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Audits, Inspections, and Evaluations

Report Number Title Issue Date Fiscal Year
OIG-21-10 FEMA Should Disallow $12.2 Million in Disaster Case Management Program Grant Funds Awarded to New York for Hurricane Sandy 2021
OIG-17-18-D We determined the Town did not always account for and expend FEMA grant funds according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines.  Therefore, FEMA should disallow $2.0 million of $3.59 million in grant funds awarded to the Town.  We made four recommendations to the Regional Administrator, FEMA Region I, to disallow ineligible or unsupported costs and improve the State’s grant management activities.

>FEMA Should Disallow $2.0 Million of $3.59 Million Awarded to Stratford, Connecticut 		2017
OIG-17-97-D We determined that FEMA did not have sufficient evidence to support its decision that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita directly caused damages to the roads and water distribution system.  The demonstration of direct cause is necessary for work to be considered eligible for Federal disaster assistance funding, as required by the Stafford Act and FEMA’s own policies.  As a result, FEMA should not have awarded the initial $785 million, or the additional $1.25 billion to complete the repairs.  We recommended that FEMA disallow $2.04 billion in questioned costs —the initial award of $785 million, plus the additional $1.25 billion award.  We made two recommendations and FEMA non-concurred with both of our recommendations.

>FEMA Should Disallow $2.04 Billion Approved for New Orleans Infrastructure Repairs 		2017
OIG-15-141-D The Township of Brick, New Jersey (Township) received a $14.57 million Public Assistance grant award from the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management (New Jersey), a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grantee, resulting from Hurricane Sandy damages in October 2012. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Township accounted for and expended FEMA funds according to Federal requirements. FEMA should disallow $2.78 million in grant funds awarded to the Township. Although the Township generally accounted for FEMA funds on a project-by-project basis, it did not fully comply with Federal and FEMA procurement requirements in awarding contracts for disaster work, resulting in $1,496,131 in unreasonable debris removal costs. The unreasonable costs represent the difference between hourly rates the Township paid its contractors and the hourly rates that the State of New Jersey negotiated for statewide debris removal activities and made available to all municipalities within the state. Therefore, we question the unreasonable costs as ineligible. We also question as ineligible $1,286,255 of unrelated hazard mitigation costs. However, these costs may be eligible under other FEMA projects or programs. Therefore, the Township should work with New Jersey and FEMA to determine the eligibility of the hazard mitigation costs we question.

>FEMA Should Disallow $2.78 Million of $14.67 Million in Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to the Township of Brick, New Jersey, for Hurricane Sandy Damages 		2015
DS-13-04 The Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (ADHSEM), a FEMA grantee, awarded the Department $6S4,716 for costs due to damages from severe storms, flooding, landslide and mudslides from August 15 through 25, 2006. The award provided 75 percent FEMA funding for three large projects and four small projects. Our audit covered the period from August 15, 2006, to January 9, 2013. We audited all seven projects with incurred charges totaling $305,319. As of January 2013, the Department has not submitted final costs claimed for two large projects.

>FEMA Should Disallow $21,113 of the $654,716 in Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Wasilla, Alaska 		2013
OIG-19-06 FEMA awarded the Chippewa Cree Tribe a $32.4 million Public Assistance Program grant for damages from a June 2010 flood disaster. The award provided 100 percent Federal funding to replace the Tribe’s severely damaged health clinic. The Tribe failed to manage a $32.4 million Public Assistance Program grant from FEMA according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines. As a result, FEMA has no assurance that expenditures the Tribe claimed for Project 2 (engineering and design), and plans to claim for Projects 132 (facility construction) and 133 (site preparation) are valid, allowable, or eligible. Therefore, FEMA should disallow about $22.3 million of the grant award for these three projects.

>FEMA Should Disallow $22.3 Million in Grant Funds Awarded to the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation, Montana 		2019
OIG-17-118-D We determined that the County accounted for and expended the majority of FEMA grant funds according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines.  However, the County claimed $246,294 of ineligible and unsupported costs for two large projects.  County officials said these issues occurred because FEMA officials provided inconsistent guidance regarding the types of direct administrative costs that were eligible; and internal clerical errors for overstated material costs.  We recommended FEMA disallow $246,294 of ineligible and unsupported costs and provide clearer guidance for documenting eligible direct administrative costs.

