Reports

Former BSEE Official Did Not Violate Ethics Rules

We audited the costs claimed by the New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Fish and Wildlife, under grants awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. The audit included claims totaling $50.9 million on 35 grants that were open during the State fiscal years that ended June 30, 2015, and June 30, 2016.

The OIG investigated an allegation that a senior official with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) committed perjury while testifying in an official capacity at a Federal trial in 2017. In a motion to dismiss, the defense quoted a 2008 letter signed by the official that, according to the defense, proved the official’s testimony was untruthful. We confirmed that some of the official’s testimony contradicted the letter, but we found no evidence that the official knowingly provided false information during the testimony.

The OIG investigated allegations that an oil and gas company irregularly reported oil sold in the Vernal, UT, area to avoid paying royalties. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) also suspected that a BLM employee’s signature may have been forged on a document related to one of the company’s oil sales. Our joint investigation with the BLM’s Special Investigations Group did not substantiate either allegation. We found that the BLM had known about a measurement problem with an oil tank owned by the company since 2010 but took no action to resolve the discrepancy until 2016.

The OIG investigated an allegation that a National Park Service (NPS) biologist had coerced at least two interns into having a sexual relationship, and that the biologist misused his position to lead interns to believe he could influence their chances of gaining employment at the NPS. We found no evidence that the biologist manipulated any NPS interns, or that he misused his position. We determined that the biologist had a personal relationship with one former intern, but the intern was not an NPS employee at the time and the relationship did not violate any NPS policies.