EPA’s internal watchdog is planning to ramp up its investigatory powers as the agency shifts billions of dollars of spending under President Joe Biden’s trademark infrastructure law.
EPA’s Office of Inspector General released Tuesday the third edition of its oversight plan for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The document goes over the watchdog office’s ongoing and planned audits and evaluations related to the measure.
EPA is set to receive over $60 billion from the 2021 infrastructure law, which Inspector General Sean O’Donnell has warned is ripe for abuse and waste at the agency. In the foreword for the plan, he said his office has spent the last two years preventing such misconduct.
“We now turn toward detecting fraud, waste, and abuse,” O’Donnell said. “In FY 2024 and beyond, we expect to dedicate significant effort to ensuring that the EPA uses its infrastructure funds efficiently and effectively.”
