Office of Inspector General

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

At a Glance

22-F-0062
September 30, 2022

Why We Did This Audit

We performed this audit pursuant
to the Hazardous Waste
Electronic Manifest
Establishment Act. The Act
requires the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency to prepare
and the Office of Inspector
General to audit the
accompanying financial
statements of the EPA's
Hazardous Waste Electronic
Manifest System Fund. Our
primary objectives were to
determine whether:

•	The fund's financial
statements were fairly stated
in all material respects.

•	The EPA's internal controls
over financial reporting were
in place.

•	EPA management complied
with applicable laws,
regulations, contracts, and
grant agreements.

The Act also requires the OIG to
analyze the fees collected and
disbursed, fee structure, level of
use of the system, and success
of the system in operating on a
self-sustaining basis.

This audit supports an EPA
mission-related effort:

•	Operating efficiently and
effectively.

This audit addresses a top EPA
management challenge:

•	Managing infrastructure funding
and business operations.

Address inquiries to our public
affairs office at (202) 566-2391 or
OIG WEBCOMMENTS@epa.gov.

List of OIG reports.

The EPA's Fiscal Years 2021 and 2020
(Restated) Hazardous Waste Electronic
Manifest System Fund Financial Statements

We found the fund's
financial statements,
except for accounts
receivable and earned
revenue, to be fairly
presented.

The EPA Receives a Qualified Opinion

We rendered a qualified opinion on the EPA's fiscal
years 2021 and 2020 (restated) Hazardous Waste
Electronic Manifest System Fund, known as the
e-Manifest Fund, financial statements, meaning that,
except for material errors in accounts receivable and
earned revenue, the fiscal year 2021 financial
statements were fairly presented.

Material Weakness Noted

We noted the following recurrent material weakness: the EPA needs to
continue improving its internal controls over accounts receivable and earned
revenue.

Compliance with Applicable Laws, Regulations, Contracts, and
Grant Agreements

We did not identify any instances of noncompliance that would result in a
material misstatement to the audited financial statements.

Other Governmental Reporting Requirements

During our user fee analysis, we identified various errors and discrepancies in
EPA-provided billing data that limited our ability to perform certain audit
requirements of the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act.
Specifically, we were unable to determine the level of use of the e-Manifest
system or whether the EPA was collecting fees sufficient to cover the full cost of
the program.

Recommendations and Agency Corrective Actions Taken

We recommend that the chief financial officer correct the accounts receivable
and earned revenue balances. We also recommend that the chief financial
officer, in coordination with the assistant administrator for Land and Emergency
Management, assess the EPA's procedures for recording e-Manifest delinquent
amounts and implement controls to prevent accounts receivable and earned
revenue duplication. The EPA completed all corrective actions in response to
both recommendations. In response to Recommendation 1, the EPA made
corrections to the accounts receivable and earned revenue balances. However,
as part of the corrections, the EPA made material errors that overstated the
accounts receivable and earned revenue balances. As a result,
Recommendation 1 is unresolved with resolution efforts in progress.

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