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Audit of EPA

Passport Controls

Report No. 14-P-0243 May 1, 2014

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
Report Contributors: Jean Bloom

Kevin Collins

 

Abbreviations

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 

EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

OIG Office of Inspector General

OITA Office of International and Tribal Affairs

PENS Passport Expiration Notification System

PII Personally Identifiable Information

Cover photo: Passports located in boxes at an EPA warehouse operated by a contractor in 

Landover, Maryland. (EPA OIG photo)

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EPA Inspector General 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Mailcode 2410T

Washington, DC 20460
 

 14-P-0243

May 1, 2014

Why We Did This Review

On August 27, 2013, a member 

of the U.S. Senate Committee 

on Environment and Public 

Works requested that the 

U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA), Office of 

Inspector General (OIG), 

initiate work in connection with 

a fraud committed by John C. 

Beale, a former Senior Policy 

Advisor with the EPA’s Office of 

Air and Radiation. One area 

that was being audited was the 

agency’s vetting process for 

new employees. We also 

audited the process for official 

passports. The audit has 

disclosed issues that impact 

the Office of International and 

Tribal Affairs (OITA) and 

require immediate attention.

This report addresses the 

following EPA theme:

 Embracing EPA as a high 

performing organization

For further information, 

contact our public affairs office 

at (202) 566-2391.

The full report is at:

www.epa.gov/oig/reports/2014/ 

20140501-14-P-0243.pdf

 

Audit of EPA Passport Controls 

 What We Found

OITA is not in compliance with agency guidance 

over the control and security of sensitive personally 

identifiable information—specifically, official and 

diplomatic passports issued to agency employees. 

OITA lacks a formal written policy and procedure 

for issuing, monitoring and securing passports.

Limited reliance can be placed on OITA’s Passport Expiration Notification System 

to track and identify the location of EPA issued passports.

Of the 417 passports purported to be in OITA’s possession, 199 could not be 

located. OITA has not enforced its passport guidance of having staff return 

passports after travel. Lack of compliance with agency guidance may put the 

agency in the position where sensitive personally identifiable information is not 

being adequately protected.

 Agency Corrective Actions and Noteworthy Achievements

We recommend that OITA include a plan to identify official passports issued to 

agency employees and ensure that passports not currently being used for travel 

are returned to OITA for proper storage or cancellation. We also recommend that 

OITA develop and implement an agencywide policy and procedure for the 

issuance, monitoring and control of official passports; a plan to review and 

update information in the Passport Expiration Notification System to ensure the 

information currently in that system is accurate and complete; and a policy to 

compare employee travel activity recorded in the official passport with the actual 

travel activity to ensure official passports are only used to carry out official duties. 

OITA accepted all the recommendations and developed a corrective action plan 

to complete all recommendations. OITA estimates corrective actions will be 

completed by September 30, 2014. 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Inspector General

At a Glance

EPA needs to strengthen 

controls for official 

passports to protect 

sensitive personally 

identifiable information.
May 1, 2014

MEMORANDUM

SUBJECT: Audit of EPA Passport Controls

Report No. 14-P-0243

FROM: Arthur A. Elkins Jr.

TO: Jane Nishida, Acting Assistant Administrator

Office of International and Tribal Affairs

This is our report on the subject audit conducted by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The report contains findings that the OIG has identified 

and corrective action that the OIG recommends. The report represents the opinion of the OIG and does 

not necessarily represent the final EPA position. Final determination on matters in this report will be 

made by EPA managers in accordance with established audit-resolution procedures.

Action Required 

The agency agreed with all recommendations and provided planned corrective actions and completion 

dates that meet the intent of these recommendations. Therefore, the agency is not required to provide a 

written response for these recommendations. Recommendation 3 is closed and no further action is 

required. For the remaining open recommendations, please update the EPA’s Management Audit 

Tracking System as you complete the planned corrective actions. Please notify my staff if there is a 

significant change in the agreed-to corrective actions. Should you choose to provide a response to this 

final report, we will post your response on the OIG’s public website, along with our memorandum 

commenting on your response. You should provide your response as an Adobe PDF file that complies 

with the accessibility requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

This report will be available at http://www.epa.gov/oig.

