Tag: OIG

EPA Erred in its January 2021 PFBS Toxicity Assessment

The EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued a report that found the Agency didn’t follow the typical intra-agency review and clearance process during the development and publication of the January 2021 perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) toxicity assessment. During the final clearance process for the assessment, a Trump political appointee ordered a last-minute review […]

OIG Oversight Plan for Top Management Challenges

The EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued its Fiscal Year 2023 Oversight Plan, which details the projects the OIG intends to conduct through September 2023 and identifies top management challenges faced by both the EPA and the OIG. “Oversight is at the core of the EPA OIG’s mission,” said Inspector General Sean O’Donnell […]

Labor OIG: OSHA Did Not Protect Workers From COVID-19

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) did not sufficiently protect American workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) concluded in an audit released October 31. An earlier OIG report found that OSHA reduced the number of inspections it conducted at a time when complaints increased […]

EPA Watchdog Investigates Water Crisis in Jackson, Miss.

The EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a press statement on September 13, 2022, announcing it will begin an investigation into the Jackson, Mississippi, severe water crisis. The city’s water system has been plagued with issues for years, having been the subject of many EPA enforcement actions, including emergency orders and notices of noncompliance. […]

OIG Recommends Controls to Improve Self-Disclosure Screening Process

In a report issued June 30, 2022, the EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) determined that the Agency does not have adequate internal controls in place to ensure that its screening process of self-disclosure violations reported through its eDisclosure system is effective and that significant concerns, such as criminal conduct and potential imminent hazards, are […]

OIG Reports on Status of EPA Recommendations

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) on August 4 issued its semiannual report, “Compendium of Open and Unresolved Recommendations: Data as of March 31, 2021.” The completion of the compendium is required by law and mandates that each inspector general prepare semiannual reports for Congress, which must include “an identification of each significant recommendation described […]

Farming

EPA Ignored Policy and Procedures for Dicamba Registration

In a report dated May 24, 2021, the EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) determined that the Agency “deviated from typical procedures in its 2018 Dicamba pesticide registration decision.” The watchdog report found required internal peer reviews were not conducted for three dicamba pesticide products. “While division-level management review is part of the typical operating […]

OSHA log, OSHA inspections

OIG: Reduced OSHA Inspections During COVID-19 Put Workers at Risk

Reduced Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) workplace inspections during the COVID-19 pandemic left U.S. workers’ safety at increased risk, the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) concluded in its audit of the agency.

OSHA Binder

Labor OIG Audits OSHA’s COVID-19 Whistleblower Enforcement

The Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released an audit report of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) handling of whistleblower complaints during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The OIG recommended that OSHA fill staff vacancies in the Whistleblower Protection Program (WPP), continue a pilot triage program in its Region […]