>FEMA Should Disallow $246,294 of $3.0 Million in Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to Lincoln County, Missouri 		2017
DD-13-08 We audited Public Assistance grant funds awarded to ARK Valley Electric Cooperative(Cooperative) in Kansas (Public Assistance Identification Number OOO-UEBOK-OO). Our audit objective was to determine whether the Cooperative accounted for and expended Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant funds according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines. The Kansas Division of Emergency Management (KDEM). a FEMA grantee, awarded the Cooperative $48.5 million for damages resulting from severe winter storms that occurred December 6 through 19, 1007. The award provided 75 percent funding for permanent work (Category F) and emergency protective measures (Category B) for eight projects (one sma11 and seven large). Of the seven large projects, three were improved projects. The audit covered the period December 6, 2007, to September 16, 2011, the cutoff date of our audit, and included a detailed review of projects totaling $48.5 million, or 100 percent of the total award.

>FEMA Should Disallow $4.1 Million of the $48.5 Million Public Assistance Grant Awarded to ARK Valley Electric Cooperative, Kansas 		2013
OIG-17-20-D We determined that the Authority did not account for FEMA funds on a project-by-project basis as Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines require.  We also identified $577,959 (Federal share $433,469) of project costs that FEMA should disallow.  We recommended that the Regional Administrator, FEMA Region II disallow the $577,959 of questioned costs.

>FEMA Should Disallow $577,959 of $2.9 Million Awarded to Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority for Hurricane Irene Damages 		2017
DD-13-05 We are currently auditing $12.3 million of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA grant funds) awarded to the Audubon Commission (Commission) in New Orleans, louisiana (Public Assistance Identification Number 071-U76DM-OOJ. The Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), a FEMA grantee, awarded these funds to the Commission for disaster recovery work resulting from Hurricane Katrina, which occurred in August 2005.

>FEMA Should Disallow $7.6 Million in Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to the Audubon Commission, New Orleans, Louisiana 		2013
OIG-15-65-D Holy Cross received an $89 million FEMA grant award for 2005 Hurricane Katrina damages to its campus in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. By 2011, the school had completed work on 12 of its 16 projects. However, at the time of our audit, Louisiana had not submitted a final claim for the 12 projects and FEMA had closed only 1 large project. Holy Cross did not follow Federal procurement standards in awarding 21 contracts totaling $82.4 million. As a result, FEMA has no assurance that costs were reasonable. This is especially true for projects that FEMA funds at 100 percent of the costs. Further, the lack of open and free competition increased the risk of fraud, waste, and abuse and decreased opportunities for small businesses, minority-owned firms, and women’s business enterprises to compete for federally funded work. For the most part, we do not question costs that Holy Cross incurred to reopen school in January 2006, or to operate temporary facilities in the Ninth Ward. However, in 2007, Holy Cross decided to relocate from the Ninth Ward to the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans. Holy Cross set up a temporary campus in Gentilly in 2007 and began work on permanent facilities there in 2008. By 2007, exigent circumstances no longer existed, so Holy Cross should have procured competitive bids according to Federal regulations for the work in Gentilly.

>FEMA Should Disallow $82.4 Million of Improper Contracting Costs Awarded to Holy Cross School, New Orleans, Louisiana 		2015
OIG-19-05 We conducted this audit to determine whether the Board accounted for and expended FEMA grant funds according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines. The Board sustained an estimated $90.6 million in damages caused by severe storms and flooding that occurred in August 2016. The Ascension Parish School Board (Board) accounted for disaster-related costs correctly, as Federal regulations require. However, the Board did not follow all Federal procurement regulations in awarding $25.6 million in disaster-related contracts, resulting in $9.1 million in ineligible costs. Additionally, there were issues with direct administrative costs related to a Recovery Program and Grants Management services contract. This occurred because the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not ensure the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (Louisiana) monitored the Board’s subgrant activities for compliance with Federal procurement requirements.