If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Christensen, acting Assistant Inspector General for 

Audit, at (202) 566-1007 or christensen.kevin@epa.gov; or Robert Adachi, Director, Forensic Audits, at 

(415) 947-4537 or adachi.robert@epa.gov

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460

THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Inspector General

Audit of EPA Passport Controls

Report No. 14-P-0243 

May 1, 2014
2

Reasons for Audit

 Part of continuing work on internal controls in response to a 

member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environmental 

and Public Works request for work in connection with a 

fraud committed by John C. Beale.

 As part of an audit of the agency’s vetting process for new 

employees, we looked into vetting for official passports.

 Issues have been identified that impact the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 

Office of International and Tribal Affairs (OITA) 

and require its immediate attention.

14-P-0243
3

Objective

To determine the agency’s responsibility and requirements 

regarding the possession and safeguarding of official passports, 

and evaluate whether they are being adhered to.

14-P-0243
4

Prior OIG Work

 EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) Report No. 13-P-0272,

Early Warning Report: Main EPA Headquarters Warehouse in 

Landover, Maryland, Requires Immediate EPA Attention, 

dated May 31, 2013, noted an issue concerning passports:

o Potential security breach of personally identifiable 

information, as passports were located in boxes at the 

warehouse.

14-P-0243
5

Prior OIG Work (cont’d)

 Agency Acting Administrator stated in a May 23, 2013 memorandum to the 

Inspector General, that the following actions would be taken to address the 

issues raised in the report:

o The agency will identify and strengthen any policies and procedures 

addressing the transport, storage, access and disposition of agency 

records containing personally identifiable information.

o The Breach Evaluation Team will evaluate any potential concern with 

safeguarding of personally identifiable information.

o The agency will consult with the U.S. Department of State and 

implement immediate changes to existing procedures to ensure safe 

handling of expired or no longer needed government passports.

 OITA has developed corrective actions to address the above issues. 

14-P-0243
6

Background

 OITA’s Office of Management and International Services is 

responsible for obtaining and monitoring passports.

 The Passport Expiration Notification System (PENS) was 

created to track all passports issued to EPA travelers.

14-P-0243
7

Scope and Methodology

 Performed fieldwork from February 3 through March 19, 2014.

 Conducted assignment in accordance with generally accepted 

government auditing standards issued by the Comptroller 

General of the United States.

 Met with OITA staff responsible for the oversight and 

processing of passports obtained for agency staff.

14-P-0243
8

Scope and Methodology (cont’d)

 Reviewed OITA guidance concerning official and diplomatic 

passports issued to EPA employees.

 Obtained an extract of data from OITA’s PENS.

 Performed an inventory test of all passports located in the 

OITA Passport Office safe.

 Conducted audit work on OIG’s compliance with EPA passport 

guidance and will issue a separate report on the results.

14-P-0243
9

Criteria–Official Passport

 In the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), under 

22 CFR 51.3 (b):

An official passport is issued to an official or employee of the 

U.S. Government traveling abroad to carry out official duties.

 Under 22 CFR 51.52 (b) and (b)(1), official passports are 

exempt from fees when the individual is:

An officer or employee of the United States traveling on official 

business.... The applicant must submit evidence of the official 

purpose of the travel. 

14-P-0243
10

Criteria–Passport Acceptance Agents

 Under 22 CFR 51.22 (b) (5), the Department of State is 

authorized to select an employee of a federal agency to accept 

passport applications on its behalf.

 Within the EPA, four employees have been designated as 

passport acceptance agents:

o Two in OITA.

o Two in EPA Region 5.

