U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                   Office of Inspector General

                   At  a  Glance
                                                            09-P-0222
                                                        August 25, 2009
                                                                 Catalyst for Improving the Environment
Why We Did This Review

We analyzed internal guidance
used by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)
program and regional offices
for interacting with the Office
of Inspector General (OIG) to
I determine whether the guidance
was (1) applied consistently
Agency-wide, or (2) included
procedures that included
burdensome administrative
requirements or allowed
screening of information prior
to issuance to the OIG.

Background

The Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance
instructed its managers not to
provide information directly to
the OIG. However, the
Inspector General Act of 1978
authorizes federal inspectors
general to assess information
and personnel relative to
program operations of federal
agencies. EPA's own policy
also endorses OIG access to
personnel and timely
information.
For further information,
contact our Office of
Congressional, Public Affairs
and Management at
(202)566-2391.

To view the full report,
click on the following link:
www.epa.gov/oig/reports/2009/
20090825-09-P-0222.pdf
 Office of Inspector General Access to
 Agency Information and Personnel
 What We Found
At the time of our review, EPA did not have consistent overall guidance
governing interaction with the OIG. Consequently, some EPA program and
regional offices promulgated internal guidance that impeded OIG access to
Agency information and personnel.  These internal guidances included
procedures with burdensome administrative requirements that allowed EPA
managers to screen and potentially change information prior to issuing the
information to the OIG. Others required personnel to seek supervisory guidance
before responding to OIG inquiries.

Our Agency-wide survey found that EPA employees had a significant lack of
knowledge about interacting with the OIG. Eighty-three percent of respondents
either were not aware or did not know of any guidance or procedures governing
interaction with the OIG. Fourteen percent of the respondents believed they may
face retribution if they provided information or documents to the OIG without
permission from a supervisor. An additional 31 percent did not know whether
they would face retribution if they provided documents or information to the  OIG
without permission.
 Corrective Actions Taken
We recommended that the Deputy Administrator issue guidance to all EPA
program and regional offices on interacting with the OIG to ensure unfettered
access to information and personnel; and that all lower level guidance, written or
unwritten, be revoked.  In response, the EPA Administrator issued prescriptive
guidance on August 7, 2009, to address these issues. The guidance instructed
EPA personnel to provide OIG auditors, evaluators, and investigators with full
and unrestricted access to personnel, facilities, records, or other information or
material needed by the OIG to accomplish its mission. The EPA Administrator
defined unrestricted access to mean that managers and staff are not to impose
burdensome administrative requirements or screening procedures that could
impede OIG access to needed employees and materials. The EPA Administrator
instructed all EPA offices to review their policies and procedures related to
interaction with the OIG and conform to her guidance by September 4, 2009.  The
OIG believes the actions taken by the Administrator to be sufficient to address the
draft recommendation. Since the actions were taken prior to issuance of our final
report, no further action is necessary.

-------