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Catalyst for Improving the Environment
Site Visit Report
American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act Site Visit of the
Clifton Street Sewer Separation and
Water Main Replacement Projects,
Portland, Maine
Report No. 11-R-0248
June 7, 2011
~ ~~ RECOVERY.GOV

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Report Contributors:
Jean Bloom
Philip Cleveland
Shannon Schofield
Bill Spinazzola
Cover photo: Clifton Street Sewer Separation and Water Main Replacement Projects under
construction, Portland, Maine. (EPA OIG photo)
Hotline
To report fraud, waste, or abuse, contact us through one of the following methods:
e-mail:	OIG Hotline@epa.gov	write: EPA Inspector General Hotline
phone: 1-888-546-8740	1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
fax:	703-347-8330	Mailcode 8431P (Room N-4330)
online:	http://www.epa.qov/oiq/hotline.htm	Washington, DC 20460

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*. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	11-R-0248
Office of Inspector General	June 7 2011
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im
- 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 clean
water and drinking water projects
funded by the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(Recovery Act). We selected the
Clifton Street Sewer Separation and
Water Main Replacement Projects in
the City of Portland, Maine, for
review.
Background
The Maine Municipal Bond Bank,
acting on behalf of the Maine
Department of Environmental
Protection, provided Recovery Act
funds of $2,063,665, with $747,898
for principal forgiveness, through
the Clean Water State Revolving
Fund Program to the City of
Portland for the Clifton Street Sewer
Separation Project. The bank also
provided to the Portland Water
District, on behalf of the Maine
Department of Health and Human
Services, $380,205, with $114,062
for principal forgiveness, through
the Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund Program for the Clifton Street
Water Main Replacement Project.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Site Visit of the Ciifton Street Sewer
Separation and Water Main Repiacement
Projects, Portland, Maine
What We Found
We conducted an unannounced site visit of the Clifton Street Sewer
Separation and Water Main Replacement Projects in the City of Portland,
Maine, from June 15 through June 17, 2009. The projects were performed
jointly by the City of Portland, Maine (sewer separation) and Portland Water
District (water main replacement). We toured the projects and interviewed
city representatives, water district representatives, and contractor personnel.
We also reviewed documentation related to Recovery Act requirements.
We conducted our field work phase from June 15, 2009, to April 7, 2011.
Our work was suspended for a period of time prior to completion.
Based upon our site visit, no issues or concerns came to our attention that
would require action from the city, the Portland Water District, 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.qov/oiq/reports/2011/
20110607-11 -R-0248.pdf

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June 7,2011
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Site Visit of the Clifton Street
Sewer Separation and Water Main Replacement Projects, Portland, Maine
Report No. ll-R-0248
FROM: Arthur A. Elkins, Jr.
Inspector General
TO:	Curt Spalding
Regional Administrator, Region 1
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
This is our report on the subject site visit conducted by the Office of Inspector General of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The report summarizes the results of our site visit of the
Clifton Street Sewer Separation and Water Main Replacement Projects in the City of Portland,
Maine.
We performed this site visit as part of our responsibility under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009. The purpose of our site visit was to determine whether the City of
Portland and the Portland Water District complied with selected requirements of the Recovery
Act pertaining to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund Programs. The city received a loan from the Maine Municipal Bond Bank for the Clifton
Street Sewer Separation Project totaling $2,063,665, with $747,898 for principal forgiveness,
through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program. The Portland Water District received a
loan from the Maine Municipal Bond Bank for the Clifton Street Water Main Replacement
Project totaling $380,205, with $114,062 for principal forgiveness, through the Drinking Water
State Revolving Fund Program.
The estimated direct labor and travel costs for this report are $89,678.
Action Required
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
Because this report contains no recommendations, you are not required to respond to this report.
The report will be made available at http://epa.gov/oig.

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If you or your staff have any questions regarding this report, please contact Melissa Heist,
Assistant Inspector General for Audit, at (202) 566-0899; or Robert Adachi, Director of Forensic
Audits, at (415) 947-4537 or adachi.robert@epa.gov.