14-P-0243
11

OITA Guidance

 OITA website provides the following guidance: 

Official passports are controlled United States Government documents 

and must be returned between trips to the Travel Office of the Office of 

International and Tribal Affairs (OITA). Please return your official passport 

to OITA within 15 days after returning to the United States. When not in 

use for travel, all official passports will be maintained in a secure facility 

within OITA.

All official passports must be forwarded to OITA for immediate 

cancellation: if you retire; if you accept employment elsewhere (even if at 

another government agency); or if you move to another position within 

EPA that does not require official travel.

14-P-0243
12

Sensitive Personally Identifiable 

Information

 Official passports are sensitive personally identifiable 

information (PII).

 EPA Privacy Policy 2151.0 defines sensitive PII as:

Social Security numbers, or comparable identification numbers.... 

Sensitive PII, a subset of PII, requires additional levels of security 

controls.

14-P-0243
13

Results

 EPA OITA is not in compliance with its guidance over the 

control and security of sensitive PII in the form of official and 

diplomatic passports issued to agency employees.

 OITA’s PENS does not fully and accurately track and identify the 

location of EPA-issued passports.

 OITA guidance requires improvements. 

14-P-0243
14

How Did This Happen

 OITA has not kept the PENS database up to date with accurate 

information. 

 OITA has not enforced its passport guidance regarding staff 

returning their passports to OITA after travel.

 PENS is not updated when an employee separates from the 

agency, as OITA is not always notified when an employee 

separates. 

14-P-0243
15

Why Is This Important

 Lack of compliance with agency guidance puts the agency in 

the position where sensitive PII is not being adequately 

protected.

 Lack of control could result in release of sensitive PII due to 

missing, misused or improperly destroyed official passports.

14-P-0243
16

PENS Data

 The PENS universe we were provided contained 2,311 

records for passports obtained through OITA’s passport 

office between1995 and February 3, 2014.

* Location per PENS is shown as Cancelled and Destroyed, Other or Blank

Passport per PENS

Passport type Records

Diplomatic 11

Official 2,153

Personal 147

Total 2,311

Location of passport

Location Records

OITA 417

With traveler 1,770

Other* 124

Total 2,311

14-P-0243
17

OITA PENS Errors

Results of OIG passport testing 

Description

Number of 

passports

Passport identified in PENS as located in OITA’s safe as of 2/3/2014 417

Less actual passports located in safe on 2/12/2014 196

Less passport sent to Department of State by OITA between 

2/5/2014 and 2/12/2014 22

Passports not located during 2/12/2014 test 199

Percentage of passport not located (199/417) 47.72%

Official passports located in the safe on 2/12/2014 that were not 

recorded in PENS as of 2/13/2014 15

14-P-0243
18

Lack of Policy and Procedures

 OITA lacks a formal written policy and procedure for issuing, 

monitoring and securing passports.

 OITA’s website contains only guidance on passports.

 OITA lacks a formal written policy and procedure for an 

employee leaving the agency to return the passport to OITA, as 

stated in its website guidance.

14-P-0243
19

Recommendations

 We recommend the Assistant Administrator for OITA :

1. Develop and implement a plan to:

a. Identify official passports issued to agency employees.

b. Determine the location of all passports. 

c. Ensure that passports not currently being used for travel are 

returned to OITA for proper storage or cancellation. 

d. Notify the U.S. Department of State of all passports not located.

e. Work with the Office of Environmental Information to develop 

necessary steps to contain, control and mitigate the risks from any 

potential breach and to prevent further unauthorized access to, or 

use of, sensitive PII. 14-P-0243
20

Recommendations

2. Develop and implement an agencywide policy and 

procedure for:

a. Issuance, monitoring and control of official passports.

b. Informing agency staff of the policy and their responsibilities 

under the policy.

3. Conduct a review of its Intranet homepage and update 

accordingly to ensure information contained on the page 

is current and updated.

14-P-0243
21

Recommendations (cont’d)

4. Develop and implement a plan to:

a. Review and update information in PENS to ensure the information 

currently in PENS is accurate and complete. 

b. Ensure the system is kept up to date.

