EPA Overpaid Contractor $1.5 Million For Cleanup, Inspector General Finds

摘要

The Environmental Protection Agency overpaid a contractor more than $1.5 million for cleanup work conducted under the Superfund statute and hasn't provided any persuasive legal arguments to defend the payment, the EPA's Office of Inspector General has concluded. The agency disagrees with the inspector general and most recently said the omission of standard language in the federal contract was a "harmless error" because it intended to pay the $1.5 million for different reasons. EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe and the Office of the Inspector General met May 29 to discuss a possible resolution of the dispute but couldn't reach an agreement. Perciasepe must make a final decision about the agency's position in the case. "After numerous written and oral arguments, the agency to date has not forwarded one persuasive factual or legal argument that would cause the OIG to abandon its position that the agency violated the [Federal Acquisition Regulation] and that violation resulted in a $1.5-million-plus overpayment to a contractor," a memorandum from the inspector general said.