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UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
May 1, 2014
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: Audit of EPA Passport Controls
Report No. 14-P-0243
FROM: Arthur A. Elkins Jr.
TO:
Jane Nishida, Acting Assistant Administrator
Office of International and Tribal Affairs
This is our report on the subject audit conducted by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The report contains findings that the OIG has identified
and corrective action that the OIG recommends. The report represents the opinion of the OIG and does
not necessarily represent the final EPA position. Final determination on matters in this report will be
made by EPA managers in accordance with established audit-resolution procedures.
Action Required
The agency agreed with all recommendations and provided planned corrective actions and completion
dates that meet the intent of these recommendations. Therefore, the agency is not required to provide a
written response for these recommendations. Recommendation 3 is closed and no further action is
required. For the remaining open recommendations, please update the EPA's Management Audit
Tracking System as you complete the planned corrective actions. Please notify my staff if there is a
significant change in the agreed-to corrective actions. Should you choose to provide a response to this
final report, we will post your response on the OIG's public website, along with our memorandum
commenting on your response. You should provide your response as an Adobe PDF file that complies
with the accessibility requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
This report will be available at http://www.epa.gov/oig.
If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Christensen, acting Assistant Inspector General for
Audit, at (202) 566-1007 or christensen.kevin@epa.gov; or Robert Adachi, Director, Forensic Audits, at
(415) 947-4537 or adachi,robert@epa.gov
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Inspector General
Audit of EPA Passport Controls
Report No. 14-P-0243
May 1,2014
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Reasons for Audit
~ Part of continuing work on internal controls in response to a
member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environmental
and Public Works request for work in connection with a
fraud committed by John C. Beale.
~ As part of an audit of the agency's vetting process for new
employees, we looked into vetting for official passports.
~ Issues have been identified that impact the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's)
Office of International and Tribal Affairs (OITA)
and require its immediate attention.
14-P-0243
V
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency @EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Objective
To determine the agency's responsibility and requirements
regarding the possession and safeguarding of official passports,
and evaluate whether they are being adhered to.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
@EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Prior OIG Work
EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) Report No. 13-P-0272,
Early Warning Report: Main EPA
Landover, Maryland, Requires I
dated May 31, 2013, noted an issue concerning passports:
o Potential security breach of personally identifiable
information, as passports were located in boxes at the
warehouse.
14-P-
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Prior OIG Work (cont'd)
~ Agency Acting Administrator stated in a May 23, 2013 memorandum to the
Inspector General, that the following actions would be taken to address the
issues raised in the report:
o The agency will identify and strengthen any policies and procedures
addressing the transport, storage, access and disposition of agency
records containing personally identifiable information.
o The Breach Evaluation Team will evaluate any potential concern with
safeguarding of personally identifiable information.
o The agency will consult with the U.S. Department of State and
implement immediate changes to existing procedures to ensure safe
handling of expired or no longer needed government passports.
~ OITA has developed corrective actions to address the above issues.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
@EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Background
OITA's Office of Management and International Services is
responsible for obtaining and monitoring passports.
The Passport Expiration Notification System (PENS) was
created to track all passports issued to EPA travelers.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
@EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Scope and Methodology
Performed fieldwork from February 3 through March 19, 2014.
Conducted assignment in accordance with generally accepted
government auditing standards issued by the Comptroller
General of the United States.
Met with OITA staff responsible for the oversight and
processing of passports obtained for agency staff.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
@EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Scope and Methodology (cont'd)
~ Reviewed OITA guidance concerning official and diplomatic
passports issued to EPA employees.
~ Obtained an extract of data from OITA's PENS.
~ Performed an inventory test of all passports located in the
OITA Passport Office safe.
~ Conducted audit work on OIG's compliance with EPA passport
guidance and will issue a separate report on the results.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
@EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Criteria-Official Passport
~ In the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), under
22 CFR 51.3(b):
An official passport is issued to an official or employee of the
U.S. Government traveling abroad to carry out official duties.
