bolster Accountability (May 2010) (PDF) (2 pp, 91K, About PDF)


• Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials Are Widely Used in Commerce, but EPA Faces Challenges in Regulating Risk (May 2010) (PDF) (2 pp, 116K, About PDF)


• Critical Infrastructure Protection - Update to National Infrastructure Protection Plan Includes Increased Emphasis on Risk Management and Resilience (March 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 103K, About PDF)


• Recovery Act - Officials' Views Vary on Impacts of Davis-Bacon Act Prevailing Wage Provision (February 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 62K, About PDF)


• Recovery Act - Project Selection and Starts Are Influenced by Certain Federal Requirements and Other Factors (February 2010) (PDF) (2 pp, 88K, About PDF)


• Renewable Energy - Federal Agencies Implement Hundreds of Initiatives (February 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 152K, About PDF)


• Surface Coal Mining - Financial Assurances for, and Long-Term Oversight of, Mines with Valley Fills in Four Appalachian States (January 2010) (PDF) (1 pp, 72K, About PDF)


• Rural Water Infrastructure - Improved Coordination and Funding Processes Could Enhance Federal Efforts to Meet Needs in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region (December 2009) (PDF) (1 pp, 55K, About PDF)


• Biosurveillance - Developing a Collaboration Strategy Is Essential to Fostering Interagency Data and Resource Sharing (December 2009) (PDF)  (1 pp, 50K, About PDF)


• Recovery Act - Status of States' and Localities' Use of Funds and Efforts to Ensure Accountability (December 2009) (PDF) (1 pp, 161K, About PDF)


• Energy-Water Nexus - Many Uncertainties Remain about National and Regional Effects of Increased Biofuel Production on Water Resources (November 2009) (PDF) (1 pp, 67K, About PDF)


• Energy-Water Nexus - Improvements to Federal Water Use Data Would Increase Understanding of Trends in Power Plant (October 2009) (PDF) (1 pp, 97K, About PDF)

Fiscal Year 2009

• Critical Infrastructure Protection - Current Cyber Sector-Specific Planning Approach Needs Reassessment (September 2009) (PDF) (2 pp, 88K, About PDF)


• Biofuels - Potential Effects and Challenges of Required Increases in Production and Use (August 2009) (PDF) (1 pp, 44K, About PDF)


• Energy and Water - Preliminary Observations on the Links between Water and Biofuels and Electricity Production (July 2009) (PDF) (1 pp, 40K, About PDF)


• Bottled Water - FDA Safety and Consumer Protections Are Often Less Stringent Than Comparable EPA Protections for Tap Water (June 2009) (PDF) (1 pp, 54K, About PDF)


• Clean Water Infrastructure - A Variety of Issues Need to Be Considered When Designing a Clean Water Trust Fund (May 2009) (PDF) (1 pp, 113K, About PDF)


• Federal Rulemaking - Improvements Needed to Monitoring and Evaluation of Rules Development as Well as to the Transparency of OMB Regulatory Reviews (April 2009) (PDF) (1 pp, 53K, About PDF)

Fiscal Year 2008

• Climate Change - Federal Actions Will Greatly Affect the Viability of Carbon Capture and Storage As a Key Mitigation Option (September 2008) (PDF) (1 pp, 108K, About PDF)


• Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations - EPA Needs More Information and a Clearly Defined Strategy to Protect Air and Water Quality from Pollutants of Concern (September 2008) (PDF) (1 pp, 95K, About PDF)


• Chesapeake Bay Program - Recent Actions Are Positive Steps Toward More Effectively Guiding the Restoration Effort (July 2008) (PDF) (1 pp, 85K, About PDF)


• Physical Infrastructure - Challenges and Investment Options for the Nation's Infrastructure (May 2008) (PDF) (1 pp, 152K, About PDF)

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