Review of the Promptness of Payments for Water and Sewer Services
Provided by the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority
Report No. 01-06
February 15, 2001
Office of the Inspector General
Introduction
The Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Inspector General (OIG), Audit Division conducted a review to determine if DOJ made timely payments to an account in the United States Treasury entitled, "Federal Payment for Water and Sewer Services," (Treasury Fund), which was established to reimburse the District of Columbia (D.C.) Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) for water and sewer services. We initiated the review in response to the conference report to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, FY 2001, Public Law 106-554 (12/21/00) (Section 401):
The conference agreement inserts a new section concerning water and sewer payments by Federal agencies to the District of Columbia and requires the inspector general of each Federal entity to submit quarterly reports to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on the promptness of payment by the agency for water and sewer services furnished by the District.
See CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE, December 15, 2000, DIVISION A, CHAPTER 4, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FEDERAL FUNDS, General Provisions-This Chapter, Sec. 401, Page H12308
The requirement is further explained in the following amendments to the D.C. Code enacted pursuant to § 401:
D.C. Code, Section 43-1552(b)(5)
Not later than the 15th day of the month following each quarter (beginning with the first quarter of fiscal year 2001), the inspector general of each Federal department, establishment, or agency receiving water services from the District of Columbia shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate analyzing the promptness of payment with respect to the services furnished to such department, establishment, or agency.
See Public Law 106-554, § 401 (a)
D.C. Code, Section 43-1612(b)(5)
Not later than the 15th day of the month following each quarter (beginning with the first quarter of fiscal year 2001), the inspector general of each Federal department, establishment, or agency receiving sanitary sewer services from the District of Columbia shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate analyzing the promptness of payment with respect to the services furnished to such department, establishment, or agency.
See Public Law 106-554, § 401 (b)
Scope and Methodology of OIG Review
Our review was designed to determine: (1) if the DOJ made quarterly payments to the Treasury Fund; and if so, (2) were they made promptly. The period of review was from the first quarter of FY 1990 through the first quarter of FY 2001.
We obtained, reviewed, and compared information provided by the General Services Administration (GSA) and DOJ's Justice Management Division. The data from GSA disclosed DOJ-occupied facilities in D.C. that were government owned and either GSA operated or delegated to DOJ for operation, or were leased and delegated to DOJ. The DOJ information identified all other privately owned facilities that were leased by GSA for DOJ use and one building owned by a component of DOJ. From these documents we determined the nature of DOJ's occupancy agreements. We then established if DOJ had responsibility to make the payments for D.C. WASA services to the Treasury Fund, to GSA, or directly to D.C. WASA.
Our review consisted of reviewing information provided by GSA and DOJ officials. We did not perform detailed tests to verify the information contained in the documentation. Thus, this report and the associated work was not performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards (GAS) but was performed as an "other activity of an audit organization" pursuant to GAS 2.10.
Results
Based on our review, we found that:
Conclusion
Absent any changes to the terms of occupancy in buildings used by DOJ in D.C., DOJ makes no payments directly to the Treasury Fund for D.C. WASA services, as defined in the D.C. Code. Accordingly, our future reviews will be designed to update the status of DOJ occupancies as listed in this report. If DOJ does make payments to the Treasury Fund for D.C. WASA services, we shall then report on the promptness of those payments.
Building Identification per DOJ | Address | Type of Occupancy |
Justice Building 320 First Street, NW J. Edgar Hoover Courthouse (Perryman Building) 460 New York Avenue, NW Bicentennial Building Bond Building Chester Arthur Building City Center 810 7th FLAG FRST IND2 Judiciary Center Building Liberty Place Building LST National Place Building 1301NY NYAV 901E 1325PA PENN Patrick Henry Building TechWorld 1331F VT1 VT2 VT3 Gallery Row Techworld Plaza 810 7th Street Union Labor Life Warner Building 601 4th Street Automobile Maintenance NYA 202 1301 Penn Ave 3365 V Street 1325 G Street NALC NCAP Federal Prison Industries |
9th & Constitution Avenue, NW 320 First Street, NW 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 333 Constitution Avenue, NW 460 New York Avenue, NW 600 E Street, NW 1400 New York Avenue, NW 425 Eye Street, NW 1401 H Street, NW 810 7th Street, NW 1310 G Street, NW 500 First Street, NW 625 Indiana Avenue, NW 555 4th Street, NW 325 7th Street, NW 1100 L Street, NW 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 1301 New York Avenue, NW 1425 New York Avenue, NW 901 E Street, NW 1325 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 601 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 601 D St., NW 800 K Street 1331 F Street, NW 1100 Vermont Avenue, NW 1110 Vermont Avenue, NW 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW 401-417 7th Street, NW 801 Eye Street, NW 810 7th Street, NW 111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW 1299 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 601 4th Street, NW 2800 V Street, NE Federal Center, M Street, SE 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 3365 V Street, NE 1325 G Street, NW 100 Indiana Avenue, NW 800 N. Capitol Street, NW 400 1st Street, NW |
A A A B C D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D FPI Owned |
Legend for Type of Occupancy
A = Government Owned /Delegated to DOJ
B = Government Owned/GSA Operated
C = Leased/Delegated to DOJ
D = Leased Privately Owned Buildings/GSA as Agent