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The Office of Inspector General

The mission of the OIG is to provide independent oversight and promote excellence, integrity, and accountability within the programs, operations, and management of the Department of the Interior.

Our Mission

To provide independent oversight and promote excellence, integrity, and accountability within the programs, operations, and management of the Department of the Interior.
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Who We Are

An organization of 300 employees driven by a keen sense of mission and committed to conducting the business of government in the best interest of the American public.
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What We Do

Independently and objectively identify risks and vulnerabilities that directly impact, or could impact, Department of the Interior mission results.
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Current Activities

  • OIG Releases Organizational Assessment
    The OIG has released its organizational assessment for fiscal year 2011. The assessment evaluated the strategic plan and how internal improvements have ed the organization to more effectively deliver timely and relevant information to OIG customers.

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  • Acting IG Kendall Testifies on Challenges of Contract Administration
    On October 6, 2011, Acting IG Kendall testified before the House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce, about the challenges in administration of contracts between the Federal Government and small businesses. Kendall specifically emphasized roles and responsibilities under the 8(a) partnership agreement between SBA and DOI.

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RECENTLY RELEASED REPORTS

OJS Receives No Benefit from a $1 Million Recruitment Contract

“BIA Law Enforcement Recruitment Services Contract with NNALEA”
OIG conducted an evaluation of BIA’s law enforcement recruitment contract with the National Native American Law Enforcement Association (NNALEA) to determine whether BIA’s Office of Justice Services (OJS) received the intended benefit from the contract. We found that OJS received no benefit when it awarded the contract to NNALEA, thus wasting almost $1 million. BIA violated Federal procurement regulations and departmental policy and failed to use its Office of Human Capital Management to develop required contract terms. These failures resulted in a poorly written contract, which BIA developed in conjunction with NNALEA. The contract contained significant defects, allowing NNALEA to take advantage of OJS to produce unusable contract deliverables.
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BLM and BIA Have Opportunities To Improve Compliance With National Bridge Safety Inspection Standards

"Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs Bridge Safety Programs"
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) are collectively responsible for approximately 1,432 public bridges. Federal law requires that public bridges that meet specific criteria follow the National Bridge Safety Inspection Standards. They require bridges to be inspected once every 2 years and the collected data submitted at the request of the Federal Highway Administration for the National Bridge Inventory. An OIG evaluation determined that BLM had not submitted its bridge inspection data for inclusion in the database prior to our evaluation. We also found that BLM did not know the exact number of bridges in its inventory. Although BIA required its inspectors to follow the standards, the completeness and accuracy of its data could not be validated in every instance. Ensuring the accuracy and completeness of bridge data is critical when assessing the structural integrity of bridges and determining their safety for public use.
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NPS Adequately Manages Donation Boxes

"National Park Service Visitor Donation Boxes"
An OIG inspection of 14 national parks varying in size and location found that NPS practiced adequate internal controls and security procedures regarding visitor donation boxes. NPS appropriately restricted use of donation box funds to park enhancements like trail maintenance, educational materials, and structural improvements. We did find, however, that donation box theft occurred in almost 30 percent of the parks we inspected, and we recommended timely retrieval and deposit of cash collections and increased frequency and comprehensiveness of NPS internal control reviews to minimize recurrences.
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USBR Has Opportunities to Improve Emergency Preparedness

“Bureau of Reclamation’s Safety of Dams: Emergency Preparedness”
OIG conducted an evaluation to determine whether USBR’s National Critical Infrastructure and Major Mission Critical dams have up-to-date emergency plans and capabilities. Overall, we found that USBR has emergency action plans in place for the high-hazard dams we visited and appears to be continually improving its existing emergency management procedures. We did, however, identify several areas of opportunity for USBR to strengthen its emergency management controls and help it meet its commitment to emergency action planning.
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OIG Finds Lease Enforcement Shortcomings

"Evaluation of the Office of Natural Resources Revenue, Office of Enforcement"
We evaluated OE's process for obtaining compliance from lessees and operators that violate lease terms, regulations, or Federal law during leasing and production of energy and mineral resources on Federal and Indian lands. While OE generally obtains compliance and negotiates reasonable settlements, it could improve its timeliness and efficiency in these areas. In addition, ONRR does not always issue Notices of Noncompliance in a timely manner or assess civil penalties after doing so, nor does it prepare required risk assessment summaries or fully justify and document civil penalties in its case files. Finally, ONRR could better protect its financial interests when managing settlements and appeals.
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