Environmental Protection: EPA's Oversight of Nonprofit Grantees' Costs Is Limited

摘要

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides millions of dollars to varioustypes of grantees to conduct research, demonstrate pollution control techniques, and perform other activities. Oversight of this large pool of grantees has proven to be difficult. Some grantees have spent all of their grant funds but completed only a portion of the work required in the grant agreement. In addition, some grantees, particularly nonprofit organizations with inexperienced staff, may not have adequate controls in place to ensure that funds are spent as intended or allowed. To address this material weakness, EPA has issued and periodically updated a post-award policy to require proactive grant monitoring by agency staff after grants had been awarded. This report addresses these problems and offers recommendations to remedy the situation.