January 1995
Office of the
Inspector General
Report to Congress
J~L
IG
rui
n
Fiscal 1994
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i he Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, created Offices of
nspector General (OIG) to consolidate existing investigative and
iudit resources in independent organizations headed by Inspectors
General. For fiscal 1994, the EPA OIG received $44.6 million and a
unded staffing level of 449 FTE. The Inspector General (IG) is
Appointed by, and can be removed only by, the President. The
mission of the OIG, as stated in the Act, is to:
Conduct and supervise independent and objective audits and
investigations relating to agency programs and operations.
Promote economy, effectiveness, and efficiency within the
agency.
Prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse in agency
programs.
Review and make recommendations regarding existing and
proposed legislation and regulations relating to agency
programs and operations.
Keep the agency head and the Congress fully and currently
informed of problems in agency programs.
To ensure objectivity, the Act provides the IGs:
Independence to determine what reviews to perform.
Access to all information necessary for the reviews.
Authority to publish findings and recommendations based on the
reviews.
Office of Inspector General
Inspector General
John C. Martin
Deputy Inspector General
Jffice of Audit
(enneth A. Konz
Assistant Inspector General
James 0. Ranch
Deputy
Office of Management
John C. Jones
Assistant Inspector General
Office of Investigations
Michael J. Fitzsimmons
Assistant Inspector General
Deputy
Acquisition and
Assistance Audits
Elissa R. Karpf
Internal and
Performance Audits
Michael D. Simmons
ADP Audits
Craig Silverthorne
Planning and Resources
Management
Kenneth D. Hockman
Engineering and Science
Program Mamagement
Division
John T. Walsh
Director
Resources Management
Division
Michael J. Binder
Director
ADP Support
OIG Divisional Inspectors General are listed on the inside back panel.
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JIG Streamlining and Management
Improvements
Our relationship with Agency managers has been strengthened
by our work in support of the Agency's strategic themes, and
by focusing more attention on underlying causes of some of the
most severe problems which have affected the Agency for
years. In particular, we have worked on cooperative projects
with Agency managers to improve the integrity of scientific and
financial information and Superfund accounting. We are also
identifying effective corrective actions taken by Agency
management and examples of good management practices,
when possible.
We have ambitiously applied the concepts of reinvention in the
DIG by restructuring our organization and work processes for
greater staff empowerment, operational efficiency and diversity.
In fiscal 1994, the EPA OIG implemented a policy supporting
our affirmative action plan resulting in minorities and women
accounting for 75 percent of all new hires and promotions. We
have begun a streamlining process within OIG that has three
themes: (1) increased delegation and decentralization of
authority; (2) increased empowerment of employees with
appropriate accountability; and (3) improvement of work
processes and systems.
The Office of Investigations restructured its organization
by consolidating 7 divisional offices into 3 and reducing
the number of supervisory agents from 11 to 7. This
increased the span of control and employee empowerment
for more investigative direction and case development
activities by team leaders in local offices.
We have undertaken a comprehensive review of our
policies and procedures to ensure that each requirement in
the audit process adds value to our products.
We conducted a management study to identify duplicative
and inefficient administrative and oversight functions and
we are developing performance measures which include
customer surveys.
Senior OIG officials conducted outreach activities with
senior Agency officials to increase Agency involvement in
OIG planning.
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Profile of Activities and Results
Fiscal 1994
(dollars in millions)
Audit Operations
Questioned Costs (Ineligible, Unsupported and
Unnecessary/Unreasonable)
-Total* $165.1
- Federal Share $123.2
Recommended Efficiencies
(Funds be Put to Better Use)
-Total* $17.8
- Federal Share $17.8
Costs Disallowed to be Recovered
- Federal Share $80.1
(costs which EPA management
agrees are unallowable and
is committed to recover or
offset against future payments)
Costs Disallowed as Cost Efficiency
- Federal Share $3.8
(funds made available by EPA
management's commitment to
implement DIG recommendations)
Recoveries from Audit $67.2
Resolutions of Current and Prior
Periods (cash collections or offsets
to future payments)**
EPA Reviews Performed/Issued by DIG 1,526
Investigative Operations
Fines and Recoveries (including civil) $1.8
Investigations Opened 233
Investigations Closed 272
Indictments of Persons or Firms 1 9
Convictions of Persons or Firms 14
Administrative Actions Taken against
EPA Employees 27
Fraud Detection and Prevention Operations
Debarments, Suspensions, and
Compliance Agreements 81
(actions to deny persons or firms from
participating in EPA programs or
activities because of misconduct or poor
performance)
Hotline Cases Opened 45
Hotline Cases Processed and Closed 61
Legislative and Regulatory Items Reviewed 1 24
Personnel Security Investigations Adjudicated 1,676
* Questioned Costs and Recommended Efficiencies are subject To
change in the audit resolution process.
