An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Brought to you by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
Federal Reports
Report Date
Agency Reviewed / Investigated
Report Title
Type
Location
Appalachian Regional Commission
North Central Entrepreneurial Network Initiative Grant
We reviewed the process and controls for emissions data reporting. Our objective was to ensure that controls are prescribed and functioning to ensure accurate emissions data reporting. The Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS) is in place at TVA fossil plants and combustion turbine facilities to report data on opacity, SO2, NOx, CO2, and flow. Fossil Power Group has a process that "is intended to satisfy the regulatory requirements for a quality assurance program (QA Plan) for the Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (CEMS) by providing a uniform process for the assurance of Acid Rain compliance at Fossil Power Group (FPG) facilities." The process authorizes quality control procedures which characterize specific CEMS activities required to maintain compliance with current CEMS regulations.In summary, we determined controls are prescribed and functioning which ensure the accuracy of emissions data reporting. Specifically, we determined that the CEMS data is being approved and certified at the plant and the TVA Designated Representative (DR) level prior to submission to the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition to controls prescribed by the process, Environmental Compliance and Technology Applications performed environmental program reviews which also evaluated compliance with controls and quality procedures related to CEMS reporting. Summary Only
TVA's helicopter fleet consists of seven helicopters that TVA owns and self-insures. Based on our review of FlightWatch1 data and discussions with the Manager of Helicopter Services, TVA's helicopters are used for a variety of missions, including:Inspecting TVA's 17,000 circuit miles of transmission lines in a seven-state region.Aerial photography, laser mapping, and river and environmental surveys. Construction support. Clean air testing. Right-of-way inspections. Transportation of TVA executives. Economic development activities, such as aerial tours of industrial megasites. The aircraft can also be deployed for certain emergency contingencies such as floods, tornadoes, and ice storms.The objective of our review was to assess (1) the procedures and control activities used to ensure the TVA helicopter fleet is used for valid business purposes and (2) the operational use of the fleet. Our review included policies, procedures, and laws/regulations applicable to TVA helicopters and covered the period of October 1, 2004, through September 30, 2005.We determined that it appears that the TVA Helicopter Fleet was used for valid business purposes. However, there were no documented guidelines identifying proper uses of the helicopter fleet and approval levels needed to obtain flight services. Additionally, there has been no cost benefit study of helicopter fleet usage to ensure it is being used effectively. Management agreed with our findings and has taken or plans to take appropriate corrective actions.
