Federal Reports

This report presents the results of our audits of delivery operations and property conditions in the Arizona-New Mexico District in the WestPac Area.
This report presents a summary of the results of our self-initiated audits of delivery operations and property conditions at five delivery units, as well as district-wide delivery operations in the Arizona-New Mexico (AZ-NM) District in the WestPac Area (Project Number 25-046). The delivery units included the Boulder Hills Station, Mesa Four Peaks Station, Avondale Goodyear Main Post Office (MPO), Scottsdale Airpark Station, and Sunnyslope Carrier Annex in Arizona.

For our evaluation of the Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS's) detection of and response to cyber incidents, our objective was to assess the adequacy of actions taken by BIS when detecting and responding to cyber incidents in accordance with federal and departmental requirements. We found that (1) BIS lacked effective detection and response capabilities to handle our simulated malicious activities; (2) BIS misconfigured critical security controls for its export control networks; and (3) BIS mishandled classified and other privileged credentials.
 

We performed this review to determine the extent to which State Education Agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) use digital wallets to facilitate the administration of U.S. Department of Education (Department) grant funds. Our review covered the period from October 1, 2022, through December 31, 2024.  Forty-five SEAs responded to our survey regarding the use of digital wallets to facilitate the administration of Department grant funds. Twelve of those SEAs reported using digital wallets to help administer some of their Department grants during our review period, and three of these planned to continue using digital wallets in 2025. SEAs primarily relied on one digital wallet vendor to help administer their Department grant funds. That vendor, used by 11 of the 12 SEAs, was responsible for helping to administer more than 95 percent of the Department grant funds for which SEAs reported using digital wallets. SEAs used digital wallets almost exclusively for their pandemic relief Department grants, including the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund, Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools grants, and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund grants. SEAs most commonly used digital wallets for automated direct deposit reimbursement or payment, built in controls for fund use, and tracking of funds; and several SEAs reported that they relied, at least partially, on their digital wallet vendors to help ensure that applicable Federal grant requirements were followed. According to the SEAs that responded to our survey, a small number of LEAs used digital wallets to help administer their Department grant funds during our review period. Only one SEA reported that its LEAs used digital wallets, and that SEA further reported that only 5 to 10 LEAs in the State used digital wallets. Although LEAs’ use of digital wallets appeared to be limited based on the survey results, the full extent of LEAs’ digital wallet usage is not known since 6 SEAs did not complete the survey and 15 of the 45 respondent SEAs reported that they did not know whether their LEAs used digital wallets to help administer Department grant funds. 

During the week of January 13, 2025, we performed a self-initiated audit at the Phoenix and West Valley Processing and Distribution Centers (P&DC) and five delivery units serviced by the P&DCs. The delivery units included the Boulder Hills, Mesa Four Peaks, and Scottsdale Stations; Avondale Goodyear Main Post Office; and Sunnyslope Carrier Annex in the Phoenix, AZ area.

We issued individual reports for the five delivery units and two P&DCs. We will also issue another report summarizing the results of our audits at all five delivery units with specific recommendations for management to address.

Why We Did This Report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General conducted this evaluation to determine South Carolina’s capacity to manage and use Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds for its Clean Water State Revolving Fund program.

Summary of Findings

South Carolina’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund, or CWSRF, program sufficiently meets two of the four dimensions of capacity: financial and organizational. South Carolina faces challenges related to stakeholder and human capital capacity. If South Carolina does not take steps to address those challenges, millions of IIJA dollars intended for water infrastructure improvements may not reach the state’s communities.