The EPA Office of Grants and Debarment does not know the full extent to which program offices and regions have implemented grant flexibilities and exceptions permitted by the Office of Management and Budget due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Office of Grants and Debarment tracked grants that received flexibilities through its issued class waivers and regulatory exceptions but did not track grants that received flexibilities and exceptions approved by program offices and regions. The lack of agencywide tracking of grant flexibilities and exceptions hindered the Agency’s ability to assess how the coronavirus pandemic impacted the grant process.
Open Recommendations
Recommendation Number | Significant Recommendation | Recommended Questioned Costs | Recommended Funds for Better Use | Additional Details | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
22-P-0018_1 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
Develop a standard operating procedure that instructs program offices and regions on tracking and documenting grant flexibilities and exceptions, and their impacts, due to unanticipated events in order toassure consistency in the information needed to manage grants. | |||||
22-P-0018_2 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
Develop a plan to implement, by December 2022, a uniform electronic record-keeping system for grants to meet the Office of Management and Budget direction in M-19-21, Transition to Electronic Records, that all federal records must be created, retained, and managed in electronicformats with appropriate metadata. | |||||
22-P-0018_3 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
Direct program offices and regions to use a uniform official electronic file system that would allow consistency in agencywide access and storage of electronic grant files. |