5. Develop and implement a policy to compare employee 

travel activity recorded in the official passport with the 

actual travel activity reported in the Fast International 

Approval Tracking database to ensure official passports are 

only used to carry out official duties. 

14-P-0243
22

Corrective Actions Taken by OITA 

 On March 14, 2014, OITA’s Director, Office of Management and 

International Services, notified the OIG of corrective actions taken and 

planned to strengthen passport controls. 

 As of March 13, 2014, OITA had:

1. Changed the process for destroying expired or no-longer-needed 

passports.

2. Modified PENS to include tracking of passports sent to Department of 

State, Special Issuance Agency.

3. Revised Standard Operating Procedures for passport destruction and 

renewal.

4. Revised International Travel Pages.

14-P-0243
23

Corrective Actions Taken By OITA 

(cont’d) 

5. Issued an International Travel Memorandum concerning travel 

guidelines.

6. Contacted the Department of State regarding a Memorandum of 

Understanding, and is awaiting a response.

7. Updated the International Travel Coordinators Handbook.

14-P-0243
24

OITA Planned Corrective Actions 

OITA changes in process and planned corrective actions include:

1. Program Review of PENS (estimated completed by June 2014).

2. Development and use of PENS 2 upgraded system (by September 30, 2014).

3. Return of Official/Diplomatic Passports to OITA.

4. Follow-Up Program Review of its FY 2015 Federal Managers’ Financial 

Integrity Act process.

14-P-0243
25

OITA Response to OIG Report 

 On April 2, 2014, we received a signed memorandum from 

OITA in response to our draft report. 

 OITA accepted the recommendations and provided a 

corrective action and estimated completion date for each 

recommendation. 

 All recommendations are estimated to be completed by 

September 30, 2014.

 See appendix A for OITA’s full response.

 Since OITA concurred with the recommendations, no OIG 

comments are being provided. 

14-P-0243
14-P-0243 26

Status of Recommendations and 

Potential Monetary Benefits

RECOMMENDATIONS

POTENTIAL MONETARY 

BENEFITS (in $000s)

Rec. 

No.

Page 

No. Subject Status1 Action Official

Planned 

Completion 

Date

Claimed 

Amount

Agreed To 

Amount

1 19 Develop and implement a plan to: Assistant Administrator for 

International and Tribal Affairs

a. Identify official passports issued to agency 

employees.

O

4/30/14

b. Determine the location of all passports. O

4/30/14

c. Ensure that passports not currently being 

used for travel are returned to OITA for 

proper storage or cancellation.

O

6/30/14

d. Notify the U.S. Department of State of all 

passports not located.

O

6/30/14

e. Work with the Office of Environmental 

Information to develop necessary steps to 

contain, control and mitigate the risks from 

any potential breach and to prevent further 

unauthorized access to, or use of, sensitive 

PII.

O

9/30/14

2 20 Develop and implement an agencywide policy and 

procedure for:

O Assistant Administrator for 

International and Tribal Affairs

 

a. Issuance, monitoring and control of official 

passports.

9/30/14

b. Informing agency staff of the policy and 

their responsibilities under the policy.

9/30/14

3 20 Conduct a review of its Intranet homepage and 

update accordingly to ensure information 

contained on the page is current and updated.

C Assistant Administrator for 

International and Tribal Affairs

3/17/14

4 21 Develop and implement a plan to: O Assistant Administrator for 

International and Tribal Affairs

a. Review and update information in PENS to 

ensure the information currently in PENS is 

accurate and complete.