~ Under 22 CFR 51.52 (b) and (b)(1), official passports are
exempt from fees when the individual is:
An officer or employee of the United States traveling on official
business.... The applicant must submit evidence of the official
purpose of the travel.
14-P-0243
V
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency @EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Criteria-Passport Acceptance Agents
~ Under 22 CFR 51.22 (b) (5), the Department of State is
authorized to select an employee of a federal agency to accept
passport applications on its behalf.
~ Within the EPA, four employees have been designated as
passport acceptance agents:
o Two in OITA.
o Two in EPA Region 5.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
@EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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OITA Guidance
~ OITA website provides the following guidance:
Official passports are controlled United States Government documents
and must be returned between trips to the Travel Office of the Office of
International and Tribal Affairs (OITA). Please return your official passport
to OITA within 15 days after returning to the United States. When not in
use for travel, all official passports will be maintained in a secure facility
within OITA.
All official passports must be forwarded to OITA for immediate
cancellation: if you retire; if you accept employment elsewhere (even if at
another government agency); or if you move to another position within
EPA that does not require official travel.
14-P-0243
V
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency @EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Sensitive Personally Identifiable
Information
~ Official passports are sensitive personally identifiable
information (Pll).
~ EPA Privacy Policy 2151.0 defines sensitive Pll as:
Social Security numbers, or co
Sensitive Pll, a subset of PI I, r
controls.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
@EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Results
~ EPA OITA is not in compliance with its guidance over the
control and security of sensitive Pll in the form of official and
diplomatic passports issued to agency employees.
~ OITA's PENS does not fully and accurately track and identify the
location of EPA-issued passports.
~ OITA guidance requires improvements.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
\ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency @EPAoig
\ www.epa.gov/oig
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How Did This Happen
~ OITA has not kept the PENS database up to date with accurate
information.
~ OITA has not enforced its passport guidance regarding staff
returning their passports to OITA after travel.
~ PENS is not updated when an employee separates from the
agency, as OITA is not always notified when an employee
separates.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
@EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Why Is This Important
~ Lack of compliance with agency guidance puts the agency in
the position where sensitive Pll is not being adequately
protected.
~ Lack of control could result in release of sensitive Pll due to
missing, misused or improperly destroyed official passports.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
@EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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PENS Data
~ The PENS universe we were provided contained 2,311
records for passports obtained through OITA's passport
office between1995 and February 3, 2014.
Passport per PENS
Location of passport
Passport type
Records
Location
Records
Diplomatic
11
OITA
417
Official
2,153
With traveler
1,770
Personal
147
Other*
124
Total
2,3H
Total
2,311
* Location per PENS is shown as Cancelled and Destroyed, Other or Blank
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency @EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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OITA PENS Errors
Results of OIG passport testing
Description
Number of
passports
Passport identified in PENS as located in OITA's safe as of 2/3/2014
417
Less actual passports located in safe on 2/12/2014
196
Less passport sent to Department of State by OITA between
2/5/2014 and 2/12/2014
22
Passports not located during 2/12/2014 test
199
Percentage of passport not located (199/417)
47.72%
Official passports located in the safe on 2/12/2014 that were not
recorded in PENS as of 2/13/2014
15
14-P-0243
@EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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Lack of Policy and Procedures
~ OITA lacks a formal written policy and procedure for issuing,
monitoring and securing passports.
~ OITA's website contains only guidance on passports.
~ OITA lacks a formal written policy and procedure for an
employee leaving the agency to return the passport to OITA, as
stated in its website guidance.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
@EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Recommendations
o We recommend the Assistant Administrator for OITA :
i. Develop and implement a plan to:
a. Identify official passports issued to agency employees.
b. Determine the location of all passports.
c. Ensure that passports not currently being used for travel are
returned to OITA for proper storage or cancellation.
d. Notify the U.S. Department of State of all passports not located.
e. Work with the Office of Environmental Information to develop
necessary steps to contain, control and mitigate the risks from any
potential breach and to prevent further unauthorized access to, or
use of, sensitive Pll. 14.P
v
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency @EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Recommendations
2. Develop and implement an agencywide policy and
procedure for:
a. Issuance, monitoring and control of official passports.
b. Informing agency staff of the policy and their responsibilities
under the policy.
