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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Inspector General
At a Glance
18-N-0208
June 4, 2018
What Are Management
Challenges?
According to the GPRA
Modernization Act of 2010
("GPRA" stands for
"Government Performance and
Results Act"), major
management challenges are
programs or management
functions, within or across
agencies, that have greater
vulnerability to waste, fraud,
abuse and mismanagement,
where a failure to perform well
could seriously affect the ability
of an agency or the federal
government to achieve its
mission or goals.
As required by the Reports
Consolidation Act of 2000, the
Office of Inspector General is
providing the issues we
consider as the U.S. Chemical
Safety and Hazard
Investigation Board's (CSB's)
major management challenges
for fiscal year 2018.
This report addresses the
following CSB goal:
• Create and maintain an
engaged, high-performing
workforce.
Send all inquiries to our public
affairs office at (202) 566-2391
or visit www.epa.gov/oiq.
Listing of OIG reports.
Fiscal Year 2018 U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard
Investigation Board Management Challenges
Based on our continuous audit work, we have
identified two management challenges for the CSB
that were not in our fiscal year 2017 report: the lack
of authority that the position of CSB Chairperson
has over board members, and the impact of budget
uncertainties on the morale of staff.
The CSB faces two
management challenges
that, if not addressed,
may seriously impede the
agency's ability to
achieve its mission
efficiently and effectively.
The Position of CSB Chairperson Lacks Authority to Hold Board Members
Accountable
Historically, the CSB has been plagued with leadership issues such as tension
among board members, disputes over the Chairperson's authorities, and
complaints of alleged abuses by board members or the Chairperson. The
position of CSB Chairperson does not have the statutory authority to take
corrective action against other board members for inappropriate behaviors or to
hold them accountable. The CSB intends to add enforcement mechanisms to its
internal policies. However, because the CSB structure was established by law
and its board members and Chairperson are presidential appointees, the
authority to address these issues and make changes lies with Congress. The
CSB should strengthen its internal policies and also request that Congress
assess these issues and make the necessary changes to provide the
Chairperson with the authority to correct inappropriate or destabilizing behaviors
by board members.
Budget Uncertainties and the President's Proposals to Eliminate the CSB
Negatively Impact Efforts to Attract, Hire and Retain Staff
The CSB should continue to work with Congress toward achieving funding needs
wherever possible. The President's budget for fiscal year 2019 proposed
eliminating the CSB. Although Congress has continued to fund the CSB and the
CSB Chairperson stated that Congress has no plans to eliminate the CSB, this
budget uncertainty impedes the CSB's ability to attract, hire and retain staff.
Prior Management Challenge Removed
As a result of corrective actions taken by the CSB and additional justification
provided by the CSB, we removed the challenge cited in our fiscal year 2017
report that the CSB should address human resources management issues. The
CSB provided documents and information supporting that it has completed all but
one of the 18 recommendations from a 2015 Office of Personnel Management
report. This included revising its Performance Management System. For the
remaining recommendation—to establish a Human Capital Plan—the CSB has
developed and drafted such a plan and intends to implement it in fiscal year
2019.

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