At a Glance: Fiscal Year 2023 U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board Top Management Challenges


Office of Inspector General

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

At a Glance

October 21, 2022

Challenges?

The Reports Consolidation Act of
2000 requires each inspector
general to prepare an annual
statement summarizing what the
inspector general considers to be
"the most serious management
and performance challenges
facing the Agency" and to briefly
assess the Agency's progress in
addressing those challenges.

For fiscal year 2023, we

U.S. Chemical Safety and
Hazard Investigation Board
addressed its management
challenge for fiscal year 2022,
which we identified in Report
No. 22-N-0003, issued on
November 10,2021. We
determined that the understaffed
board remains a top
management challenge for the
CSB. In addition, we identified
two new top management
challenges for the Agency:
minimize mission critical staff
vacancies and attrition rates and
improve cybersecurity
weaknesses.

This report addresses the three
CSB goals:

•	Prevent recurrence of
significant chemical
incidents.

•	Advocate safety and
achieve change.

•	Create and maintain an
engaged, high-
performing workforce.

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

List of OIG reports.

Fiscal Year 2023 U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard
Investigation Board Management Challenges

What We Found

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General identified
three top management challenges that we believe represent the CSB's greatest
vulnerability to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement and present the most
significant barriers to accomplishing the mission during fiscal year 2023. In
addition to the challenge retained from our previous top management challenges
report, we identified two new top management challenges that affect the CSB
operations and that may prevent the CSB from efficiently and effectively driving
chemical safety change through independent investigations to protect people and
the environment.

Management Challenge (initially identified in fiscal year 2019):

Accomplishment of the CSB's Mission Remains Impaired Until the Full Board
Is Confirmed

The CSB has only two of five authorized members. The Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990 authorized the creation of the CSB and established a
board of five members, including a chairperson, that is responsible for major
budgeting decisions, strategic planning and direction, general oversight of the
CSB, and approval of investigation reports and studies. The lack of a full board
has inhibited the CSB's mission to conduct investigations to protect people and
the environment. As noted in our Special Review of the U.S. Chemical Safety
and Hazard Investigation Board Capabilities to Effectively Administer Its
Programs and Operations, Board Order 028 prohibits a single board member
from taking actions or giving any approvals where the order requires approval of
the full board. The loss of one of the two current board members could prevent
the CSB governing body from meeting its mission and goals.

Management Challenge (new): Minimize Mission Critical Staff Vacancies and
Attrition Rates

Mission-critical staff positions have remained vacant for more than a year. Former
CSB leadership did not ensure that sufficient staff were hired and retained to meet
the CSB's mission. These staffing problems have affected the CSB's ability to
carry out day-to-day operations in a timely manner, including deployments to new
incidents, completion of investigations, and issuance of reports.

Management Challenge (new): Improve Cybersecurity Weaknesses

In May 2022 the CSB's two board members stated that they had little insight into
the changes needed to improve cybersecurity because of limited information
sharing from the then-chairperson. Although communication between the board
members and the latest chairperson was strained, previous OIG reporting and
recommendations regarding CSB cybersecurity deficiencies were available for
board-member review. The board needs to implement the OIG's cybersecurity
recommendations to ensure the reliability, availability, and accuracy of CSB data,
as well as to protect Agency information technology systems from cyberthreats.

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