The U.S. Department of the Interior Has Opportunities to Improve Disaster Preparedness and Response

This project originated from our participation on a Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) working group focused on inspecting the supplemental funding appropriated by the U.S. Congress in 2018 for necessary expenses related to the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. We inspected the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) preparedness for and response to three storms that made landfall as major hurricanes in the United States in quick succession: Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Hurricane Harvey affected the Southern United States (Texas and Louisiana) and the Eastern United States, Irma affected the Caribbean and Southeastern United States, and Maria affected the Caribbean and the Mid-Atlantic States. We focused our inspection on the three DOI bureaus that received most of the supplemental funding from Congress—the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Park Service (NPS), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)—as well as Departmentwide actions. Both the NPS and the FWS performed well in some ways, such as by inventorying supplies before the storm, evacuating people to safer conditions, identifying damaged property, and clearing debris after the storms. We found, however, areas where the DOI can improve its preparedness for responding to and recovering from the next natural disaster. Specifically, we found: 1. The Office of Emergency Management’s Master Improvement Plan did not include required information and contained unrealistic milestones. 2. The NPS and the FWS encountered problems with communication and purchase cards. 3. Recovery obligations and expenditures of supplemental funds have been slow. 4. Contracting officer training can improve overall preparedness. 5. Awareness of interbureau resources could be improved. We make seven recommendations to help the DOI improve its ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from future disasters. Based on the bureau responses to our draft report, we consider one recommendation to be resolved and implemented, five recommendations resolved but not implemented, and one recommendation unresolved.