Aiken County, South 

Carolina, Effectively 

Managed FEMA Grant 

Funds Awarded for Severe 

2014 Winter Storm 

March 1, 2017 

OIG-17-41-D 
 

 

 

 

 

DHS OIG HIGHLIGHTS
 

Aiken County, South Carolina, Effectively Managed FEMA

Grant Funds Awarded for Severe 2014 Winter Storm
 

March 1, 2017 

Why We Did 

This Audit 

Aiken County, South 

Carolina (County), received 

a $33.6 million grant award 

from the South Carolina 

Emergency Management 

Division (South Carolina), a 

Federal Emergency 

Management Agency 

(FEMA) grantee, for 

damages resulting from a 

severe winter storm, which 

occurred in February 2014. 

We audited nine large 

projects with awards 

totaling $33.6 million. 

What We 

Recommend 

This report contains no 

recommendations. 

For Further Information: 

Contact our Office of Public Affairs at 

(202) 254-4100, or email us at 

DHS-OIG.OfficePublicAffairs@oig.dhs.gov. 

What We Found 

For the projects we reviewed, the County effectively 

accounted for and expended FEMA funds according to 

Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines. County officials 

accounted for disaster expenditures on a project-by-project 

basis; procured contracts for disaster work appropriately, 

and maintained adequate documentation to support the 

costs. 

FEMA Response 

Because the audit did not identify any issues requiring 

further action from FEMA, we consider this audit closed. 

www.oig.dhs.gov OIG-17-41-D 
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

Washington, DC 20528 / www.oig.dhs.gov 


March 1, 2017 


MEMORANDUM FOR: Gracia Szczech 

Regional Administrator, Region IV 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

~1M·~ 

FROM: 	 Thomas M. Salmon 

Assistant Inspector General 

Office of Emergency Management Oversight 

SUBJECT: 	 Aiken County, South Carolina, Effectively Managed 

FEMA Grant Funds Awardedfor Severe 2014 

Winter Storm 

Audit Report Number OIG-17-41-D 

We audited Public Assistance grant funds awarded to Aiken County, South 

Carolina (County). The County received a Public Assistance grant award of 

$33.6 million from the South Carolina Emergency Management Division (South 

Carolina), a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grantee, for 

damages resulting from a severe winter storm, which occurred in February 

2014.1 The award provided up to 85 percent FEMA funding for debris removal 

activities under FEMA's Debris Removal Pilot Program, and 75 percent FEMA 

funding for emergency protective measures. 2 The award consisted of nine large 

projects and one small project.3 We audited the nine large projects with awards 

totaling $33.6 million (see appendix A, table 1). At the time of our audit, the 

County had completed work on all projects in our audit scope and had 

submitted final expenditure claims to South Carolina for all projects. 

The award amount is the gross amount because the County's insurance policies did not cover 

debris removal and emergency protective measures project costs. 

2 The County elected to participate in FEMA's Alternative Procedures for Debris Removal pilot 

program authorized under the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of2013 (P.L. 113-2). Under 

this program, FEMA funded 85 percent of eligible debris removal costs incurred within 30 days 

of the incident period date, 80 percent for 31-90 days, and 75 percent for 91 or more days. 

3 Federal regulations in effect at the time of disaster set the large project threshold at $120,000 

[Notice of Adjustment of Disaster Grant Amounts, 79 Fed. Reg. 10685 (Feb. 26, 2014)]. 

1 www.oig.dhs.gov 	 OIG-17-41-D 

i 
 

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

Background 

During the period February 10–14, 2014, a severe winter storm system 

deposited ice on trees causing downed trees and limbs, and leaning trees and 

hanging branches (leaners and hangers) on public properties and rights-of-way 

throughout the County. 

Figure 1: Downed Tree Limbs Blocking Road 

Access in Aiken County, South Carolina

 Source: Aiken Standard Newspaper (www.aikenstandard.com) 

To remove storm-related debris, the County used a debris removal contractor 

that it hired from a competitive procurement process before the disaster. On 

February 24, 2014, the County hired a debris removal monitoring firm on an 

hourly basis (time-and-material contract) to monitor the storm debris removal 

activities. 

Upon completion of the debris removal work, the County claimed contracts 

costs totaling $33.3 million to South Carolina for work the two contractors 

performed. 

2 www.oig.dhs.gov OIG-17-41-D 
 

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

Results of Audit
 

For the projects we reviewed, the County effectively accounted for and 

expended FEMA Public Assistance grant funds according to Federal regulations 

and FEMA guidelines. County officials accounted for disaster expenditures on a 

project-by-project basis, procured contracts for disaster work appropriately, 

and maintained adequate documentation to support the costs. 