6/30/14

b. Ensure the system is kept up to date. 9/30/14

5 21 Develop and implement a policy to compare 

employee travel activity recorded in the official 

passport with the actual travel activity reported in 

the Fast International Approval Tracking database

to ensure official passports are only used to carry 

out official duties; 

O Assistant Administrator for 

International and Tribal Affairs

9/30/14

1 O = recommendation is open with agreed-to corrective actions pending 

C = recommendation is closed with all agreed-to actions completed 

U = recommendation is unresolved with resolution efforts in progress
14-P-0243 27

Appendix A 

 

April 2, 2014 

MEMORANDUM 

SUBJECT: Response to Office of Inspector General Draft Report “Review of EPA Passport 

Controls,” March 19, 2014

FROM: Jane Nishida /s/ 

 Acting Assistant Administrator 

TO: Arthur A. Elkins, Jr. 

 Inspector General 

 Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the issues and recommendations in the 

draft report “Review of EPA Passport Controls.” The following is a summary of the Office of 

International and Tribal Affairs’ (OITA) overall position, along with technical comments to 

clarify and supplement this response. 

OVERALL POSITION 

 OITA accepts the recommendations in the draft report, and we have assigned corrective 

actions outlined below. 

 As communicated to your office on March 14, 2014, and included in the Technical 

Comments Attachment, OITA has taken a number steps to strengthen its passport controls. 

Some of these changes have been implemented fully and others are in process of being 

implemented. OITA is committed to addressing the specific issues that the OIG has raise in its 

draft report and to maintaining an environment of strong passport controls. 

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460

OFFICE OF

INTERNATIONAL AND 

TRIBAL AFFAIRS
14-P-0243 28

RESPONSE TO REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

Agreements

No. Recommendation High-Level Intended Corrective 

Action(s)

Est. 

Completion 

1 Develop and implement a plan to:

a. identify all official passports issued to 

agency employees;

OITA is conducting a review to identify 

all official passports issued to agency 

employees as documented in our technical 

comments attachment. 

April 30, 2014

b. determine the location of all passports; OITA is conducting a review to determine 

the location of all passports as documented 

in our technical comments attachment.

April 30, 2014

c. ensure that passports not currently being 

used for travel are returned to OITA for 

proper storage or cancellation;

OITA has requested that passports not 

currently being used for travel are returned 

to OITA as documented in our technical 

comments attachment. 

June 30, 2014

d. notify the Department of State of all 

passports not located; and

OITA is notifying State of all missing 

passports by immediately filing a lost/stolen 

passport application as soon as we confirm 

that a passport cannot be located.

June 30, 2014

e. work with Office of Environmental 

Information to develop necessary steps to 

contain, control and mitigate the risks from 

any potential breach and prevent further 

unauthorized access to or use of sensitive 

PII.

OITA will work with OEI, as 

recommended. 

September 30, 

2014

2 Develop and implement an agency wide policy 

and procedure:

a. for the issuance, monitoring, and control of 

official passports;

OITA will develop policy, as 

recommended, for agency directives 

clearance review. This policy will 

include:

 passport holder roles and 

responsibilities

 control of passport and passportrelated information

 regional waiver process and 

conditions

 monitoring passport use against 

international travel plan

September 30, 

2014

b. inform agency staff of the policy and their 

responsibilities under the policy.

OITA will notify agency staff of the new 

policy, as recommended.

September 30, 

2014
14-P-0243 29

No. Recommendation High-Level Intended Corrective 

Action(s)

Est. 

Completion 

3 Conduct a review of its intranet homepage and 

update accordingly to ensure information 

contained on the page is current and updated.

Completed. March 17, 

2014

4 Develop and implement a plan to:

a. review and update information in PENS to 

ensure the information currently in PENS 

accurate and complete and

OITA is in the process of updating the 

information in PENS as documented in 

our technical comments attachment.

June 30, 2014

b. ensure the system is kept up to date. OITA is developing PENS 2, an upgraded 

passport tracking database, as documented 

in our technical comments attachment.

September 30, 

2014

5 Develop and implement a policy to compare 

employee travel activity recorded in the official 

passport with the actual travel activity reported 

in FIAT to ensure official passport are only used 

to carry out official duties.

OITA will develop and document a 

process for sampling passports for the 

recommended comparison. 

