Improvements Needed in EPA's Inspector General Operations

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed Inspector General (IG) operations at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), focusing on: (1) the handling of investigations and audits; (2) the allocation of investigative resources; (3) the types of audits being performed; and (4) how certain requirements of the Inspector General Act of 1978 are being met.

GAO found that most IG audits and investigations had been properly handled but, in some cases, investigations were performed inconsistently or relevant matters were not thoroughly investigated. In particular, three investigations concerning sick leave abuse, telephone abuse, and favoritism were not handled in a manner consistent with similar investigations. In another investigation involving conflict of interest, the IG did not address certain factual questions bearing on the case before referring the case for possible prosecution. IG investigative resources were not being allocated efficiently; in 1982, IG investigators spent about 17 percent of their time performing functions that could have been performed by support personnel. GAO believes that additional personnel, combined with the use of screening criteria for cases, could enable the IG to better allocate resources and reduce a large backlog of uninvestigated allegations. In addition, the IG has not taken a balanced approach to audit coverage; GAO believes that, while clearing up the backlog of external contract grant audits is important, more coverage should be provided to internal programs and operations, such as EPA enforcement activities. GAO also found that the IG had acted inconsistently in protecting or disclosing the identities of complainants, in some cases leaving complainants open to possible retaliation, and in other cases protecting identities unnecessarily.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: John J. Adair Team: General Accounting Office: Accounting and Financial Management Division Phone: (202) 275-5200