More than half of the funding that Congress has earmarked for municipal water projects in recent years wasn’t spent by funding recipients within six months and EPA isn’t properly tracking why, according to a new report from the agency’s internal watchdog.
EPA’s Office of Inspector General found that 169 of the 291 active Clean Water or Drinking Water state revolving fund earmark grants it reviewed had not drawn down their money within 180 days of it being awarded. The $368 million of languishing funds represent 53 percent of the active earmarked funds.
But in nearly three-quarters of the cases, EPA staff didn’t document why the funds hadn’t been drawn down.
“Grant recipients may have reasons for not drawing down funds, such as obtaining permits or construction delays,” the inspector general report said. “However, delays or a lack of drawdowns for prolonged periods of time may negatively impact project completion or contribute to the Agency’s grants management workload.”