** Information on recoveries is provided by the EPA Financial
Management Division and is unaudited.
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Audit Activities
The following represents some of our most significant findings
which resulted from audits and reviews performed by or for the
Office of Audit.
Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Program on
American Indian Lands Needs Improvements
EPA has not effectively implemented a nationwide program to
clean up leaking underground storage tanks on American Indian
lands, some of which are contaminating drinking water. The
Agency had not established many of the management controls
needed to operate the LUST program, and had not devoted the
resources necessary to fully implement the program on
American Indian lands. In addition, the Agency had not
developed a reliable national inventory of underground tanks or
leaking tanks on American Indian lands, even though an
accurate inventory is a critical first step for controlling the
problem. Slow progress had been made in cleanup efforts, and
at least 75% of the leaking underground storage tanks on
American Indian lands had not been cleaned up, including those
contaminating drinking water. Also, EPA's enforcement
program for LUST sites on American Indian lands was
insufficient to foster full compliance with laws and resulted in
only two administrative complaints for leaking tank sites since
the program's inception in 1988. The Agency agreed to take
appropriate actions to resolve the audit issues.
Over $200 Million in Unliquidated and Excess Contract
Obligations Not Used or Returned
The Agency did not close or obtain refunds on almost 2,000
inactive contracts or deobligate $7 million in excess funds on
over 100 closed contracts. Closing inactive contracts in a
timely manner could have allowed EPA to deobligate over $200
million, over one-half of which is Superfund money. Some of
the funds could have been deobligated almost 1 2 years ago and
returned to the Treasury or used for other Government
programs or EPA projects. The Agency had not requested
refunds from contractors which could potentially amount to $2
million because the contract closeout process was a low priority
and not consistently accomplished. We also identified over 1 00
contracts, some closed as many as 11 years ago, with $7
million still obligated on them because Agency personnel did not
prepare the necessary documentation. The Agency provided an
acceptable action plan to correct the weaknesses, including
setting annual goals for closing contracts and dedicating
personnel to this function to the greatest extent possible.
Top Management Attention is Needed to Improve EPA's
Information Resources Management Program (IRM)
EPA was not maximizing the usefulness of information in
implementing the Agency's environmental programs. The
Agency's IRM problems were basically attributable to EPA not
treating information as a valuable, strategic resource. EPA has
had significant IRM problems concerning the quality, integrity,
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and completeness of its data and its usefulness in addressing
cross-media pollution problems due to weaknesses in four key
areas; (1) IRM Management and Organizational Structure: EPA
staff perceived upper management as not recognizing the
criticality of or being accountable for IRM. Also, the
organizational placement, numbers, and apparent qualifications
of the EPA employees with significant IRM responsibilities were
inconsistent among Headquarters program offices; (2) Resource
Planning and Performance Measurement: The Agency has
neither an Agency-wide IRM strategic plan nor a "business
plan," although both are currently being developed. EPA's
information systems do not have the capability to measure
environmental successes, accomplishments, and economic
benefits; (3) Information Systems Development: Developers of
EPA's systems do not always work effectively with EPA
program officials, Congress, and the States to understand the
programs and define their information needs; and (4) Data
Management: EPA does not have the IRM "structure" to link or
share data Agency-wide. The Agency agreed to take corrective
actions to include designating a Chief Information Officer and
a Data Administrator, creating a strong- Executive Steering
Committee, establishing key data standards, upgrading its IRM
training program, and establishing performance measure criteria.