>FEMA Should Disallow $9.1 Million in Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to Ascension Parish School Board, Louisiana 		2019
OIG-14-148-D he Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (Louisiana), a FEMA grantee, awarded the Foundation $11.2 million for damages resulting from Hurricane Katrina, which occurred on August 29, 2005. The award provided 100 percent funding for 12 large projects.1 The audit covered the period August 29, 2005, through January 9, 2014, the cutoff date of our audit, and included a review of 12 large projects totaling $11.2 million, or all projects (see Exhibit, Schedule of Projects Audited).2 At the time of our audit, the Foundation had completed all 12 projects and had claimed $5.3 million, but had not requested any projects be closed. Therefore, all of the projects remained open.

>FEMA Should Disallow $9.6 Million of Disaster-Related Costs Incurred by the University of New Orleans Research and Technology Foundation, New Orleans, Louisiana 		2014
OIG-15-113-D The Mountain View Electric Association (Association) received a $7.1 million award of FEMA Public Assistance grant funds to repair facilities damaged in the Colorado Black Forest Fire. We audited $7.4 million in disaster-related costs, which included $322,417 in cost overruns. The Association did not always account for and expend FEMA Public Assistance grant funds in accordance with Federal regulations. Specifically, the Association did not follow all applicable Federal procurement standards in awarding FEMA-approved work valued at over $4 million for utility repairs and debris removal. As a result, FEMA has no assurance that costs are reasonable or that disadvantaged firms had sufficient opportunities to bid on Federal work as Congress intended.

>FEMA Should Disallow over $4 Million Awarded to Mountain View Electric Association, Colorado, for Improper Procurement Practices 		2015
OIG-16-139-D Time is of the essence in establishing a Joint Field Office (JFO) as the nexus of disaster response and recovery efforts. FEMA needs to implement consistent JFO selection guidance so its disaster response is effective, efficient and economical. This audit was conducted as a follow up to our prior report on the JFO Selection in New Jersey and as part of our 2015 disaster deployment efforts in Texas and South Carolina.

>FEMA Should Implement Consistent Joint Field Office Guidance 		2016
OIG-23-20 FEMA Should Increase Oversight to Prevent Potential Misuse of Humanitarian Relief Funds* 2023
GC-HQ-06-13 FEMA Should Invest Funds Associated With Grant 2006
OIG-19-38 FEMA Should Not Have Awarded Two Contracts to Bronze Star LLC 2019
OIG-16-24-D The City of Tuscaloosa, Alabama (City) received a $40.4 million grant, of which insurance covered all but $10.1 million. The Public Assistance grant was for damages from severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding that occurred in April and May 2011. We audited $4.2 million of the $10.1 million net amount awarded. The City did not always account for and expend Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines. These issues occurred primarily because the grantee (Alabama) did not ensure that the City understood and complied with Federal procurement requirements and the process for applying actual insurance proceeds to reduce eligible costs.

>FEMA Should Recover $1.2 Million of $10.1 Million in Grant Funds Awarded to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for a 2011 Disaster 		2016
OIG-14-107-D The Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (Louisiana), a FEMA grantee, awarded Desire Street Ministries $10.1 million for damages resulting from Hurricane Katrina, which ccurred on August 29, 2005. The award provided 100 percent funding for five large and two small projects. The audit covered the period August 29, 2005, through November 1, 2012, the cutoff date of our audit and ncluded a review of all projects (see Exhibit A, Schedule of Projects Audited and Questioned Costs). As of our cutoff date, Desire Street Ministries had claimed $1.8 million, but had not completed all its approved projects. Subsequently, in December 2012, Desire Street Ministries requested approval for an alternate project to build a community wellness center, rather than replace its school building. FEMA approved the alternate project in January 2014. Therefore, for this alternate project, we extended our audit cutoff date to January 23, 2014. Desire Street Ministries had started the design phase for the community wellness center, but had not started construction.

>FEMA Should Recover $1.3 Million of Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to Desire Street Ministries, New Orleans, Louisiana, for Hurricane Katrina ( 		2014
OIG-17-77-D We determined that The County did not comply with Federal procurement standards in expending FEMA Public Assistance grant funds.  Specifically, the County used a shared services agreement with the Houston-Galveston Area Council (HGAC) to procure two contracts totaling $1.5 million.  The HGAC’s procurement practices unreasonably restricted competition by not allowing smaller contractors to compete for the work, and HGAC did not take the specific steps that Federal regulations require to provide opportunities for disadvantaged firms to bid on federally funded work when possible.  We recommended FEMA disallow those costs as ineligible and direct the state to better monitor the County’s grant subaward activities.

