EPA Doesn’t Have Enough Staff to Manage Grants, Watchdog Finds

The EPA has neither the staff to manage its grants program nor a plan to address those needs, the agency’s internal watchdog said Thursday.

Without adequate workforce planning, the Environmental Protection Agency could end up mismanaging its appropriations and violating grants management requirements. That could expose the EPA to waste, fraud, and abuse, the agency’s Office of Inspector General said.

The findings hint at the consequences of the Trump administration’s efforts to thin out the EPA’s ranks. But they also call into question the agency’s ability to re-examine who should get the grant funding it’s trying to claw back from ...