Contractors Still Lack Adequate Accounting Systems
Emergency Response Cleanup Services (ERGS) contractor
accounting system deficiencies noted in past OIG reports still
exist because of inadequate enforcement by EPA personnel.
EPA continued to allow contractor non-compliance with the
Federal Acquisition Regulation and contract accounting system
requirements clauses because of a belief that complete
enforcement would drive away ERCS contractors. The Office
of Acquisition Management and regional procurement personnel
also allowed some ERCS contractors to use EPA's internal
Removal Cost Management System as a billing mechanism,
despite requirements for contractors to generate invoices from,
and reconcile them to, their internal accounting systems.
Without adequate independent contractor accounting system
support, there was no assurance that billed charges were
actually incurred and paid by the contractor. With one
exception, sanctions for contractor non-compliance were not
exercised. The Agency proposed several corrective actions to
include providing guidance for requiring contractors to invoice
EPA from their accounting systems and modifying certification
language.
EPA is Taking Actions to Improve Critical Superfund Data
Quality
EPA Headquarters and regions are implementing actions that
could effectively correct persistent problems with the accuracy
and reliability of data in the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System
(CERCLIS) critical to the implementation of the Superfund
program. Eighty-six percent of our sample of fiscal 1993
Superfund accomplishments and settlements recorded in
CERCLIS by EPA Regions 1, 5, 6 and 7 were correct.
Subsequent actions by Agency program officials increased the
percentage of correct entries in that sample to 90 percent and
actions were taken to prevent similar errors from recurring. Our
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review of internal controls over CERCLIS data'entry a'nd quality
in these regions showed the risk of material data errors, which
would not be promptly detected, varied from low to moderate.
The Agency is implementing corrective actions which include
guidance to the regions to improve CERCLIS data quality, visits
from Headquarters staff, improved training in the regions, an
on-line help facility for the entry of accomplishment data, and
increased regional participation in developing accomplishment
definitions.
Better Controls Needed to Protect Over $22 million in
Securities in Bankruptcy Cases
The Agency had limited controls in place to safeguard
marketable securities received as a result of Superfund cost
recovery efforts. During fiscal 1 992 and 1 993, EPA received
$22.4 million worth of marketable securities but had not
established central receiving points, restricted access, or
assigned custodial responsibility for them. The Agency could
not be assured securities were adequately safeguarded against
theft and forwarded timely to the Department of the Treasury,
and there were no procedures to follow up with bankrupt
responsible parties or their trustees to ensure receipt of all
securities. Bankruptcy cases handled by Headquarters
attorneys were not always entered into the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability
Information System, and EPA was not tracking marketable
securities transferred to the Agency, the amount of securities
received, and the total proceeds from their sale. The Agency
agreed to take corrective actions.
Nearly $9.4 Million of Vallejo, California, Project Costs
Questioned
EPA awarded a grant totaling $19,962,958 to the Vallejo
Sanitation and Flood Control District for construction of a
wastewater treatment plant. Vallejo claimed $5,525,458 of
ineligible administration, engineering and construction costs,
primarily consisting of costs related to interest earned on an
overpayment of Federal funds, and costs for the depreciated
value of abandoned and replaced equipment. We also
questioned $3,874,497 of unreasonable costs related to
facilities and equipment items intended for a biological plant
which were being used only as a wet weather reserve capacity.
Ann Arbor Laboratory Exercised Good Management
Practices Over Extramural Resources
EPA's National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory, Office of
Mobile Sources (QMS), Ann Arbor, Michigan, generally was
following good practices in managing its contracts, grants,
cooperative agreements, interagency agreements, imprest fund,
and integrity program to prevent conflicts of interest. In March
1992, the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) initiated an
assessment of the effectiveness of management controls over
its contracting activities and identified a number of
improvements that could be implemented immediately. OAR
also formed a quality assessment team to review its contracting
processes which found several contract management practices
that were working well and should help safeguard Government
funds. OMS ensured that all of its staff had filed mandated
confidential financial disclosure statements and carefully
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reviewed'the statements for conflicts of interest. In addition,
the Ann Arbor Laboratory properly administered its imprest fund
and used blanket purchase agreements to acquire such items as
cylinder gases and automotive parts.
