Regional Transit Authority Needs To Insure Equipment or Forgo $62 Million in FEMA Public Assistance Funds, New Orleans, Louisiana

Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority accounted for and expended Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant funds according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines. The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), a FEMA grantee, awarded the Authority $122.39 million for damages resulting from Hurricane Katrina, which occurred on August 29, 2005. The award provided 100 percent funding for 71 large and 44 small projects. The audit covered the period August 29, 2005, through January 27,2011, the cutoff date of our audit, and included a review of 28 large and 17 small projects totaling $86.25 million, or 70.5 percent of the total award (see Exhibit A, Schedule of Projects Audited and Questioned Cost). As of our cutoff date, the Authority had claimed $55.22 million, but had not completed all projects.