.tfED sr^	19-P-0198
* — *	U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	June 24,2019
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	 \ Office of Inspector General
At a Glance
Why We Did This Project
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA's)
Office of Inspector General
(OIG) conducted this audit to
determine whether internal
controls for the Senior
Environmental Employment
(SEE) program cooperative
agreements provide reasonable
assurance that the agency is
complying with the
Environmental Programs
Assistance Act (P.L. 98-313)
and EPA guidance and
policies.
According to the EPA, the SEE
program provides opportunities
for workers at least 55 years
old to assist the EPA on
federal, state and local
environmental projects,
including pollution prevention,
abatement and control. Also,
workers can assist with
administrative, clerical,
technical and professional
support.
This report addresses the
following:
• Operating efficiently and
effectively.
EPA Needs to Improve Oversight of the
Senior Environmental Employment Program
What We Found
The EPA's oversight of SEE cooperative agreements
needs to be improved. Specifically, we found that the
EPA did not:
• Timely comply with requirements to document
SEE program monitoring reviews.
Address inquiries to our public
affairs office at (202) 566-2391 or
OIG WEBPOSTINGS@epa.gov.
The SEE program can
reduce the risk of
fraud, waste and
abuse and make the
program more efficient
through additional
controls.
•	Document oversight of SEE organizations'
quarterly reports or communications with the SEE organizations.
•	Provide adequate communications or guidance for SEE monitors regarding
their responsibilities.
•	Update the 2010 pay scale that established the worker (SEE enrollee)
minimum and maximum hourly wages.
These findings resulted from factors such as EPA project officers having
difficulties with the Grantee Compliance Database, not realizing that documenting
oversight was required, and lack of mechanisms to effectively provide information
or review reimbursement paid to grantees.
Recommendations and Planned Agency Corrective Actions
We recommend that the Assistant Administrator for Mission Support implement
internal controls to verify that required annual baseline monitoring reports are
timely placed into the database, develop a mechanism or quality review process
for the SEE program manager to verify effective oversight, and implement
additional communications and guidance. In addition, we recommend that the
Assistant Administrator issue a memorandum to the leadership of program and
regional offices that participate in the SEE program to emphasize compliance
with guidance and communication provided by the program. Further, we
recommend that the Assistant Administrator revise guidance on reviewing and
setting wage rates.
The EPA agreed to take corrective actions on all five recommendations and
provided planned corrective action dates. The agency's planned corrective
actions and completion dates meet the intent of the recommendations.
Corrective actions are completed for Recommendation 2 and pending for the
other recommendations.
List of OIG reports.

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