EPA Watchdog Touts Fraud Findings as Return on Office Investment

The EPA’s internal watchdog said Thursday its work over the last six months has uncovered nearly $4 of waste, fraud, and abuse for every $1 Congress gave the agency.

The Environmental Protection Agency inspector general’s appropriated budget is $55.8 million, but the potential return on its findings is $183 million, according to the agency’s semiannual report to Congress.

The finding supports the claim, held by good government groups, that investments in inspectors general are a smart use of taxpayer dollars.

But it may also suggest that the EPA has done a particularly poor job of handling its money—possibly because it ...