>FEMA Should Recover $1.5 Million in Grant Funds Awarded to Hays County, Texas 		2017
DA-13-22 Our audit objective was to determine whether the County accounted for and expended Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines. The County received a Public Assistance grant award totaling $40.1 million from the Florida Division of Emergency Management (State), a FEMA grantee, for damages resulting from Hurricane Frances, which occurred in September 2004. The award provided 100 percent FEMA funding for the first 72 hours of emergency protective measures and debris removal activities, and 90 percent funding thereafter for these two activities. The award also provided 90 percent FEMA funding for permanent repairs to buildings, roads, and recreational facilities. The award consisted of 88 large projects and 222 small projects.

>FEMA Should Recover $1.6 Million of Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to Palm Beach County, Florida – Hurricane Frances 		2013
DD-13-12 The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), a FEMA grantee, awarded the Commission $12.3 million for damages esulting from Hurricane Katrina that occurred on August 29, 2005. The award provided 100 percent funding for 37 large and 44 small projects.1 The audit covered the period August 29, 2005, through May 1, 2012, the cutoff date of our audit, and included a review of 241arge and 18 small projects totaling $10.3 million, or 83.7 percent of the total award, and a limited review of labor cost claims for three additional projects (see Exhibit, Schedule of Projects Audited and Questioned Costs).2 As of our cutoff date, the Commission had claimed $2.2 million, but had not completed all projects.

>FEMA Should Recover $1.7 Million of Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to Audubon Commission, New Orleans, Louisiana 		2013
OIG-14-63-D The City received a Public Assistance grant award of $130.2 million from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (.State), a FEMA grantee, for damages resulting from Hurricane Katrina, which occurred in August 2005. The award provided 100 percent FEMA funding for debris removal activities, emergency protective measures, and permanent repairs to buildings and facilities. The award consisted of 85 large projects and 52 small projects.1 This is our second audit of this subgrantee; the first audit resulted in OIG Audit Report DA-08-08: Audit of Hurricane Katrina Activities for City of Waveland, Mississippi, July 17, 2008. We conducted this audit because of a complaint that our Office of Investigations received in February 2011. The complainant alleged that the City's sewer system contractor had overcharged the City for installing temporary bladder tanks as a temporary sewer collection system. We did not audit these costs during our previous 2008 audit because, at the time, the City had not completed the work. Therefore, we limited this audit to $5.2 million FEMA awarded the City under Projects 4916 and 4917 for the installation of a temporary sewer collection system (.See Exhibit, Schedule of Projects Audited and Questioned Costs). The audit covered the period from August 29,2005, to July 26, 2013, during which the City claimed $5.2 million in FEMA funds for the two projects. At the time of our audit, the City had not completed work on some of its projects and; therefore, had not submitted a final claim to the State for all project expenditures.

>FEMA Should Recover $1.7 Million of Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to the City of Waveland, Mississippi – Hurricane Katrina ( 		2014
OIG-15-132-D The City of Duluth, Minnesota, (City) received a Public Assistance grant award of $13.34 million from Minnesota’s Department of Public Safety, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (Minnesota), a FEMA grantee, for damages resulting from severe storms and flooding in June 2012. The City did not follow Federal procurement standards in awarding $3.08 million for 12 contracts—$1.54 million for 8 non-exigent contracts and $1.54 million for 4 exigent contracts. Although the City competitively awarded all but 3 of the 12 contracts we reviewed, it did not take required steps to provide opportunities to disadvantaged firms to bid on federally funded work, as Congress intended. Therefore, we question the $1.54 million the City claimed for eight contracts for non-exigent work. We generally do not question costs for work when lives and property are at risk. Therefore, of the $1.54 million the City claimed for exigent work, we question only $8,566 in markups on the cost because one of the City’s contractors billed on a prohibited cost-plus-percentage-of-cost basis.

>FEMA Should Recover $1.78 Million of Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to the City of Duluth, Minnesota 		2015
OIG-17-06-D For the projects we reviewed, we identified $1,771,894 (Federal share $1,328,921) of costs that FEMA should disallow.  We recommended that Regional Administrator, FEMA Region IV, disallow $1,771,894 of ineligible costs and direct the Florida Division of Emergency Management to monitor the County’s performance for compliance with Federal grant requirements on open projects.

