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*. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	12-r-0898

|	\ Office of Inspector General	September 27, 2012
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At a Glance
Why We Did This Review
We conducted this audit to
determine whether the results
reported for the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) American
Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (Recovery Act) brownfields
assessment, cleanup, and
revolving loan fund grants were
timely and accurately reported,
and the grants achieved their
intended goals in terms of
outputs and outcomes. The
Recovery Act provided
$100 million for brownfields
activities. EPA awarded
$87.3 million in brownfields
assessment, cleanup, and
revolving loan fund grants to
state agencies, tribes,
non-profits, local communities
and commissions, and other
entities. EPA anticipated
assessing 500-750 properties,
making 500-750 acres ready
for reuse, cleaning up 30-50
properties, and leveraging
$450-$600 million by 2012.
This report addresses the
following EPA Goal or
Cross-Cutting Strategy:
• Cleaning up communities
and advancing sustainable
development
For further information, contact
our Office of Congressional and
Public Affairs at (202) 566-2391.
The full report is at:
www.epa.qov/oiq/reports/2012/
20120927-12-R-0898.pdf
EPA Can Improve Its Reporting of Dollars
Leveraged From the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act Brownfields Program
What We Found
EPA project officers verified grant recipient reported outputs and outcomes for
Recovery Act brownfields assessments completed, acres ready for reuse, and
cleanups completed, but did not always verify dollars leveraged. Dollars
leveraged are additional non-EPA resources invested in the project as a result of
the use of grant funds. EPA guidance includes requirements for grant recipients
to report, and for EPA project officers to review, grant output and outcome
information in its on-line data management system—the Assessment, Cleanup
and Redevelopment Exchange System (ACRES). However, the guidance does
not specify the documentation needed to support dollars leveraged. Recipients
were unclear as to what could be counted as dollars leveraged, and some project
officers were not aware of the requirement to verify reported dollars leveraged.
As a result, EPA's Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) and
others may not be able to rely on the dollars leveraged data in ACRES, which is
reported to Congress and the public.
OBLR may not meet its Recovery Act dollars leveraged goal. Dollars leveraged
may not be realized until after grants are completed, and EPA has to rely on
recipients to report this information after their grants are completed, which may
be as late as the end of 2014. As a result, the dollars leveraged that EPA reports
to Congress and the public may continue to change for several more years.
Recommendations and Planned Agency Corrective Actions
We recommend that the Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency
Response instruct the OBLR Director to create a checklist for grant recipients
and project officers that defines dollars leveraged, and identifies specific types of
supporting documents needed. We also recommend that the Assistant
Administrator instruct the OBLR Director to include a letter in closeout packages
reminding recipients of their responsibility to continue to report dollars leveraged
as they are realized. EPA agreed with our recommendations and provided
intended corrective actions to develop and distribute a checklist and develop a
letter for closeout packages. EPA estimated that these corrective actions would
be completed by December 31, 2012. The Agency's actions, when implemented,
will address the recommendations.
Noteworthy Achievements
The Brownfields program exceeded its Recovery Act goals for properties
assessed, cleaned up, and acres made ready for reuse.

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