3. Conduct a review of its Intranet homepage and update
accordingly to ensure information contained on the page
is current and updated.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency @EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Recommendations (cont'd)
4. Develop and implement a plan to:
a. Review and update information in PENS to ensure the information
currently in PENS is accurate and complete.
b. Ensure the system is kept up to date.
5. Develop and implement a policy to compare employee
travel activity recorded in the official passport with the
actual travel activity reported in the Fast International
Approval Tracking database to ensure official passports are
only used to carry out official duties.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency @EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Corrective Actions Taken by OITA
On March 14, 2014, OITA's Director, Office of Management and
International Services, notified the OIG of corrective actions taken and
planned to strengthen passport controls.
As of March 13, 2014, OITA had:
1. Changed the process for destroying expired or no-longer-needed
passports.
2. Modified PENS to include tracking of passports sent to Department of
State, Special Issuance Agency.
3. Revised Standard Operating Procedures for passport destruction and
renewal.
4. Revised International Travel Pages.
14-P-0243
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Corrective Actions Taken By OITA
(cont'd)
5. Issued an International Travel Memorandum concerning travel
guidelines.
6. Contacted the Department of State regarding a Memorandum of
Understanding, and is awaiting a response.
7. Updated the International Travel Coordinators Handbook.
v
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency @EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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OITA Planned Corrective Actions
OITA changes in process and planned corrective actions include:
1. Program Review of PENS (estimated completed by June 2014).
2. Development and use of PENS 2 upgraded system (by September 30, 2014).
3. Return of Official/Diplomatic Passports to OITA.
4. Follow-Up Program Review of its FY 2015 Federal Managers' Financial
Integrity Act process.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
@EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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OITA Response to OIG Report
~ On April 2, 2014, we received a signed memorandum from
OITA in response to our draft report.
~ OITA accepted the recommendations and provided a
corrective action and estimated completion date for each
recommendation.
~ All recommendations are estimated to be completed by
September 30, 2014.
~ See appendix A for OITA's full response.
~ Since OITA concurred with the recommendations, no OIG
comments are being provided.
14-P-0243
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
@EPAoig
www.epa.gov/oig
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Status of Recommendations and
Potential Monetary Benefits
RECOMMENDATIONS
POTENTIAL MONETARY
BENEFITS (In $000s)
Rec. Page
No. No.
Subject
Status1
Action Official
Planned
Completion
Date
19 Develop and implement a plan to:
a. Identify official passports issued to agency
employees.
b. Determine the location of all passports.
c. Ensure that passports not currently being
used for travel are returned to OITA for
proper storage or cancellation.
d. Notify the U.S. Department of State of all
passports not located.
e. Work with the Office of Environmental
Information to develop necessary steps to
contain, control and mitigate the risks from
any potential breach and to prevent further
unauthorized access to, or use of, sensitive
PH.
20 Develop and implement an agencywide policy and
procedure for:
a. Issuance, monitoring and control of official
passports.
b. Informing agency staff ofthe policy and
their responsibilities under the policy.
20 Conduct a review of its Intranet homepage and
update accordingly to ensure information
contained on the page is current and updated.
21 Develop and implement a plan to:
a. Review and update information in PENS to
ensure the information currently in PENS is
accurate and complete.
b. Ensure the system is kept up to date.