>FEMA Should Recover $1.8 Million of $5.5 Million in Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to Columbia County, Florida, for Tropical Storm Debby Damages 		2017
DA-13-09 The Authority received a PA award totaling S2.9 million from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (State), a FEMA grantee, for damages resulting from Hurricane Katrina, which occurred in August 2005. The award provided 100 percent FEMA funding for emergency protective measures and permanent repairs to buildings and facilities. The award consIsted of 10 large projects and 8 5mall projects. We audited four large projects with awards totaling $2.3 million (see Exhibit. Schedule of Projects Audited). The audit covered the period of August 29, 2005, 10 April 19, 2012, during which the Authority received $2.3 millionIn FEMA funds for the four projects, At the time of our audit , the Authority had completed work on all awarded projects and had submitted a final claim to the State for all project expenditures.

>FEMA Should Recover $1.9 Million of Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to the Hancock County Utility Authority — Hurricane Katrina 		2013
OIG-14-12-D The Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS), a FEMA grantee, awarded the Hospital $94.4 million for damages resulting from severe storms and flooding that occurred May 30, through June 27, 2008. The award provided 75 percent funding for 122 large and 130 small projects.1 As of January 27, 2013, the cut-off date of our audit, the Hospital had claimed $71.1 million and IDHS had disbursed $63.7 million.

>FEMA Should Recover $10.9 Million of Improper Contracting Costs from Grant Funds Awarded to Columbus Regional Hospital, Columbus, Indiana 		2014
DA-13-16 The City received a Public Assistance grant award of $3.3 million from the Florida Division of Emergency Management (State), FEMA grantee, for damages resulting from Hurricane Wilma, which occurred in October 2005. The award provided 100percent FEMA funding for debris removal activities, emergency protective measures, and permanent repairs to buildings and other facilities. The award consisted of 9 large projects and 16 small projects. We audited four large projects and six small projects with awards totaling $2.5M. The audit convered the period October 24, 2005, to April 16, 2012, during which the City received $2.5 million of FEMA funds. 2004. The award provided 100 percent FEMA

>FEMA Should Recover $129,248 of Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to City of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida – Hurricane Wilma Activities 		2013
OIG-15-01-D The Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund(Tulane) received a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance award of $291.9 Million for damages caused by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. The objective our audit was to determine whether Tulane accounted for and expended the FEMA grant funds correctly. Tulane’s contractor could not support or justify $13.0 million of the $36.1 million (gross) that we audited. These findings occurred because (1) the contractor could not show that it actually incurred the costs that it billed Tulane; (2) Tulane did not ensure that its contractor’s billings were valid, eligible, and supported; and (3) Louisiana, as the grantee, did not effectively execute its responsibilities to ensure compliance with Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines.

>FEMA Should Recover $13 Million of Grant Funds Awarded to The Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund, New Orleans, Louisiana 		2015
DD-13-09 The facility is a three-turbine hydroelectric generating plant that began operation in 1986. It produced a small amount of the City’s total commercial and residential electrical needs. From 1997 through early 2007, the City hired North American Hydro to operate and maintain the facility. The facility has been inactive since January 2007, when frazil river ice damaged the trash racks and straightening vanes of two of the three turbine generators.1 In June 2008, 17 months following the ice damage, a federally declared flooding disaster caused severe damage to the facility. Before the January 2007 ice damage, the 21-year-old facility needed significant capital expenditures to continue operating efficiently over the long term. Also, according to the City’s hydroelectric consultants, the facility generally produced about 20 percent less electricity than expected because its design allows it to capture available water flow only about 35 percent of the time.

>FEMA Should Recover $13.8 Million in FEMA Public Assistance Funds Awarded to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for Ineligible Hydroelectric Plant 		2013
DA-13-11 The City received a Public Assistance award totaling $3.0 million from the Virginia Division of Emergency Management (State), a FEMA grantee, for damage., resulting from Tropical Storm Ida and a Nor'easter, which occurred in November 2009. The award provided 75 percent FEMA funding for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and permanent repairs to buildings and other facilities. The award comisted of 12 large projects and 71 small projects.

