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*. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	14-P-0004
| jD, % Office of Inspector General	November 5,2013
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At a Glance
Why We Did This Review
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Office
of Inspector General (OIG)
received a hotline complaint
that Great Lakes Shoreline
Cities Green Infrastructure
grants were being awarded
with the only criterion being
population; the potential
environmental benefit was not
the primary factor for
determining awards. Our
objective was to determine
whether the EPA followed its
policies when announcing
these grants. The grants were
designed to help Great Lakes
shoreline cities reduce urban
runoff and sewer overflows that
impair Great Lakes water
quality.
This report addresses the
following EPA theme:
Environmental Benefits Being Considered in
Award of Great Lakes Grants
Region 5 plans to
assure the $8.5 million
of infrastructure
grants will result in
reducing discharges
to the Great Lakes.
What We Found
EPA Region 5 took prompt action to ensure that
Great Lakes Shoreline Cities Green Infrastructure
grants will support lakewide management plan
activities and will result in reduction of discharges to
the Great Lakes. While the grant announcement did
not specifically require proposed projects to support
lakewide management plan activities as identified in
the competition exemption, Region 5 management agreed that it should have.
To address the issue, Region 5 developed criteria for staff to use when reviewing
grant applications. Going forward, staff members will consider how each
proposed project will support lakewide management plan goals and result in
reducing discharges to the Great Lakes.
Since Region 5 has already taken action to address the issue noted, the report
contains no recommendations.
• Protecting water: A precious,
limited resource.
For further information,
contact our public affairs office
at (202) 566-2391.
The full report is at:
www.epa.gov/oig/reports/2014/
20131105-14-P-0004.pdf

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