Federal Reports

We completed a verification review of Recommendations 1, 3, 4, and 5, presented in our evaluation report, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Management of Oil and Gas Activities on Refuges (CR-EV-FWS-0002-2014), issued March 1, 2015. Our objective for this review was to determine whether the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service implemented Recommendations 1, 3, 4, and 5 in the evaluation as reported to the Office of Financial Management, Office of Policy, Management and Budget. We concur that these four recommendations have been resolved and closed.

The OIG investigated allegations that a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) review of its own failures in oversight of a Federal grant was biased and that USBR or Office of the Solicitor employees made false statements during our initial investigation of the grant.We did not find any evidence that USBR’s review was biased or that employees made false statements.

OIG investigated allegations that offshore oil and gas company employees and contractors illegally discharged oil into the Gulf of Mexico.We determined offshore workers Luke Ball, Darryl Plaisance, and William Smith intentionally discharged oil into the Gulf while operating aboard a platform located on a Federal lease. All three individuals were criminally charged by a Federal grand jury in the Western District of Louisiana. Ball and Plaisance pled guilty to making a knowing discharge of a pollutant, and Smith pled guilty to making a negligent discharge of a pollutant into the Gulf. Ball served almost six months of incarceration followed by supervised release, and the remaining defendants were placed on probation and paid a criminal fine.

In accordance with our annual plan, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an analysis of the United States Capitol Police (USCP or Department) Office of Information Systems (OIS) internet usage and monitoring capabilities. The objectives of the analysis were to determine if the Department possessed (1) the capability for monitoring internet usage, and (2) the ability to identify, and respond to, potential waste or abuse. Our scope included controls, processes, and operations during Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. In certain instances, we analyzed data from FY 2018 because OIS monitoring tools contained only a limited amount of historical information.