>FEMA Should Recover $131,064 From a $3.0 Million Public Assistance Grant Awarded to the City of Norfolk, Virginia, for Tropical Storm Ida and a Nor’easter 		2013
OIG-14-07-D The County received a Public Assistance award totaling $12.1 million from the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), a FEMA grantee, for damages resulting from Hurricane Wilma, which occurred in October 200S. The award provided 100 percent FEMA funding for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and permanent repairs to buildings and facilities. The award consisted of 9 large projects and 84 small projects.

>FEMA Should Recover $154,143 of Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to Brevard County, Florida, under Hurricane Wilma 		2014
OIG-15-151-D The Borough received a $7 million grant award from the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management (New Jersey), a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grantee, for damages resulting from Hurricane Sandy, which occurred in October 2012. We conducted this audit early in the grant process to identify areas where the Borough may need assistance in managing Federal funds. The Borough of Spring Lake, New Jersey, (Borough) accounted for disaster costs on a project-by-project basis and met applicable Federal regulations in processing disaster related procurement transactions. However, the Borough completed one large project below the estimated project cost, and about $2.0 million remains obligated for that project. Therefore, FEMA should deobligate the $2.0 million in unneeded funds as soon as possible and put those funds to better use. In addition, the Borough could not provide adequate support for emergency and permanent restoration work totaling $798,317. The Borough also had not applied insurance proceeds totaling $431,507 against claims for eligible project costs. Therefore, the $431,507 represents ineligible duplicate benefits, because FEMA cannot fund costs that insurance covers. These findings occurred, in part, because the Borough did not effectively coordinate with New Jersey to ensure Borough compliance with FEMA grant requirements.

>FEMA Should Recover $2.0 Million in Unneeded Funds and Disallow $1.2 Million of $7 Million in Grant Funds Awarded to Spring Lake, New Jersey, for Hurricane Sandy 		2015
OIG-16-112-D Nashville-Davidson County, Tennessee (County) received a net grant award of $69.8 million from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (Tennessee), a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grantee, for damages resulting from a May 2010 flood. We audited 14 projects for emergency work totaling $19.3 million, or 71 percent of the $27.2 million awarded for emergency work.

>FEMA Should Recover $2.2 Million of $27.2 Million in Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to Nashville-Davidson County, Tennessee, for May 2010 Flood Emergency Work 		2016
DA-13-05 Our audit objective was to determine whether the Utility accounted for and expended Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant funds according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines. AS of January 4, 2012, the Utility received a PA award of $7.9 million from Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (State) a FEMA grantee, for damages resulting from severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding that occurred in June 2009. The award provided 75 percent FEMA funding for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and permanent electrical repair work. The award included three large projects.

>FEMA Should Recover $2.2 Million of Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division - Severe Weather, June 2009 		2013
OIG-14-53-D The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (State), a FEMA grantee, awarded the Hospital $12.4 million for damages resulting from Hurricane Katrina, which occurred on August 29, 2005. The award provided 100 percent funding for 221arge and 51 small projects.1 The audit covered the period August 29, 2005, through June 20, 2013, the cutoff date of our audit, and included a review of 111arge and 5 small projects totaling $9.48 million, or 76 percent of the total award (see Exhibit, Schedule of Projects Audited and Questioned Costs).2 As of our cutoff date, the Hospital had claimed and the State had reimbursed $9.9 million.

>FEMA Should Recover $2.3 Million of Unsupported, Unused, and Ineligible Grant Funds Awarded to East Jefferson General Hospital, Metairie, Louisiana 		2014
OIG-17-07-D We determined that Pennsylvania did not comply with Federal regulations.  Since 2005 Pennsylvania has returned to compliance.  However, it has not remitted earnings on drawdowns held as investments.  We recommended that FEMA collect $2,430,541 from Pennsylvania in investment earnings on disaster assistance funds.  FEMA Region III concurred with the two recommendations in the report.

