Federal Reports

The Office of the Inspector General determined the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) industrial hygiene (IH) planning and assessment process had weaknesses that resulted in some hazards not being identified and evaluated. Specifically, we identified the following IH process weaknesses: (1) TVA relied on limited information to identify health hazards; (2) there was no formal evaluation of the risks posed by identified hazards; (3) IH plans did not prioritize hazards; and, (4) an incomplete monitoring process allowed for misalignment between plans and exposure assessments. We also determined TVA is taking appropriate actions to address adverse conditions which were identified during assessments at gas plants; however, hazard exposures were not documented and employees were not notified as required. In addition, we identified opportunities for improvement related to handling of IH issues in the contractor population.

The Office of the Inspector General included an audit of contractor use of TVA’s purchasing cards in its fiscal year 2021 Audit Plan, based on the significant amount of charges made using TVA purchasing cards assigned to contractors. The objective of the audit was to determine if adequate controls were in place to ensure purchases made by TVA contractors using a TVA purchasing card were (1) for TVA business purposes and not the use of another entity and (2) not being billed back to TVA. We found controls were generally adequate to ensure purchases made by TVA contractors using a TVA purchasing card were for TVA business purposes and not the use of another entity. However we also determined (1) TVA does not have controls in place to ensure purchases made by contractor employees assigned a TVA purchasing card are not being billed back to TVA on invoices from the contractor, (2) required language to govern contractor’s usage and liability for purchasing cards issued to TVA contractors is not included in contracts, and (3) over 50 percent of the transactions we tested were not reconciled by the cardholder in a timely manner, resulting in untimely approval by the approving official.

OIG data analytics identified the Industrial Station had $499,801 in postage affixed refunds recorded to account identification code (AIC) 526, Refund Spoiled/Unused Customer Meter Stamps. This was 86 percent of California 2 District total refunds for this period.The objective of this audit was to determine whether meter revenue refunds were properly issued, supported, and processed at the West Sacramento, CA Industrial Station.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) OIG reviewed the system of quality control for the audit organization of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) OIG in effect for the year ended March 31, 2021. The FTC OIG received an External Peer Review rating of PASS. In the GAO OIG's opinion, the system of quality control for the audit organization of the FTC OIG in effect for the year ended March 31, 2021, had been suitably designed and complied with to provide the FTC OIG with reasonable assurance of performing and reporting in conformity with applicable professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements in all material respects.

The Office of the Inspector General determined the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) industrial hygiene (IH) planning and assessment process had weaknesses that resulted in some hazards not being identified and evaluated. Specifically, we identified the following IH process weaknesses: (1) TVA relied on limited information to identify health hazards; (2) there was no formal evaluation of the risks posed by identified hazards; (3) IH plans did not prioritize hazards; and (4) incomplete monitoring efforts allowed misalignment between procedures, plans, and exposure assessments. We also determined TVA took appropriate actions to address adverse conditions, which were identified during assessments at hydro plants; however, TVA did not maintain employee notification records as required by internal procedures. In addition, we identified opportunities for improvement related to clarifying responsibilities for notification and monitoring of contractor actions taken to address IH recommendations.