21 Develop and implement a policy to compare
employee travel activity recorded in the official
passport with the actual travel activity reported in
the Fast International Approval Tracking database
to ensure official passports are only used to carry
out official duties;
Assistant Administrator for
International and Tribal Affairs
4/30/14
4/30/14
6/30/14
6/30/14
9/30/14
O Assistant Administrator for
International and Tribal Affairs
9/30/14
9/30/14
C Assistant Administrator for 3/17/14
International and Tribal Affairs
O Assistant Administrator for
International and Tribal Affairs 6/30/14
9/30/14
O Assistant Administrator for 9/30/14
International and Tribal Affairs
Claimed Agreed To
Amount Amount
O = recommendation is open with agreed-to corrective actions pending
C = recommendation is closed with all agreed-to actions completed
U = recommendation is unresolved with resolution efforts in progress
14-P-0243 26
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Appendix A
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
OFFICE OF
INTERNATIONAL AND
TRIBAL AFFAIRS
April 2, 2014
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: Response to Office of Inspector General Draft Report "Review of EPA Passport
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the issues and recommendations in the
draft report "Review of EPA Passport Controls." The following is a summary of the Office of
International and Tribal Affairs' (OITA) overall position, along with technical comments to
clarify and supplement this response.
OVERALL POSITION
OITA accepts the recommendations in the draft report, and we have assigned corrective
actions outlined below.
As communicated to your office on March 14, 2014, and included in the Technical
Comments Attachment, OITA has taken a number steps to strengthen its passport controls.
Some of these changes have been implemented fully and others are in process of being
implemented. OITA is committed to addressing the specific issues that the OIG has raise in its
draft report and to maintaining an environment of strong passport controls.
Controls," March 19, 2014
FROM: Jane Nishida /s/
Acting Assistant Administrator
TO:
Arthur A. Elkins, Jr.
Inspector General
14-P-0243
27
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RESPONSE TO REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
Agreements
No.
Recommendation
High-Level Intended Corrective
Action(s)
Est.
Completion
1
Develop and implement a plan to:
a. identify all official passports issued to
agency employees;
OITA is conducting a review to identify
all official passports issued to agency
employees as documented in our technical
comments attachment.
April 30, 2014
b. determine the location of all passports;
OITA is conducting a review to determine
the location of all passports as documented
in our technical comments attachment.
April 30, 2014
c. ensure that passports not currently being
used for travel are returned to OITA for
proper storage or cancellation;
OITA has requested that passports not
currently being used for travel are returned
to OITA as documented in our technical
comments attachment.
lune 30, 2014
d. notify the Department of State of all
passports not located; and
OITA is notifying State of all missing
passports by immediately filing a lost/stolen
passport application as soon as we confirm
that a passport cannot be located.
lune 30, 2014
e. work with Office of Environmental
Information to develop necessary steps to
contain, control and mitigate the risks from
any potential breach and prevent further
unauthorized access to or use of sensitive
PII.
OITA will work with OEI, as
recommended.
September 30,
2014
2
Develop and implement an agency wide policy
and procedure:
a. for the issuance, monitoring, and control of
official passports;
OITA will develop policy, as
recommended, for agency directives
clearance review. This policy will
include:
• passport holder roles and
responsibilities
• control of passport and passport-
related information
• regional waiver process and
conditions
• monitoring passport use against
international travel plan
September 30,
2014
b. inform agency staff of the policy and their
responsibilities under the policy.
OITA will notify agency staff of the new
policy, as recommended.
September 30,
2014
14-P-0243
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No.
Recommendation
High-Level Intended Corrective
Action(s)
Est.
Completion
3
Conduct a review of its intranet homepage and
update accordingly to ensure information
contained on the page is current and updated.
Completed.
March 17,
2014
4
Develop and implement a plan to:
a. review and update information in PENS to
ensure the information currently in PENS
accurate and complete and
OITA is in the process of updating the
information in PENS as documented in
our technical comments attachment.
June 30, 2014
b. ensure the system is kept up to date.
OITA is developing PENS 2, an upgraded
passport tracking database, as documented
in our technical comments attachment.
