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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Inspector General
At a Glance
12-R-0377
March 30, 2012
Why We Did This Review
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of
Inspector General, conducts
site visits of American
Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (Recovery Act)
clean water and drinking water
projects. The purpose of our
visit was to address a hotline
complaint involving
compliance with the Recovery
Act's Buy American
requirement.
Background
The Village of Itasca received a
$20 million loan from the state
of Illinois through the Water
Pollution Control Loan
Program. The loan included
$10 million in Recovery Act
funds. The village used these
funds to construct a new
wastewater treatment plant.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Site Visit of Wastewater Treatment Piant,
Viiiage of itasca, iiiinois
What We Found
We conducted an unannounced site visit of the Recovery Act project to build a
new wastewater treatment plant in the Village of Itasca, Illinois, in April and
May 2011. As part of our site visit, we toured the project, interviewed village
officials and engineering and contractor personnel, and reviewed documentation
maintained by the village related to the Buy American requirements of the
Recovery Act and contract procurement.
The Village of Itasca did not comply with the Buy American requirements of the
Recovery Act. Steel pipes and fittings used in the project were manufactured in
foreign countries. We also identified other manufactured goods that did not
comply with the Buy American requirements of the Recovery Act. As a result,
the project is not eligible for the $10 million of Recovery Act funds authorized by
the state, unless the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency exercises a regulatory
option.
What We Recommend
We recommend that the Regional Administrator, Region 5:
1.	Require the state to withdraw Recovery Act funds, unless the state can
verify that Itasca has complied with Buy American requirements.
2.	Employ the procedures set out in the Code of Federal Regulations to
resolve any iron, steel, and manufactured good that do not comply with
Buy American requirements.
3.	Verify that the substitutes for the German-made micropilots meet Buy
American requirements.
For further information, contact
our Office of Congressional and
Public Affairs at (202) 566-2391.
The full report is at:
www.epa.aov/oia/reports/2012/
20120330-12-R-0377.pdf

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