Why We Did This Report
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General conducted this audit to determine whether the EPA’s Brownfields Program implemented the Justice40 Initiative’s goal and related requirements for Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act-funded projects.
Summary of Findings
We found that the EPA’s Brownfields Projects Program, a subset of the overall Brownfields Program, met the Executive Office of the President’s Justice40 Initiative reporting requirements for fiscal year 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act-funded projects. The program is also projected to meet the EPA’s internal goal of ensuring that at least 40 percent of program benefits go to disadvantaged communities. However, the Agency overestimated the percentage of benefits going to disadvantaged communities for fiscal year 2022.