Addressing Human Capital Management Challenges at EPA
- EPA has struggled for several years to identify its needs for human resources and to deploy its staff throughout the country in a manner that would do the most good.
- EPA’s process for budgeting and allocating resources does not fully consider the agency’s current workload.
- In preparing requests for funding and staffing, EPA makes incremental adjustments, largely based on an antiquated workforce planning system that does not reflect a bottom-up review of the nature or distribution of the current workload.
- EPA’s human capital management systems have not kept pace with changes that have occurred over the years as a result of new legislative requirements and priorities, changes in environmental conditions in different regions of the country, and the much more active role that states now play in carrying out day-to-day-activities of federal environmental programs.
^ Back to topWhat Needs to Be Done
- To remedy its antiquated and unscientific methods for determining workload and allocating staff resources, EPA must first substantially improve its resource planning by identifying the factors that derive the national and regional workload and develop more realistic allocation systems for deploying staff with the requisite skills and capabilities to areas of the country where they are most needed to address the highest-priority needs.
Highlights of GAO-01-812 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-05-721 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-06-840T (PDF), Highlights of GAO-07-883 (PDF), Full Report of GAO-08-1109R (PDF, 31 pages)
^ Back to topKey Reports
- EPA's Execution of Its Fiscal year 2007 New Budget Authority for the Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program in the Regional Offices
- GAO-08-1109R, September 26, 2008
- Summary (HTML) Full Report (PDF, 33 pages) Accessible Text
- Environmental Protection: EPA-State Enforcement Partnership Has Improved, but EPA's Oversight Needs Further Enhancement
- GAO-07-883, July 31, 2007
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 51 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)
- Environmental Compliance and Enforcement: EPA's Effort to Improve and Make More Consistent Its Compliance and Enforcement Activities
- GAO-06-840T, June 28, 2006
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 17 pages) Accessible Text
- Clean Water Act: Improved Resource Planning Would Help EPA Better Respond to Changing Needs and Fiscal Constraints
- GAO-05-721, July 22, 2005
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 48 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)
- Human Capital: Implementing an Effective Workforce Strategy Would Help EPA to Achieve Its Strategic Goals
- GAO-01-812, July 31, 2001
- Summary (HTML) Full Report (PDF, 56 pages) Recommendations (HTML)
