*	' U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	11-R-0193
| jDL \ Office of Inspector General	March 29 2011
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At a Glance
Catalyst for Improving the Environment
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. We selected the
project in the City of Waleska,
Georgia, for review.
Background
The city received loans
totaling $615,000 from the
Georgia Environmental
Facilities Authority. These
loans included $386,610 of
Recovery Act funds
distributed through the
Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund program
($246,000 for principal
forgiveness and a $140,610
loan).
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Site
Visit of Water System Improvement Project,
Waleska, Georgia
What We Found
We conducted an unannounced site visit of the water system improvement project
in the City of Waleska, Georgia, in March 2010. As part of our visit, we toured the
project site; interviewed city representatives, representatives of the city's
engineering firm, and prime and subcontractor personnel; and reviewed
documentation related to Recovery Act requirements.
We found no ongoing construction activity during our site visit. Prior to our visit,
the city and the State of Georgia determined that the prime contractor was
violating contract terms and issued a stop-work order. Therefore, we were unable
to perform all of the required procedures necessary to determine compliance with
the requirements for subrecipients of Recovery Act funds.
During our review, we found the city did not execute written contracts for
engineering, inspection, and legal services, and did not prepare a cost or price
analysis for its engineering services. However, we found no applicable federal,
state, or local requirements that require the city to execute written contracts or
prepare a cost or price analysis. Without federal, state, and local cost principles
and procurement standards, we do not have reasonable assurance that Recovery
Act funds are awarded and distributed in a prompt, fair, and reasonable manner,
and that funds are used for purposes of the act. We plan to address this issue in a
separate report to the Agency.
Based upon our review, we found no other problems that would require action
from the city, the State of Georgia, or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For further information, contact
our Office of Congressional,
Public Affairs and Management
at (202) 566-2391.
The full report is at:
www.epa.aov/oia/reports/2011/
20110329-11 -R-0193.pdf

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