EPA and Internal Watchdog Trade Barbs Over Fraud Investigations

The EPA’s chief investigator says the agency isn’t cooperating with his team and is occasionally blocking investigations into waste, fraud, and abuse.

Some of the disputes arise from disagreements over where the watchdog’s purview starts and stops, Sean O’Donnell, inspector general at the Environmental Protection Agency, said in an interview. Other times the agency hasn’t seemed to care as much about fraud prevention as the Office of Inspector General (OIG) does, O’Donnell said.

“I continue to be frustrated with the agency,” O’Donnell said. He called out the criminal investigation division within the EPA’s enforcement directorate, saying it “interferes in myriad ...