EPA Made Many Contract'Awards With Limited
Competition
Most of EPA's contracts were awarded using competitive
procedures. However, many of the awards were made when
only one proposal was within the Agency's acceptable technical
and cost range (competitive range). The composition of
technical evaluation panels (TEP) that evaluate and score
contract proposals created an appearance of partiality in scoring
proposals and the potential for bias in the award of follow-on
contracts. The TEP is often chaired by project officers who
Kiministered the prior contract and is sometimes composed
l^tirety of officials from the program offices acquiring the
services. Although the Agency's Competition Advocacy
Program has been successful in limiting the number of sole-
source awards, monitoring was not in place to determine the
extent of actual competition (number of proposals) for contracts
awarded under competitive procedures. Many firms believed
that conditions favored incumbent contractors and were
reluctant to submit proposals since they perceived their chance
of winning the award as remote. The Agency is taking
corrective actions.
Continued Efforts are Needed to Improve EPA's Pesticide
Program
For years EPA's pesticide program has had significant problems
in managing its programs, maintaining information systems, and
developing and revising regulations, policies, and procedures.
During the 1 980's, decreases in funding and staffing coupled
with increases in responsibilities, led the pesticide program to
emphasize short-term solutions to problems instead of
addressing some fundamental program activities, making it
more difficult and costly to manage the program over the long
term. Pesticide managers were often aware of significant
problems, but did not always take corrective actions and target
dates were often missed in areas such as registration,
reregistration and development of regulations. The pesticide
program had many computerized information systems that often
contained inaccurate and incomplete data, duplicated other
systems, and were not integrated. Some regulations did not
reflect what the program was actually requiring registrants to
include on pesticide labels creating confusion for the
registrants. Also, the absence of policies and procedures
contributed to the sale of unregistered pesticides in the United
States. Other procedures did not ensure that statements on
some pesticide labels adequately protected humans and the
environment from unnecessary risks. The Agency agreed to
correct the problems and developed a strategy to improve
information management in 1 992 and funded several projects
under that strategy, in 1994. The pesticide program also
committed to reviewing its regulations, policies, and procedures
to identify and prioritize those needing revision.
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Agreed Upon Improvements Could Accelerate Superfund
Site Assessment and Cleanup
While final program guidance for the Superfund Site Inspection
Prioritization (SIP) program was delayed, some regions
implemented the draft guidance inconsistently and did not
always ensure that the worst sites were given priority for
cleanup. EPA uses the site assessment process to identify the
highest priority sites posing threats to human health and the
environment for listing on the National Priorities List (NPL). EPA
did not issue SIP program guidance until 1 993, almost two
years after implementation of the program was begun.
Information about program results input into the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability
Information System was incomplete and could not be relied
upon to assess national accomplishments. The Agency had
met the legislative goal to list sites on the NPL within four year
of site discovery and will likely be unable to meet this goal
the near future. Estimated cost of cleaning up potential NPL
sites is not included in the annual Superfund report to Congress,
even though cleanup of backlog NPL sites will cost billions of
dollars, and EPA may have to reevaluate sites that remain in the
backlog for an extended period of time. The Agency agreed to
recommended improvements to the SIP program and to more
fully disclose the cost of Superfund to Congress. An analysis
of why legislative timeliness goals are not met will be provided,
and EPA will pursue deferral of sites to States and responsible
parties.