September 30, 

2014

CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have any questions regarding this response, please contact Teresa Ruppe, Audit 

Follow-Up Coordinator, Office of International and Tribal Affairs at 202-564-6619.

Attachment

cc:

Michael Stahl, DAA

Katrina Cherry, Director OMIS

Dennis Cunningham, Deputy Director OMIS
14-P-0243 30

Technical Comments Attachment

Response to Office of Inspector General Draft Passport Controls Report 

Specific Comments on the Draft Report

 Page 4: Please remove the reference to EPA-OIG Report No. 13-P-0272 concerning EPA’s 

Warehouse. Without additional background information, this reference is confusing and may 

be viewed as an ongoing action of the current review. 

 Page 15, 2

nd bullet: Please clarify this bullet. Until March 2014 OITA’s guidance only 

noted that employees “should” return their passports to OITA, but was not mandatory. 

There was no requirement to enforce the guidance.

 Page 18, 2

nd bullet: Please change this bullet to, “OITA is not always notified when an 

employee separates from the Agency.” OITA does update PENS when we are notified of an 

employee’s departure. 

Changes Made as of March 13, 2014

Destruction of Expired or No-Longer-Needed Passports: In May 2013, OIG notified the 

Office of the Administrator that a number of expired passports had been found unsecured at 

EPA’s warehouse in Landover, Maryland. Upon learning of these passports, OITA immediately 

stopped sending expired or no-longer-needed passports for destruction within the 

agency. OITA’s Office of Management and International Services (OMIS) notified the Special 

Issuance Office within the Department of State that, beginning immediately, EPA would send all 

such passports directly to State for incineration.

After agents from OIG returned the passports found at the Landover warehouse to OITA, staff in 

our International Travel Office worked with the Special Issuance Agency at the Department of 

State to return these passports to State for destruction. 

OITA also developed standard language for all letters sent to the Special Issuance Agency 

instructing State not to return cancelled passports to EPA.

All letters requesting renewal or destruction of Official/Diplomatic passports must now be signed 

by the Director or Deputy Director of OMIS. Copies of these request letters must also be 

maintained in OITA’s International Travel Office.

Update to the Passport Expiration Notification System (PENS): OITA changed PENS, its 

database for tracking passport expiration and renewal requests, to include a field for tracking 

when passports are sent to the Special Issuance Agency, either for renewal or destruction.

New Standard Operating Procedures: OITA revised its Standard Operating Procedure for 

passports to reflect changes in how the agency now manages requests for passport 

destruction/renewal. The revised SOP also includes templates for letters to the Special Issuance 

Agency.
14-P-0243 31

Revised International Travel Pages: OITA thoroughly updated the travel information on its 

intranet site, which serves as a key source of information on international travel planning, 

passports, visas, and security issues related to foreign travel. The site’s new structure will make 

it easier for OITA to locate and update the travel information we provide.

International Travel Memorandum to the AAs/RAs/DAAs/DRAs/OGC/IG: On March 14, 

2014, the OITA Acting AA emailed an updated list of requirements and best practices related to

international travel planning (see attachment). The AAs/RAs/DAAs/DRAs/OGC/IG were asked 

to distribute this email through their organizations and help the agency adhere to all relevant 

policies and guidelines on international travel. The OITA DAA will also discuss this document 

with the DAAs/DRAs and it will be posted to OITA’s intranet site.

Update as of April 2, 2014: Travel memo is posted to OITA’s intranet site.

Memorandum of Understanding with the Special Issuance Agency: OITA Acting AA 

contacted the Acting Director of the Special Issuance Agency (SIA) at the Department of State 

regarding an MOU between our agencies on passport management. During a call with the 

Special Issuance Agency on last year, SIA management mentioned that their organization would 

be interested in developing such an MOU with EPA. OITA believes that the MOU would help 

clarify further roles and responsibilities related to passport management. We are currently 

awaiting a status update from the SIA.

