We completed an inspection of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s compliance with secure communication requirements for publicly accessible web and email systems from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The OIG investigated allegations that a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employee violated conflict of interest laws by steering BLM contracts to a business that he owned. The employee admitted to the conflict of interest and that his actions were wrong. We found that the employee’s wife owned a business and that between April 2016 and August 2017, the employee steered 11 contracts, totaling $27,409.60, to his wife’s business.

The OIG investigated allegations that a United States Geological Survey (USGS) manager made unwelcome and inappropriate comments of a sexual nature to a female subordinate. We found that the USGS manager provided inconsistent statements and demonstrated a lack of candor during interviews, but ultimately admitted to making inappropriate sexual comments to the female subordinate.

We investigated allegations that a BIE official, when he was the principal of a BIE boarding school, had attempted to increase the school’s Federal funding by: • Allowing or directing the enrollment of students in the school’s gifted and talented (GT) program without properly assessing them • Submitting inaccurate student attendance records We found that enrollment in the school’s GT program went up dramatically while the official was principal and that this increased the school’s Federal funding, but we did not find evidence that the official had directed school staff to identify GT

The OIG investigated allegations that an oil and gas company irregularly reported oil sold in the Vernal, UT, area to avoid paying royalties. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) also suspected that a BLM employee’s signature may have been forged on a document related to one of the company’s oil sales. Our joint investigation with the BLM’s Special Investigations Group did not substantiate either allegation. We found that the BLM had known about a measurement problem with an oil tank owned by the company since 2010 but took no action to resolve the discrepancy until 2016.