Acting Secretary Ellen Ferretti Tuesday announced the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has received a clean audit from the federal government related to the expenditure of $33.6 million it received for cleanup related to three disasters between 2004 and 2006.

“Cleaning up from these disasters was a substantial, multi-DCNR bureau and multi-state agency effort and we are proud that the auditors determined this work met all federal regulations and guidelines,” Ferretti said.  “These projects were unplanned  and performed in addition to our regular project workload.  I applaud staff for their efforts to manage these projects.”

The objective of the audit was to determine if DCNR correctly spent and accounted for Federal Emergency Management Agency funds received related to Tropical Storm Ivan in September 2004; severe storms and flooding that occurred April 2, 2005; and severe storms and flooding on June 23, 2006.

The auditors for the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, reviewed more than 200 project worksheets and focused on 25 large and three small projects, most of which were completed at Delaware Canal State Park.  The park’s infrastructure was significantly damaged during the three incidents.

The audit did not require any follow-up actions and is considered closed.

John Kaschak, Director of Audits for the Budget Office congratulated DCNR on a report with no findings, saying “during his 15 years of doing audits, he could count on one hand the number of audits that have been issued without findings.”

A copy of the report is available online.

12/9/2013