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Purpose
The purpose of the site visit was to determine whether the City of Portland,
Maine, and the Portland Water District, Portland, Maine, are in compliance with
selected requirements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(Recovery Act) pertaining to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking
Water State Revolving Fund Programs.
Background
The city received a loan from the Maine Municipal Bond Bank for the Clifton
Street Sewer Separation Project totaling $2,063,665, with $747,898 for principal
forgiveness, through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program. The Maine
Municipal Bond Bank is the financial manager of the Maine Clean Water State
Revolving Fund Program. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection
administers the technical aspects of the program and individual projects funded by
it. This project was approved to reduce the level of pollutants to water bodies and
correct a combined sewer overflow.
The Portland Water District received a loan from the Maine Municipal Bond
Bank for the Clifton Street Water Main Replacement Project totaling $380,205,
with $114,062 for principal forgiveness, through the Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund Program.1 The Maine Municipal Bond Bank is the financial
manager of the Maine Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program. The Maine
Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for project management
and technical support, as well as overseeing activities. This project was approved
to replace aging infrastructure serving a population of 124,258.
Scope and Methodology
Due to the time-critical nature of Recovery Act requirements, we did not perform
this assignment in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Specifically, we did not perform certain steps that would allow us to
obtain information to assess the city's or Portland Water District's internal
controls and any previously reported audit concerns. As a result, we do not
express an opinion on the adequacy of the city's or Portland Water District's
internal controls or compliance with all federal, state, or local requirements.
We conducted an unannounced site visit during the week of June 15, 2009. Our
field work phase began on June 15, 2009 and ended on April 7, 2011. Our work
was suspended for a period of time prior to completion.
1 The August 28, 2009, loan agreement between Maine Municipal Bond Bank and Portland Water District refers to
the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund as the Safe Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund.
11-R-0248
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During our visit, we:
1.	Toured the proj ect
2.	Interviewed city, water district, and contractor personnel on site
3.	Reviewed documentation maintained by the city, water district, and
project contractors on the following matters:
a.	Buy American requirements under Section 1605 of the Recovery
Act
b.	Wage rate requirements under Section 1606 of the Recovery Act
c.	Contract procurement
d.	Limit on funds and reporting requirements under Sections 1604
and 1512 of the Recovery Act
Results of Site Visit
Based upon our site visit, nothing came to our attention that would require action
from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the State of Maine, the City of
Portland, or the Portland Water District. We summarize the specific site visit
results below.
Buy American Requirements
The Clifton Street Sewer Separation and Water Main Replacement Projects were
exempt from the Buy American requirement. The city solicited bids on February
17, 2009, for the two projects, which qualified them for the nationwide Buy
American waiver issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
On June 2, 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published in the
Federal Register, "Notice of Nationwide Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American
Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)
for Projects that Solicited Bids on or after October 1, 2008 and prior to
February 17, 2009 that are Financed through the Clean or Drinking Water State
Revolving Funds using Assistance Provided under ARRA."2 Since the city's bid
solicitation was made within the nationwide Buy American waiver timeframe of
October 1, 2008, to February 17, 2009, it qualified for the Buy American waiver.
Wage Rate Requirements
We reviewed the city's and Portland Water District's compliance with wage rate
requirements under Section 1606 of the Recovery Act. No issues or concerns
came to our attention that would require action.
2 The bid solicitation was made prior to the enactment of the Recovery Act later the same day and is, therefore,
timely.
11-R-0248
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We interviewed all employees at the construction sites during our site visit to
collect information on compensation, job duties, training, and qualifications. The
contractor submitted copies of its certified payroll records to both the city and the
Portland Water District to show its compliance with wage rate requirements, and
also signed and submitted a "Statement of Compliance" with each certified
payroll submission. We compared the wage rates on the certified payroll report to
the applicable wage rate requirement to determine compliance. All employees