Further Actions are needed on EPA's Integrated Financial
Management System (IFMS)
After years of problems and cost overruns, continued Agency
top management attention is required to make the IFMS reliable,
usable, and cost effective. Since the mid-1980's, EPA has
been developing a major system, IFMS, to integrate all of its
financial systems which track and control over $6.9 billion
annually. EPA has taken a number of significant steps to
implement IFMS and to overcome previous management
problems including (1) implementing a single general ledger; (2)
appointing a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), a Deputy CFO, and
a Director, IFMS Project Management Staff; (3) completing the
IFMS Strategy and Master Work Plan; (4) implementing the
newest off-the-shelf software version which upgraded IFMS
capabilities; and (5) completing an updated cost study,
requirements analysis, and charter. Despite these
accomplishments, the Agency still needs to take further
significant actions to fully implement an integrated,
comprehensive financial management system. Target dates for
completing IFMS implementation have slipped more than 6.5
years, to at least fiscal 1995. Until full implementation is
attained, the return on the planned IFMS investment over the
remaining system life will be limited. Specifically, EPA has not
implemented critical modules; eliminated dependency on the
existing financial systems which, in part, duplicate IFMS
functions and capabilities; and fully interfaced IFMS to financial
subsystems and other administrative systems. As a result, EPA
has incurred cost overruns and other unexpected operational
costs. The Agency has completed action on 5 of our 16
recommendations and has initiated or plans to initiate action on
the remaining 1 1.
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Over $44.4 IVJillion in Questioned Costs Claimed by
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
EPA awarded eight grants totaling $291,81 7,947 to the City of
Philadelphia to upgrade and expand the Southwest Water
Pollution Control Plant. We questioned $10,959,010 of the
costs claimed by the City as ineligible, including force account,
engineering, construction, and indirect costs for the expansion
of an existing wastewater treatment plant. We also questioned
$32,663,495 of unsupported costs, including supplemental
funding for projects not complying with special grant
conditions, unapproved contracts, unused or inoperable plant
equipment, and change orders which had not been reviewed.
Additionally, we questioned $794,684 of claimed costs as
unnecessary primarily because the grantee did not hold
contractors to their scheduled completion dates for sludge
facilities, resulting in the bid opening for a transfer station being
delayed and its construction costs escalating, and because the
grantee approved a change order that significantly increased the
cost of backfill without conducting a cost or benefit pricing
analysis.
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Investigative Activities
During this fiscal year, our investigative efforts resulted in 1 9
indictments, 14 convictions and $1.8 million of fines and
recoveries from persons or firms who defrauded the Agency.
Firm and President Convicted of Making False Claims
T. Head and Company, Inc., known as THI, and Toney Head,
Jr., the firm's owner, president, and chief executive officer,
were convicted in August 1 994 of filing 41 false claims. Head
personally directed four former THI employees to falsify records
which showed the number of hours that these employees
worked on the EPA contract, and used the false information to
inflate numerous THI invoices submitted to EPA.
Former Maryland Chief Fiscal Officer Pleads Guilty to
Money Laundering
Rufus 0. Ukaegbu, former chief fiscal officer for the State of
Maryland Department of the Environment, Water Quality
Financing Administration (WQFA), pleaded guilty in July 1994
to money laundering and to a State theft statute. Through the
use of wire transfers and monetary instruments, the stolen
funds were used to purchase: numerous automobiles, shipped
to Nigeria; sizeable security investments; penicillin and other
pharmaceutical supplies shipped to Nigeria for resale; home
remodeling; and to reduce personal debt. This case was
investigated jointly by the DIG, the FBI, and the Maryland State
Police.
North Carolina Man Sentenced in Insurance Case
After pleading guilty to wire fraud and mail fraud, Warren H.
Berkle, Jr., of Elon College, North Carolina, was sentenced to
5 years probation and ordered to pay restitution of $203,195
and $150 in special assessments in February 1994. Berkle
used an insurance scheme involving the construction of an EPA-
funded wastewater treatment plant in Florham Park, New
Jersey. He conspired to illegally write insurance contracts for
asbestos and other high risk liabilities for FJorham Park without
adequate reserves to pay claims and without approval from the
State of New Jersey.
Region 4 Employee Sentenced in Fraud Case
Angela Fields, a former supervisory accountant in the EPA
Region 4 office in Atlanta, pleaded guilty in March 1994 to
defrauding EPA of $28,000 in 1 991 and 1 992. Fields admitted
that she entered false information into EPA's Integrated
Financial Management System and received 23 U.S Treasury
checks. Fields was sentenced in June 1994 to 5 months
prison, 5 months home confinement, 3 years probation, and
ordered to pay restitution of $28,049 and a $750 special
assessment.
