Reports

Recommendations for the 2016 Report on the Office of Aviation Services’ Maintenance System

We evaluated the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE’s) $316 million flight services contract in response to concerns regarding flight services in the Gulf of Mexico Region (GOMR). We found that contracting for helicopter flight services is the best mechanism to accomplish BSEE’s offshore inspections in GOMR. Although BSEE acted to reduce costs related to its helicopter flight services contract, we identified issues that should be addressed to reduce safety risks to personnel and reduce the risk of waste or abuse related to the contract.

WSFR Grants Awarded to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2017

We audited costs claimed by the State of Illinois Department of Natural Resources (Department) under Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration grants awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The audit included claims totaling approximately $50 million on 90 grants that were associated with the State fiscal years that ended June 30, 2016, and June 30, 2017.

The OIG investigated an allegation that a former Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) realty specialist solicited a $200 bribe from a longtime lessee of tribal land so the lessee could retain the lease. We could not prove or disprove the bribery allegation. The lessee provided us a transaction receipt for a $200 check he wrote to a local store for cash, which he said he then paid to the BIA employee in exchange for assistance with renewing the lease. The lessee, however, could not provide any further evidence to corroborate his claim.