EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This final audit report points out that the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) generally administered the Superfund according to legislation. However, NIEHS did not submit the minority contractors utilization report required by the interagency agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency in a timely manner. In addition, our review this year (as well as in the 2 previous years) disclosed that the National Institutes of Health and NIEHS are not ensuring that grantees comply with the requirement to have an independent audit performed for all Superfund grantees. Recommendations provide for actions the parent agency, the Public Health Service (PHS), can take to correct these weaknesses. The PHS concurred with our recommendations and provided a plan of correction action.