were paid at or above the minimum required wage rate as determined by the
Davis-Bacon Act.
Contract Procurement
We reviewed the city's procurement of the subject projects and no issues or
concerns came to our attention that would require action.
The city determined that it would be cost beneficial to issue one bid advertisement
for work under the two projects since construction activity would be in one
location. The city accepted responsibility for contract procurement.
The construction contract was competitively awarded based on public
advertisement. In total, seven bids were received, and the contract was awarded to
the lowest bidder overall (lowest bidder for the Sewer Separation Project and
second-lowest for the Water Main Replacement Project).
Our review of the request for proposal, subsequent amendments, and the contract
awarded found that the applicable Recovery Act clauses were included.
Limit on Use of Funds and Reporting Requirements
We did not identify any issues or concerns with the city's or Portland Water
District's compliance with the requirements under Sections 1604 and 1512 of the
Recovery Act.
To comply with the limitation of funds requirement of Section 1604, none of the
funds appropriated or otherwise made available under the Recovery Act may be
used by any state or local governments, or any private entity, for any casino or
other gambling establishment, aquarium, golf course, or swimming pool. Based
on our observations during the site visit, and our review of procurement
documents, pay requests, and change orders, funds are not being used for any of
the prohibited items noted in the Recovery Act.
We determined that both the city and the Portland Water District provided the
State of Maine with the required information to ensure that they are meeting the
reporting requirements under Section 1512 of the Recovery Act. Both provided to
the state the Section 1512 reporting information monthly via pay requests. They
also submitted to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection certified pay
requests that itemized dollars requested by contract for the period covered by the
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pay request. In addition, the city and the district provided to the state the number
of hours worked on each contract. The city and the Portland Water District
maintained detailed support for each pay request submitted to the state. The pay
request was an overall summary for each project and contained the budgeted
amount, funds dispersed to date, funds requested on the current request, and the
balance remaining. The state, using the hours worked and a formula provided by
the Office of Management and Budget, calculated the number of jobs saved or
created.
Recommendations
Based upon our site visit, no issues or concerns came to our attention that would
require action from the city, the Portland Water District, or the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
Agency, Recipient, and Subrecipient Responses to Draft Report
Since we had no recommendations, we did not require or receive formal written
comments to the draft report. On May 23, 2011, we held an exit conference with
representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 1,
Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Maine Department of Health and
Human Services, City of Portland, and Portland Water District. During the
meeting, Maine's Department of Environmental Protection informed us that the
$1,087,238 principal forgiveness shown in the report represents the amount for
two projects, Clifton Street and Forest Avenue. The portion attributed to the
Clifton Street project is $747,898.
Office of Inspector General Comment
We verified the principal forgiveness amounts for the Clean Water State
Revolving Fund to supporting loan documentation and adjusted the report to
reflect the principal forgiveness allocable to the Clifton Street project.
11-R-0248

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Status of Recommendations and
Potential Monetary Benefits
RECOMMENDATIONS
POTENTIAL MONETARY
BENEFITS (In $000s)
Rec.
No.
Page
No.
Subject
Status1
Action Official
Planned
Completion
Date
No recommendations
Claimed
Amount
Ag reed-To
Amount
1 0 = recommendation is open with agreed-to corrective actions pending
C = recommendation is closed with all agreed-to actions completed
U = recommendation is undecided with resolution efforts in progress
11-R-0248
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Appendix A
Distribution
Office of the Administrator
Regional Administrator, Region 1
Director, Grants and Interagency Agreements Management Division,
Office of Administration and Resources Management
Agency Followup Official (the CFO)
Agency Followup Coordinator
General Counsel
Associate Administrator for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations
Associate Administrator for External Affairs and Environmental Education
Audit Followup Coordinator, Region 1
Public Affairs Officer, Region 1
Mayor, City of Portland, Maine
Executive Director of Asset Management and Planning, Portland Water District
Maine Clean Water State Revolving Fund Manager, Maine Department of Environmental
Protection
Chief Engineer, Maine Drinking Water Program, Maine Department of Health and Human Services
11-R-0248
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