Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority, California, Provided FEMA Incorrect Information for Its $33 Million Project

We determined that Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority officials, through its main engineering contractor, presented incorrect data and misinformed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in obtaining a Federal grant of more than $33 million for its pipeline replacement and relocation project. We made four recommendations, directing FEMA to disallow the $33 million in grant funds awarded to the Authority for Project 828 — or $1.4 million if FEMA disallows $31.7 million of ineligible costs we questioned in our previous report (OIG-17-25-D; January 2017); and to coordinate with DHS for any applicable suspension and debarment actions. FEMA concurred with three recommendations. For the remaining recommendation, FEMA is awaiting additional documentation from the grantee and subgrantee before making a determination.