>FEMA Should Recover $2.4 Million in Investment Gains Pennsylvania Improperly Earned on Federal Disaster Funds 		2017
OIG-15-90-D The Borough of Seaside Heights, New Jersey (Borough) received a $16.9 million grant award from the New Jersey Emergency Management Agency (New Jersey), a FEMA grantee, for Hurricane Sandy damages in October 2012. Although the Borough accounted for FEMA funds on a project-byproject basis, we identified $2,038,893 of unneeded project funding that FEMA should deobligate and put to better use. In addition, the Borough did not comply with Federal procurement standards in awarding contracts for disaster work and claimed $712,657 of questionable costs. The Borough also did not comply with the Single Audit Act, which requires non-Federal entities that expend $500,000 or more in a year in Federal awards to obtain a single or program-specific audit for that year.

>FEMA Should Recover $2.75 Million of $16.9 Million in Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to the Borough of Seaside Heights, New Jersey 		2015
DA-13-02 Our audit objective was to determine whether the Town accounted for and expended Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant funds according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines, As of November 11, 2011, the Town had received PA awards totaling $5.5 million from the Alabama Emergency Management Agency (State), a FEMA grantee, for damages resulting from hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which occurred in August and September 2008, respectively. The awards provided 75 percent FEMA funding for debris removal activities and repair of damaged roads and culverts. Table 1 identifies the specifics for each disaster.

>FEMA Should Recover $2.8 Million of Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to the Town of Dauphin Island, Alabama – Hurricanes Gustav and Ike 		2013
OIG-18-63 The Diamondhead Water and Sewer District (District), received a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant award of $49.3 million from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (Mississippi) for damage resulting from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. We had concerns because it took the District about 10 years to break ground on its new wastewater treatment plant. We also wanted to determine whether FEMA accurately applied its “50 Percent Rule.” we identified $1.5 million of improper procurement, unsupported costs, duplicate insurance benefits, and uncompleted project costs that FEMA should disallow to the District. These problems were largely the result of Mississippi not fulfilling its grantee responsibility to ensure the District properly managed FEMA funds. Mississippi is responsible for monitoring subgrant activities, and is compensated with Federal funds to support subgrant management and oversight. It is FEMA’s responsibility to hold Mississippi accountable for proper grant administration.

>FEMA Should Recover $20.4 Million in Grant Funds Awarded to Diamondhead Water and Sewer District, Mississippi 		2018
DA-13-27 The City received a Public Assistance award totaling $2.6 million from the Florida Department of Emergency Management (State), a FEMA grantee, for damages resulting from Hurricane Frances, which occurred in September 2004. The award provided 100 percent FEMA funding for the first 72 hours of debris removal and emergency protective measures undertaken as a result of the disaster and 90 percent funding thereafter. The award also provided 90 percent funding for permanent repairs to buildings and other facilities. The award consisted of 7 large projects and 28 small projects.

>FEMA Should Recover $209,170 of Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to City of Daytona Beach, Florida – Hurricane Frances 		2013
OIG-15-131-D This is our third audit of the FEMA Public Assistance grant the City received for 2005 Hurricane Katrina damages. For the majority of the $376 million we reviewed, the City of Biloxi, Mississippi (City) accounted for and expended FEMA funds according to Federal requirements. However, the City did not follow all Federal procurement standards for a contract totaling$21.7 million for management of an infrastructure project. As a result, full and open competition did not always occur, which increased the risk of fraud, waste, and abuse, and at least $8.1 million of the $21.7 million in contract costs was unreasonable.

>FEMA Should Recover $21.7 Million of $376 Million in Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to the City of Biloxi, Mississippi, for Hurricane Katrina Damages 		2015
OIG-20-63 As of October 2016, the Recovery School District in Louisiana (RSD) had received a $1.5 billion Public Assistance grant from Louisiana, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grantee, for damages resulting from Hurricane Katrina.  We examined $1.3 billion for a consolidated project as part of the total amount awarded.  In some instances, RSD accounted for and expended portions of the $1.3 billion in Public Assistance grant funds we reviewed according to Federal regulations.  However, FEMA improperly awarded $216.2 million to repair or replace more than 292 Orleans Parish school facilities in RSD.  We made eight recommendations to FEMA to de-obligate $216.2 million of ineligible costs; follow Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines; and re-evaluate documented proof of assessments for the 35 identified projects and reclassify them, as appropriate, to repair-eligible, and de-obligate the cost difference.  FEMA concurred with recommendations 2 through 7 but did not concur with recommendations 1 and 8.  We consider recommendations 2 through 7 resolved and open; recommendations 1 and 8 are unresolved and open.