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Two Sentenced in False Asbestos Removal Claims;
Another Pleads Guilty
Russell Curtis and Dean Curtis pleaded guilty to causing-the
Fairbury, Nebraska public schools to submit false asbestos
removal claims to EPA and were each sentenced to 6 months
home confinement, 5 years probation, restitution of $1 53,476
to EPA, and a special assessment of $50. Stanley Peters, also
charged in this case, was found guilty of one count of
conspiracy, three counts of making a false and fraudulent claim,
and one count of theft of Government money on December 21,
1993. A joint investigation by the OIG and the FBI revealed
that the three used an EPA grant and loan awarded to the
school system for asbestos removal to pay for services outside
the scope of the grant and loan, i.e., renovation of the Fairbury
Central Elementary School and related fees.
Environmental Engineer Sentenced for Role in NPDES
Violation
After pleading guilty to negligently discharging pollutants in
violation of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permit limitations and filing false statements, Harry
Kring was sentenced to serve 6 months home detention, 3
years probation, and was fined $5,000 and a special
assessment. Kring, an AT&T environmental engineer, allegedly
conspired with AT&T to falsify laboratory test results on
samples he collected frorn^a wastewater treatment system at
an AT&T facility and to report the falsified results as part of
AT&T's NPDES permit. In January 1 994, AT&T pleaded guilty
to the same NPDES violation and was fined $175,000. The
case was investigated jointly by the OIG and the EPA Criminal
Investigations Division.
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Fraud Prevention Activities
Suspension and Debarment Activities
EPA's policy is to do business only with contractors and
grantees who are honest and responsible. EPA enforces this
policy by suspending or debarring contractors or grantees, or
individuals within those organizations, from further contracts or
assistance for acting improperly, having a history of
substandard work, or willfully failing to perform on EPA or other
federally-funded activities. Both procurement and
nonprocurement debarments or suspensions by one agency are
effective in all agencies.
In fiscal 1994, 81 debarment, suspension, or compliance
agreement actions were taken, including the following:
EPA debarred Robert E. Caron for 3 years based on his
conviction of making false declarations for purposes of
Federal employment and security clearances. Over an
eight-year period, Caron falsely represented his educational
qualifications on numerous occasions.
EPA debarred National Environmental Testing (NET) Gulf
Coast Inc., (except its Baton Rouge, Louisiana, laboratory)
for 25 years and two of its managers, Joan Lutkenhaus
and Cynthia Placko-Moore, for 50 years. NET Gulf Coast
Inc., pleaded guilty to making false, fictitious, and
fraudulent claims under an EPA contract for laboratory
analyses of inorganic compounds. The two managers
accepted responsibility for knowing of and participating in
the crime, which involved fraudulently manipulating data
and instructing subordinates to "cut and paste" data on
Contract Laboratory Program (CLP) sample analyses.
EPA debarred Robert Olcerst, owner and operator of Brujos
Scientific Inc., and Kenneth Charles and Michael Harris,
employees of Sandag Engineering Inc., for 3 years. All
were involved in a scheme to defraud the School
Construction Authority of New York and the public through
schemes in obtaining and performing asbestos testing and
monitoring.
EPA debarred Rex Wilson Robinson for 3 years. Robinson
pleaded guilty to falsely impersonating an officer and/or
employee of EPA. While identifying himself as an agent of
EPA, Robinson made several telephone calls to and met
with officials of Corporate Services Inc., a subsidiary of
the Michigan Farm Bureau of Lansing, Michigan.
EPA suspended Ricards International, Inc. (RID, its
President, Richard Salvatierra, and two top officials, Sonny
Bloom and Edsel Billingy, along with an affiliated company,
Potomac Leasing, Inc., based on evidence that Rll officials
repeatedly directed employees to charge time to EPA
contracts fraudulently.
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Personnel Security Program
The Personnel Security Program is one of the Agency's first
lines of defense against fraud, using background investigations
to review the integrity of EPA employees and contractors.
During fiscal 1994, 1,676 investigations were reviewed,
adjudicated, and appropriate actions were taken.