September 30,
2014
5
Develop and implement a policy to compare
employee travel activity recorded in the official
passport with the actual travel activity reported
in FIAT to ensure official passport are only used
to carry out official duties.
OITA will develop and document a
process for sampling passports for the
recommended comparison.
September 30,
2014
CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions regarding this response, please contact Teresa Ruppe, Audit
Follow-Up Coordinator, Office of International and Tribal Affairs at 202-564-6619.
Attachment
cc:
Michael Stahl, DAA
Katrina Cherry, Director OMIS
Dennis Cunningham, Deputy Director OMIS
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Technical Comments Attachment
Response to Office of Inspector General Draft Passport Controls Report
Specific Comments on the Draft Report
• Page 4: Please remove the reference to EPA-OIG Report No. 13-P-0272 concerning EPA's
Warehouse. Without additional background information, this reference is confusing and may
be viewed as an ongoing action of the current review.
• Page 15, 2nd bullet: Please clarify this bullet. Until March 2014 OITA's guidance only
noted that employees "should" return their passports to OITA, but was not mandatory.
There was no requirement to enforce the guidance.
• Page 18, 2nd bullet: Please change this bullet to, "OITA is not always notified when an
employee separates from the Agency." OITA does update PENS when we are notified of an
employee's departure.
Changes Made as of March 13, 2014
Destruction of Expired or No-Longer-Needed Passports: In May 2013, OIG notified the
Office of the Administrator that a number of expired passports had been found unsecured at
EPA's warehouse in Landover, Maryland. Upon learning of these passports, OITA immediately
stopped sending expired or no-longer-needed passports for destruction within the
agency. OITA's Office of Management and International Services (OMIS) notified the Special
Issuance Office within the Department of State that, beginning immediately, EPA would send all
such passports directly to State for incineration.
After agents from OIG returned the passports found at the Landover warehouse to OITA, staff in
our International Travel Office worked with the Special Issuance Agency at the Department of
State to return these passports to State for destruction.
OITA also developed standard language for all letters sent to the Special Issuance Agency
instructing State not to return cancelled passports to EPA.
All letters requesting renewal or destruction of Official/Diplomatic passports must now be signed
by the Director or Deputy Director of OMIS. Copies of these request letters must also be
maintained in OITA's International Travel Office.
Update to the Passport Expiration Notification System (PENS): OITA changed PENS, its
database for tracking passport expiration and renewal requests, to include a field for tracking
when passports are sent to the Special Issuance Agency, either for renewal or destruction.
New Standard Operating Procedures: OITA revised its Standard Operating Procedure for
passports to reflect changes in how the agency now manages requests for passport
destruction/renewal. The revised SOP also includes templates for letters to the Special Issuance
Agency.
14-P-0243
30
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Revised International Travel Pages: OITA thoroughly updated the travel information on its
intranet site, which serves as a key source of information on international travel planning,
passports, visas, and security issues related to foreign travel. The site's new structure will make
it easier for OITA to locate and update the travel information we provide.
International Travel Memorandum to the AAs/RAs/DAAs/DRAs/OGC/IG: On March 14,
2014, the OITA Acting AA emailed an updated list of requirements and best practices related to
international travel planning (see attachment). The AAs/RAs/DAAs/DRAs/OGC/IG were asked
to distribute this email through their organizations and help the agency adhere to all relevant
policies and guidelines on international travel. The OITA DAA will also discuss this document
with the DAAs/DRAs and it will be posted to OITA's intranet site.
Update as of April 2. 2014: Travel memo is posted to OITA's intranet site.
Memorandum of Understanding with the Special Issuance Agency: OITA Acting AA
contacted the Acting Director of the Special Issuance Agency (SIA) at the Department of State
regarding an MOU between our agencies on passport management. During a call with the
Special Issuance Agency on last year, SIA management mentioned that their organization would
be interested in developing such an MOU with EPA. OITA believes that the MOU would help
clarify further roles and responsibilities related to passport management. We are currently
awaiting a status update from the SIA.
