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vS	U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	2005-S-00007
£	nffironflncnorW^onoral	September 7, 2005
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At a Glance
Catalyst for Improving the Environment
Why We Did This Review
In April 2005, the House
Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure provided
the Office of Inspector
General with a sample of
15 grants EPA awarded to
nonprofit organizations. The
Committee asked us to
determine the purpose,
justification, and progress for
each of the grants.
The Committee requested a
report containing information
on each of the 15 grants.
Background
EPA awarded over $4.3
billion (about 51 percent of its
annual budget) in 2004 to
entities via assistance
agreements. Grants are a type
of assistance agreement, and
we use the terms
interchangeably in this report.
EPA awarded about 20
percent of its grants to
nonprofit entities accounting
for about 8 percent ($337
million) of the total grant
funds awarded.
Congressionally Requested Review of Selected
Grants
What We Found
This report contains factual information on 15 grants. The report does not contain
any audit findings.
EPA awarded these 15 grants to nonprofit organizations. These grants were
awarded by 10 different EPA offices and regions, and ranged from $6,622 to $5.3
million. EPA awarded all of the grants since 2004, except for one that was
awarded in 1998. EPA awarded 13 of the 15 grants competitively.
EPA and grantees provided a wide range of purposes for these grants, including
improving protection of regional watersheds and wetlands, educating and training
local youth to clean up polluted sites in their community, and improving human
health and the environment in a region of China.
EPA cited various statutory authorities for the grants, including the Clean Air Act,
National Environment Policy Act, Clean Water Act, and the Solid Waste Disposal
Act.
Some projects are still in the early phases of work while others are nearly
complete. Project periods for these grants range from 1 to 7 years.
What We Recommend
This report does not contain any recommendations.
For further information,
contact our Office of
Congressional and Public
Liaison at (202) 566-2391.
To view the full report,
click on the following link:
www.epa.qov/oiq/reports/2005/
20050907-2005-S-00007.pdf

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