>FEMA Should Recover $216.2 Million Awarded to the Recovery School District in Louisiana for Hurricane Katrina 		2020
DA-13-26 The City received a Public Assistance grant award of $3.0 million from the Florida Division of Emergency Management (State), FEMA grantee, for damages resulting from Hurricane Charley, which occurred in August 2004. The award provided 100 percent FEMA funding for the first 72 hours of debris removal and emergency protective measures undertaken as a result of the disaster and 90 percent funding thereafter. The award also provided 90 percent funding for permanent repairs to buildings and other facilities. The award consisted of 13 large projects and 26 small projects. We audited seven large projects and six small projects with awards totaling $1.9 million (see Exhibit, Schedule of Projects Audited and Questioned Costs). We limited our review of small projects to determining whether the City (1) completed the projects, and (2) received duplicate benefits for the projects.

>FEMA Should Recover $234,034 of Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to City of Daytona Beach, Florida – Hurricane Charley 		2013
OIG-16-143-D The City of Louisville (City), Mississippi, received a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant award of $61.7 million for damages resulting from an April 2014 disaster. We had concerns about how effectively the City complied with the Public Assistance Alternative Procedures Pilot Program (PAAP program) authorized by the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013.

>FEMA Should Recover $25.4 Million in Grant Funds Awarded to Louisville, Mississippi, for an April 2014 Disaster 		2016
OIG-14-109-D The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services {California), a FEMA grantee, awarded the District $3.4 million for damages resulting from severe storms, flooding, mudslides, and landslides from December 17, 2005, through January 3, 2006. The award provided 75 percent FEMA funding for one large project and two small projects.1 The audit covered the period December 17, 2005, to January 8, 2014. We audited all three projects, or 100 percent of the claim, totaling $4.1 million (see exhibit).2 Table 1 shows the gross and net award (before and after FEMA deducted anticipated insurance proceeds) for all projects. As of the date of this report, California was preparing to review the District's final claim.

>FEMA Should Recover $258,488 of Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to the Graton Community Services District, California 		2014
OIG-16-60-D The Municipality of Jayuya, Puerto Rico (Municipality), received a $4.46 million grant award from the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency (Puerto Rico), a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grantee, for damages resulting from Hurricane Irene in August 2011. We audited projects totaling $3.54 million to determine whether the Municipality accounted for and expended FEMA funds according to Federal requirements. For the projects we reviewed, the Municipality generally accounted for and expended FEMA funds according to Federal requirements. However, we did identify $267,960 (Federal share $200,970) of costs that FEMA should disallow. These costs consisted of $237,695 of duplicate benefits and $30,265 of unsupported project costs.

>FEMA Should Recover $267,960 of $4.46 Million in Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to the Municipality of Jayuya, Puerto Rico, for Hurricane Irene Damages 		2016
OIG-15-02-D The Hospital received an award of $110 million from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, a FEMA grantee, for damages caused by severe storms and flooding that occurred May 30, through June 27, 2008. Our objective of the audit was to determine whether the Hospital accounted for and expended FEMA grant funds according to federal regulations and FEMA guidelines. Columbus Regional Hospital, Columbus Indiana, (Hospital) generally accounted for FEMA projects on a project-by-project basis as Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines require. However, the Hospital’s claim included ineligible costs.

>FEMA Should Recover $3 Million of Ineligible Costs And $4.3 Million of Unneeded Funds from the Columbus Regional Hospital 		2015
OIG-19-12 The County received about $28.1 million in Public Assistance grant awards from Florida — a FEMA grantee — for damages from severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding in April and May 2014. Jackson County was the first subgrantee in Florida to be approved for a grant award obligation under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance Alternative Procedures (PAAP) pilot program. The Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 20131 authorized PAAP and authorized FEMA to implement alternative procedures through the PAAP pilot program. Florida did not fulfill its grantee responsibility to ensure the County followed applicable Federal grant management requirements, and FEMA did not ensure the grantee carried out its responsibilities.

>FEMA Should Recover $3,061,819 in Grant Funds Awarded to Jackson County, Florida 		2019

*NDAA, Pub. L. 117-263, section 5274 Response Received. View responses

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