Updated International Travel Coordinators (ITC) Handbook: OIG's review prompted
OITA to revise the International Travel Coordinators Handbook. The Handbook is now
available on OITA's intranet site in an HTML format, and is being distributed to the ITCs, which
will facilitate future revisions. The updated text addresses numerous changes to the structure of
the International Travel Plan (ITP) form in FIAT.
Other Changes In-Process
Program Review of PENS: As part of its Multi-year Plan for Program Reviews under FMFIA,
OITA had planned a FY 2014 review of passport controls. The work already undertaken by OIG
as part of its review as well as some of the initial feedback that OIG has provided has led OITA
to focus its review more closely on the structure of PENS and on the quality of the system's
data. OITA believes that a thorough review of PENS, though time-consuming, will substantially
help us improve the quality of our data and guide OITA as it develops a next-generation
database.
OITA assigned staff from outside of the International Travel Office to design and carry out the
review. As of March 13, 2014, OITA staff have reviewed approximately 500 of the 2800
records in PENS, documenting any missing or conflicting data. OITA expects the review to be
completed and initial findings and recommendations available by late April 2014.
Update as of March 27.. 2014: OITA has reviewed approximately 2,200 of the 2,800 records in
PENS. The record review will be completed by April 4th, at which time our office will begin
14-P-0243
31
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correcting all identified errors in PENS. We will draw on our analysis of data entry errors to
develop an improved passports management database (PENS 2).
Development of PENS 2: Based on the findings and recommendations from the OIG's review
of passport controls and from OITA's review of records in PENS, OITA will develop PENS 2,
an upgraded passport tracking database. This new database will contain records only on active
Official and Diplomatic passports (all information from the legacy PENS will be archived) and
will feature new controls to help prevent data entry errors. OITA's goal is to have PENS 2 in use
before the end of FY14.
Return of Official/Diplomatic Passports to OITA: EPA's international travelers should return
their Official or Diplomatic passports to OITA's International Travel Office within 15 days of
returning to the United States. OITA acknowledges that many travelers appear not to have
been aware of this policy and therefore, have not returned their passports to the International
Travel Office in a timely manner. While this failure does not indicate any malfeasance, OITA is
working with program offices to correct this issue.
Using data provided by the OIG following their review of PENS and of the passports in OITA's
International Travel Office, OITA is contacting each traveler who hasn't returned his/her
Diplomatic or Official passport, as required. Reaching out to these travelers should significantly
reduce the number of passports being held outside of the International Travel Office. OITA
acknowledges that a small number of staff, such as emergency responders who might be called to
work on transboundary issues, will need to maintain their passports in their Region or
Lab. OITA will work with the Regions/Labs where these employees work to develop a process
for securing their passports on-site. Our goal is to have this alternate process developed and in
place by June 2014.
OITA is also exploring options to modify the Fast International Approval of Travel (FIAT)
system so that it sends automated reminders to staff who have not returned their passports within
15 days of their scheduled travel end date.
Follow-up Review: OITA will perform another program review of passport controls as part of
its FY 2015 FMFIA process. This second review will assist us in confirming the efficacy of the
controls we developed in FY 2013 and FY 2014, and identify any new controls that may be
necessary.
14-P-0243
32
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Appendix B
Distribution
Office of the Administrator
Deputy Administrator
Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs
Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resources Management
Assistant Administrator for Environmental Information and Chief Information Officer
Agency Follow-Up Official (the CFO)
Agency Follow-Up Coordinator
General Counsel
Associate Administrator for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations
Associate Administrator for External Affairs and Environmental Education
Deputy Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs
Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resources Management
Director, Office of Policy and Resource Management, Office of Administration and
Resources Management
Deputy Director, Office of Policy and Resource Management, Office of Administration and
Resources Management
Audit Follow-Up Coordinator, Office of International and Tribal Affairs
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