Hotline Activities
The OIG Hotline Center opened 45 new cases and completed
and closed 61 cases during fiscal 1994. Of the 61 cases
closed, 1 1 resulted in environmental, administrative, or
prosecutive action. We also referred 4,828 callers to the
appropriate program office, State agency, or other Federal
agency for assistance. The following are examples of
corrective action resulting from calls to the OIG Hotline Center:
A complainant alleged that a manufacturing company in
Troutdale, Oregon, was polluting a nearby river with
toxic material from a smelter. EPA officials in Region 1 0
determined that the site was a high-priority candidate
for the National Priorities List. As a result, Region 10's
Superfund Regional Decision Team sent a Hazardous
Ranking System package to EPA Headquarters for
expedited review.
A complainant alleged that EPA funds were wasted in
the procurement and disposal of office furniture in
Region 6. A review of the complaint disclosed that a
breakdown in communications precluded information
regarding excess systems furniture inventory from
reaching the Competition Advocate. Funds were used
to buy out leased systems furniture rather than use
furniture in inventory, causing unnecessary expenditures
of $627,600. Several internal control procedures were
implemented to ensure proper coordination and
communication in major procurements.
A complainant alleged that Region 9 employees had
backdated site inspection reports, misrepresented site
assessment records, and made false entries in a
Superfund database, the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Information
System (CERCLIS). A review of the complaint disclosed
that between 1988 and 1991, 212 invalid preliminary
assessments (PAs) and 63 invalid site inspections (Sis)
were entered into CERCLIS and also claimed as
Superfund Comprehensive Accomplishment Plan (SCAP)
accomplishments. This significantly inflated EPA's
accomplishments in its annual report to Congress for
those years. As a result, the invalid accomplishments
were removed from CERCLIS and a senior-level EPA
employee received a written reprimand.
A complainant alleged misuse of a government travel
card by an EPA employee. An inquiry determined that
misuse had occurred. The employee was required to
pay all outstanding charges on the card before it was
canceled and was given a letter of reprimand.
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'(visional Inspectors General
Audit
Headquarters
Regions 1 & 2
Region 3
Regions 4 & 6
Region 5
Regions 7 & 8
Regions 9 & 10
Headquarters Audit Division
Financial Audit Division
Eastern Audit Division
Mid-Atlantic Audit Division
Southern Audit Division
Northern Audit Division
Central Audit Division
Western Audit Division
(703) 308-8222
(202)260-1497
(617)565-3160
(215)597-0497
(404) 347-3623
(312)353-2486
(913)551-7824
(415} 744-2445
Investigations
Headquarters Procurement Fraud Division (703)308-8813
(617)565-3925
Regions 1, 2 & 3 Eastern Investigations
Division
Regions 4, 5, 6, Western Investigations
7, 8, 9 Division
& 10
(312)353-2507
If you are aware of any fraud, waste, or mismanagement,
please contact the EPA Inspector General Hotline or the
appropriate Divisional Inspector General.
Information is confidential.
Calls can be made toll free on (800) 424-4000. Callers in
area code 202 should use 260-4977.
Remember:
Act Like It's Your Money-It Is!
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EPA Office of Inspector General
Customer Survey
Please take a few minutes to provide the answers to the
following questions, tear off, and place in the mail.
Thank you. Circle all that apply.
1. Are you a(n):
a. EPA employee-Headquarters or DC area?
b. EPA employee-Regional office, lab, or other?
c. EPA contractor/grantee?
d. Member of the public?
2. Are you familiar with the mission or the work of the DIG?
Yes No
3. Do you believe that the OIG helps prevent possible fraud,
waste, and mismanagement and promotes economy,
efficiency, and effectiveness of Agency operations?
Yes No
4. If you have come in contact with any OIG work product
or staff member, has that contact been:
a. Positive b. Negative c. No contact
5. Are the OIG staff members generally:
a. Helpful b. Courteous c. Professional
d. Knowledgeable e. Objective
f. I don't know any OIG staffers
g. Other, explain
6. How well do you believe that the OIG is contributing to
the success of the Agency?
a. Very well b. Reasonably well c. Not at all
7. Do you know of any fraud, waste, or mismanagement
that should be reported to and reviewed by the OIG?
Yes No
8. Comments:
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