Updated International Travel Coordinators (ITC) Handbook: OIG’s review prompted 

OITA to revise the International Travel Coordinators Handbook. The Handbook is now 

available on OITA’s intranet site in an HTML format, and is being distributed to the ITCs, which 

will facilitate future revisions. The updated text addresses numerous changes to the structure of 

the International Travel Plan (ITP) form in FIAT. 

Other Changes In-Process

Program Review of PENS: As part of its Multi-year Plan for Program Reviews under FMFIA, 

OITA had planned a FY 2014 review of passport controls. The work already undertaken by OIG 

as part of its review as well as some of the initial feedback that OIG has provided has led OITA 

to focus its review more closely on the structure of PENS and on the quality of the system’s 

data. OITA believes that a thorough review of PENS, though time-consuming, will substantially 

help us improve the quality of our data and guide OITA as it develops a next-generation 

database.

OITA assigned staff from outside of the International Travel Office to design and carry out the 

review. As of March 13, 2014, OITA staff have reviewed approximately 500 of the 2800 

records in PENS, documenting any missing or conflicting data. OITA expects the review to be 

completed and initial findings and recommendations available by late April 2014. 

Update as of March 27, 2014: OITA has reviewed approximately 2,200 of the 2,800 records in 

PENS. The record review will be completed by April 4th, at which time our office will begin 
14-P-0243 32

correcting all identified errors in PENS. We will draw on our analysis of data entry errors to 

develop an improved passports management database (PENS 2).

Development of PENS 2: Based on the findings and recommendations from the OIG’s review 

of passport controls and from OITA’s review of records in PENS, OITA will develop PENS 2, 

an upgraded passport tracking database. This new database will contain records only on active 

Official and Diplomatic passports (all information from the legacy PENS will be archived) and 

will feature new controls to help prevent data entry errors. OITA’s goal is to have PENS 2 in use 

before the end of FY14.

Return of Official/Diplomatic Passports to OITA: EPA’s international travelers should return 

their Official or Diplomatic passports to OITA’s International Travel Office within 15 days of 

returning to the United States. OITA acknowledges that many travelers appear not to have 

been aware of this policy and therefore, have not returned their passports to the International 

Travel Office in a timely manner. While this failure does not indicate any malfeasance, OITA is 

working with program offices to correct this issue. 

Using data provided by the OIG following their review of PENS and of the passports in OITA’s 

International Travel Office, OITA is contacting each traveler who hasn’t returned his/her 

Diplomatic or Official passport, as required. Reaching out to these travelers should significantly 

reduce the number of passports being held outside of the International Travel Office. OITA 

acknowledges that a small number of staff, such as emergency responders who might be called to 

work on transboundary issues, will need to maintain their passports in their Region or 

Lab. OITA will work with the Regions/Labs where these employees work to develop a process 

for securing their passports on-site. Our goal is to have this alternate process developed and in 

place by June 2014.

OITA is also exploring options to modify the Fast International Approval of Travel (FIAT) 

system so that it sends automated reminders to staff who have not returned their passports within 

15 days of their scheduled travel end date.

Follow-up Review: OITA will perform another program review of passport controls as part of 

its FY 2015 FMFIA process. This second review will assist us in confirming the efficacy of the 

controls we developed in FY 2013 and FY 2014, and identify any new controls that may be 

necessary.
14-P-0243 33

Appendix B

Distribution

Office of the Administrator

Deputy Administrator

Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs

Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resources Management

Assistant Administrator for Environmental Information and Chief Information Officer

Agency Follow-Up Official (the CFO)

Agency Follow-Up Coordinator

General Counsel

Associate Administrator for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations

Associate Administrator for External Affairs and Environmental Education

Deputy Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs

Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resources Management

Director, Office of Policy and Resource Management, Office of Administration and 

Resources Management

Deputy Director, Office of Policy and Resource Management, Office of Administration and

Resources Management

Audit Follow-Up Coordinator, Office of International and Tribal Affairs