Assurance Of Environmental Benefits Needed From EPA Grants
Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made progress in reforming grant making procedures but the agency must do better linking grants to measurable outcomes, representatives of federal agencies and the scientific community testified.
The hearing by the U.S. House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee was the third in a series on reforming EPA grant programs. Previous hearings have focused on procedural shortfalls within EPA and problems with discretionary grants. Tuesday's hearing focused on ensuring that all grants provide measurable environmental benefits.
"We Cannot Squander Resources By Providing Money To Grants That Do Not Improve The Environment In A Measurable Way"
"One of the most significant resources EPA has been given to improve our environment is funding for its grant programs," said U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan (R-TN), Chairman of the Subcommittee. "We cannot squander those resources by providing money to grants that do not improve the environment in a measurable way.
"The reforms we are evaluating at EPA have been proposed several times over the last ten to twenty years. Often those reforms faltered after new policies were drafted because there was a lack of follow-through.
"We want to take this opportunity to commend EPA's current efforts. They have taken the process beyond the point of previous reforms by pushing resources and responsibilities out to the regions where EPA culture must make these reforms a reality.
"Unfortunately, although many of EPA's leaders, managers, and project officers have committed to these reforms, there appears to be a reluctance to change old habits within some sectors of the agency."
Inspector General & GAO Outline Needed Improvements To EPA Grant Process
EPA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) have conducted multiple reviews of EPA's grant process in recent years. Witnesses from both offices outlined progress made by EPA, but highlighted persistent problems.
"Unfortunately, the news is still bad, as we frequently find that EPA had not planned to measure for results when it designed its programs or, if it does try to measure, it does not have the data necessary to do so," said EPA Inspector General Nikki Tinsley.
"A 2003 OIG review found that project officers were not linking projects to the achievement of EPA goals and were not negotiating outcomes. In 19 percent of the grants we reviewed, project officers did not determine the relevance of the proposed work plans to EPA program objectives and in 42 percent of the grants reviewed, project officers did not negotiate outcomes.
"It is important to establish requirements to measure grant results prior to awarding the grant. This is when EPA is most able to influence how recipients measure and report their results. EPA needs to include expected results and a means of measuring environmental results in grant award documents.
"Obviously, it is best for EPA to determine what environmental results it intends to achieve when it creates a grant program, then environmental goals and components for measuring the environmental results of the program can be built in. While EPA has agreed with our recommendations that it should measure program results, it did not include performance measures in major grant programs," said Tinsley.
"EPA's progress in addressing problems in achieving environmental results from grants has been slower and more limited than planned," said GAO's John Stephenson.
"While EPA had planned to issue an outcome policy - a critical ingredient to progress on this front - in 2003, the policy's issuance has been delayed to the fall of 2004 and will not become effective until January 2005. In the meantime, EPA has issued a limited, interim policy that requires program offices to link grants to EPA's strategic goals, but does not link grants to environmental outcomes.
"Furthermore, as a result of the delay in issuing an outcome policy, EPA officials do not expect to meet the 5-year plan's first-year target for the goal's performance measure - increasing the percentage of grant workplans with environmental outcomes from about 31 percent in 2003 to 70 percent in 2004.
"According to our review of a draft of the forthcoming outcome policy, EPA is making progress at the policy level in addressing outcomes. The major challenge EPA faces will be in successfully implementing the policy throughout the agency. Realistically, EPA has a long road ahead in educating its managers, supervisors and staff, as well as thousands of potential grantees, about the complexities of identifying and achieving environmental outcomes," Stephenson said.
Witnesses Support Peer Review To Help Ensure Grant Quality
Witnesses from the scientific community urged EPA to incorporate peer review in order to improve the quality of grants.
"Peer review is the minimum requirement for acceptability of scientific information, including claims that are based on or include science," said Dr. Alan Moghissi, President of the Institute for Regulatory Science.
"There is no disagreement within the scientific community that peer review is not only highly desirable but often is necessary when a scientific subject is contested. All reputable research funding agencies rely upon some form of peer review to award grants. Similarly, there is a consensus not only within the regulated community but also within the scientific community that the scientific foundation of regulations must be subjected to independent peer review," Moghissi said.
Reforms Require Gradual Cultural Shift, Says EPA Witness
EPA's David O'Connor highlighted ongoing reform efforts undertaken by the agency, stressing that the grant process will not change instantly.
"Under the long-term Grants Management Plan, EPA has put in place a comprehensive system of management controls and initiatives to address its grants management weakness," said O'Connor. "We have been careful to make adjustments in the design and implementation of the system to incorporate GAO, OIG and Congressional recommendations.
"Given EPA's past uneven performance in reforming grants management, it is fair to ask whether this system will be any more successful than previous efforts.
"The answer, I believe, lies in the cultural shift that is beginning to develop within the agency towards accountable grants management. As with any major cultural change, this shift will not occur overnight, and it will require the agency to adopt a new way of thinking about how grants are managed," O'Connor said.