Recovery.gov - Track the Money

Examples of specific LUST eligible cleanup activities include: emergency response and initial site hazard mitigation; site investigations and assessments; cleaning up petroleum contamination releases; monitoring soil and groundwater; equipment needs; enforcement actions and recovery of costs from liable tank owners and operators; state management and oversight costs; and public or community involvement activities.

Many job sectors will benefit from Recovery Act money being spent on cleaning up contaminants in the environment from LUST leaks, such as: site investigation and remediation contractors, associated entities that perform laboratory analysis, manufacture equipment, soil excavation and contaminant removal or treatment, waste and treatment or disposal, environmental engineering and technology, and public administration.

EPA will consult with each state and territorial cooperative agreement recipient prior to awarding funds. This consultation will explore state and territorial plans to comply with underlying program requirements (i.e., Energy Policy Act provisions) and Recovery Act assessment, cleanup, and reporting requirements. EPA will evaluate Recovery Act resource utilization on a monthly basis and performance progress on a quarterly basis. EPA Regional Project Managers and their staff will be responsible for overseeing state and territorial cooperative agreements and work assignments for contract work in Indian country. EPA regions will continually monitor progress -- through communications with the cooperative agreement recipients and contractors -- to assess appropriate uses of Recovery Act money and identify delays in obligations and expenditures.

EPA will review the quarterly report each cooperative agreement recipient and contractor submits as a way to identify delays. The quarterly report, a term and condition for each cooperative agreement and a provision in each contract work assignment, will provide EPA with detailed information on the reporting requirements identified in section 1512 of the Recovery Act. EPA will also monitor progress of obligating and spending the Recovery Act money through regularly scheduled monthly conference calls with EPA.s regional LUST programs and the LUST Task Force Chairs of the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO).

In addition to these quarterly reports, EPA will conduct a review in summer 2010 to ensure recipients are making sufficient progress. The review will ensure recipients have obligated money for contracts, subgrants, or similar transactions for at least 35 percent of money and expended at least 15 percent of money within nine months of the award. Money deemed to be at risk of not being spent in a timely matter may be de-obligated and then re-obligated to another region or state. The sufficient progress review will be conducted to allow enough time to re-obligate any money (if necessary) by the statutory deadline of September 30, 2010, to ensure the rapid utilization of Recovery Act money and associated performance measures for assessments and cleanups.

Information associated with LUST Recovery Act activities can be found at www.epa.gov/oust/eparecovery .

EPA will provide information on the investments, performance, and accomplishments of LUST activities financed by Recovery Act money. EPA will track specific outputs and outcomes as described in Section 5. “Monitoring and Evaluation” above and provide information as soon as accomplishments are reported by recipients. The information will be organized by each of the 49 states, District of Columbia and 4 territories: amount of funding obligated to cooperative agreement award; amount recipient has obligated to a contract or subgrant; amount spent; number of site assessments initiated (direct and indirect), site assessments completed (direct and indirect), cleanups initiated (direct and indirect), and cleanups completed (direct and indirect); and number of jobs created and retained.

For cleanups in Indian country, the information will be organized by region to include: name of tribe; amount of funding obligated to each contract work assignment; amount spent; number of site assessments initiated (direct), site assessments completed (direct), cleanups initiated (direct), and cleanups completed (direct); and number of jobs created and retained.

The LUST Program will ensure that the expenditure and monitoring of Recovery Act funds are transparent and that appropriate, qualified staff oversee Recovery Act resources.

In compliance with the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA), EPA’s ongoing management integrity program requires us to develop a multiyear program review strategy, conduct systematic and rigorous assessments of internal controls over programmatic and financial operations, and report on the effectiveness of those controls in the annual letter of assurance to the Administrator. For FY 2009, EPA will be addressing the integrity of Recovery Act programs and including an additional assurance statement regarding Recovery Act funds and activities as part of the annual assurance letter to the Administrator.

In addition to internal reviews, the LUST Program will rely on audit findings and program evaluation results to inform assessment and strengthen program accountability.

The oversight process in place for Recovery Act funding ensures that managers and staff will be held accountable for performance. Senior managers’ performance standards include specific performance measures related to the LUST program, and staff’s performance standards contain measures reflecting their role and responsibilities in achieving progress. (During midyear performance reviews, these performance standards and measures are being modified to address Recovery Act-specific goals.)

Information associated with LUST Recovery Act activities can be found at www.epa.gov/oust/eparecovery .

For the LUST program, the Recovery Act provides money for cleanup activities that do not generally meet the definition of infrastructure. EPA has determined that the term infrastructure refers to the substructure or underlying foundation or network used for providing goods and services, especially the basic installations and facilities on which the continuance and growth of a community, state, etc., depend. Examples include roads, water systems, communications facilities, sewers, sidewalks, cable, wiring, schools, power plants, and transportation and communication systems. However, a limited amount funding under the LUST program is occasionally used to install piping to connect households and businesses to public water systems or replace public water system supply well(s) and associated piping due to groundwater contamination. These connection/replacement activities fall into the category of an infrastructure investment.

Though the majority of LUST projects are not considered infrastructure investments, the LUST Program is working with the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) on a program-wide effort to define green cleanup standards, promote and implement green remediation technologies and re-use. EPA’s Recovery Act website (http://www.epa.gov/recovery/resources.html) and OSWER’s “Green Remediation” website (http://www.clu-in.org/greenremediation/index.cfm) both contain resources (tools and best practices) that can help entities incorporate sustainable practices into their activities. The LUST Program will continue to promote green remediation and sustainable redevelopment through information sharing and technology transfer with the regions and recipients of LUST Recovery Act money.