Stronger Controls Needed Over the Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Valley Project Cost Allocation and Ratesetting Processes

Submitting OIG:

Department of the Interior OIG

Report Description:

We found BOR did not effectively design and implement internal controls that ensure the CVP’s cost allocation and ratesetting processes are accurate.

Short / Alternative Report Title:

Stronger Controls Needed Over BOR’s Central Valley Project Cost Allocation and Ratesetting Processes

Date Issued:

Monday, August 12, 2024

Agency Reviewed / Investigated:

Department of the Interior

Submitting OIG-Specific Report Number:

2022-WR-048

Location(s):

Agency-Wide

Type of Report:

Audit

Questioned Costs:

$1,685

Funds for Better Use:

Number of Recommendations:

Report updated under NDAA 5274:

View Document:

Attachment	Size
Final-Audit-ReportCentral-Valley-Project.pdf	5.61 MB

Additional Details Link:

https://www.doioig.gov/reports/audit/stronger-controls-needed-over-bureau-reclam…

Recommendation Number	Recommendation Status	Significant Recommendation
2022-WR-048-01	Open	Yes
We recommend that BOR perform an independent review of future allocation calculations for construction costs and operations and maintenance costs to ensure the allocations are accurate and reasonable.
2022-WR-048-02	Open	No
We recommend that BOR develop and implement policies and procedures that require an independent review of all aspects of the allocation calculations for construction costs and operations and maintenance costs to ensure the allocations are accurate and reasonable.
2022-WR-048-03	Open	Yes
We recommend that BOR develop and implement standard operating procedures that provide detailed instructions on all aspects of calculating allocations for construction costs and operations and maintenance costs.
2022-WR-048-04	Open	No
We recommend that BOR update the ratesetting standard operating procedures to require documentation of peer and supervisor reviews that include the identity of the reviewer and the date of the review.
2022-WR-048-05	Open	No
We recommend that BOR establish and implement a policy to periodically conduct a review of the standard operating procedures and determine whether they need to be updated.
2022-WR-048-06	Open	Yes
We recommend that BOR update the ratesetting standard operating procedures to reflect the current process for calculating the ratesetting schedules.
2022-WR-048-07	Open	Yes
We recommend that BOR Develop standard operating procedures for all schedules used in the ratesetting process.
2022-WR-048-09	Open	No
We recommend that BOR implement the requirement for maintaining packing slips and shipping documentation to support micropurchase transactions as established in the Department’s Purchase Card Program Policy.
2022-WR-048-10	Open	No
We recommend that BOR revise the Purchase Business Line Requirement Handbookto a) align with the requirement that cardholders maintain copies of packing lists or shipping documents for all micropurchase transactions as established in the Department’s Purchase Card Program Policy and b) reflect the changes made to the Department’s Purchase Card Program Policy regarding supporting documentation requirements for the date or receipt.
2022-WR-048-11	Open	No
We recommend that BOR develop a mechanism to enforce the use of the Central California Area Office’s micropurchase request form and ensure the form has the required approvals.

Recommendation Number

Recommendation Status

Significant Recommendation

Additional Details

2022-WR-048-01

Open

Yes

We recommend that BOR perform an independent review of future allocation calculations for construction costs and operations and maintenance costs to ensure the allocations are accurate and reasonable.

2022-WR-048-02

Open

We recommend that BOR develop and implement policies and procedures that require an independent review of all aspects of the allocation calculations for construction costs and operations and maintenance costs to ensure the allocations are accurate and reasonable.

2022-WR-048-03