EPA needs to take more care when selecting grant recipients under a $5 billion clean school bus program in order to reduce the risk of waste, fraud and abuse, the agency’s inspector general said in a report issued Thursday.
The report did not identify any specific instances of wrongdoing, but it warned EPA is at risk because it did not always follow its internal controls in awarding funds.
The school bus program, which funds the replacement of older, diesel-powered buses with electric or low-emissions upgrades, has long been a major part of Vice President Kamala Harris’ environmental justice agenda. As a senator, she sponsored legislation promoting clean school buses and later as vice president helped secure the $5 billion program in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
EPA followed six of its seven requirements when choosing grant recipients but “did not have sufficient internal controls in place to ensure that it selected recipients with eligible school buses,” the IG report said.
