Office of Inspector General

Report: Drinking Water Contamination in Flint, Michigan, Demonstrates a Need to Clarify EPA Authority to Issue Emergency Orders to Protect the Public

Report #17-P-0004, Oct 20, 2016

What Was Found

This report is an EPA OIG Management Alert. To avoid future public health harm through drinking water contamination, the EPA needs to clarify for its employees how its emergency authority can and should be used to intervene in a public health threat.

Update: Our final report from this audit was released on July 19, 2018.

Report Materials

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Report at a Glance (PDF)(1 pg, 180 K)
Full Report (PDF)(16 pp, 938 K)
EPA Response to Report (PDF)(3 pp, 586 K)
IG Comment on EPA Response (PDF)(1 pg, 233 K)

EPA had authority, sufficient information to issue emergency order protecting Flint residents from lead-contaminated water as early as June 2015 [OIG News Release]

Podcast: Report Overview with Charles Brunton Download audio Download transcript (6.2 KB)

Video: Flint Water Crisis
EPA OIG Multimedia, 8:37

(full screen)

video transcript(1 pg, 4 K)

OIG Independence of EPA

The EPA's Office of Inspector General is a part of the EPA, although Congress provides our funding separate from the agency, to ensure our independence. We were created pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended Exit.

Environmental Protection Agency | Office of Inspector General
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. (2410T) | Washington, DC 20460 | (202) 566-2391
OIG Hotline: 1-888-546-8740.