Discussion with Management and Audit Follow-up 

We discussed the results of our audit with the County, South Carolina, and 

FEMA officials during our audit. We also provided a draft report in advance to 

these officials and discussed it at the exit conference on December 12, 2016. 

Because the audit did not identify any issues requiring further action from 

FEMA, we consider this audit closed. 

The Office of Emergency Management Oversight major contributors to this 

report are David Kimble, Director; Felipe Pubillones, Audit Manager; 

Helen White, Auditor-in-Charge; and Calbert Flowers, Auditor. 

Please call me with any questions at (202) 254-4100, or your staff may contact 

David Kimble, Director, Eastern Regional Office - South, at (404) 832-6702. 

3 www.oig.dhs.gov OIG-17-41-D 
 

 

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

Appendix A 

Objective, Scope, and Methodology 

We audited Public Assistance funds awarded to the County, FIPS Code 

003-99003-00. Our audit objective was to determine whether the County 

accounted for and expended FEMA grant funds according to Federal 

regulations and FEMA guidelines for FEMA Disaster 4166-DR-SC. The County 

received a Public Assistance grant award of $33.6 million from South Carolina, 

a FEMA grantee, for damages resulting from a February 2014 severe winter 

storm. The award provided up to 85 percent FEMA funding for debris removal 

activities under FEMA’s Debris Removal Pilot Program, and 75 percent FEMA 

funding for emergency protective measures. The award consisted of nine large 

projects and one small project. 

We audited all nine large projects with awards totaling $33.6 million (see table 

1). The audit covered the period from February 10, 2014, to March 23, 2016, 

during which the County claimed $33.6 million for the nine projects in our 

scope. At the time of our audit, the County had completed work on the nine 

projects, and had submitted a final claim to South Carolina for all project 

expenditures. 

Table 1: Projects Audited 

Project 

Number 

FEMA 

Category 

of Work4 

Amount 

Awarded and 

Claimed 

262 A $ 1,976,495 

317 A 2,459,131 

329 A 8,909,357 

333 A 1,581,207 

344 A 12,628,968 

347 A 135,958 

365 A 995,936 

366 A 4,662,664 

377

Totals 

A 232,074 

$33,581,790

 Source: FEMA and County records, and 

Office of Inspector General (OIG) analysis 

To accomplish our objective, we interviewed County, South Carolina, and 

FEMA personnel; gained an understanding of the County’s method of 

4 FEMA classifies disaster-related work by type: debris removal (Category A), emergency 

protective measures (Category B), and permanent work (Categories C through G). 

4 www.oig.dhs.gov OIG-17-41-D 
 

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

Appendix A (continued) 

accounting for disaster-related costs and its procurement policies and 

procedures; judgmentally selected (generally based on dollar amounts) and 

reviewed project costs and procurement transactions for the projects in our 

audit scope; reviewed applicable Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines; and 

performed other procedures considered necessary to accomplish our audit 

objective. We did not perform a detailed assessment of the County’s internal 

controls applicable to its grant activities because it was not necessary to 

accomplish our audit objective. 

As part of our standard audit procedures, we also notified our Office of 

Information Technology Audits of contracts the County awarded under the 

grant that we reviewed to determine whether the contractors were debarred or 

whether there were any indications of other issues related to those contractors 

that would indicate fraud, waste, or abuse. As of the date of this report, the 

Office of Information Technology Audits’ analysis of contracts was ongoing. 

When it is complete, we will review the results and determine whether 

additional action is necessary. 

We conducted this performance audit between April and December 2016 

pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, and according to 

generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require 

that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to 

provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based upon our 

audit objective. We believe the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis 

for our findings and conclusions based upon our audit objective. To conduct 

this audit, we applied the statutes, regulations, and FEMA policies and 

guidelines in effect at the time of the disaster. 

5 www.oig.dhs.gov OIG-17-41-D 
 

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

Appendix B 

Report Distribution 

Department of Homeland Security 

Secretary 

Chief of Staff 

Chief Financial Officer 

Under Secretary for Management 

Chief Privacy Officer 

Audit Liaison, DHS 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

Administrator 

Chief of Staff 

Chief Financial Officer 

Chief Counsel 

Chief Procurement Officer 

Director, Risk Management and Compliance 

Audit Liaison, FEMA Region IV 

Audit Liaison, FEMA (Job Code G-15- 049) 

Audit Liaison, FEMA HQ 

Office of Management and Budget 

Chief, Homeland Security Branch 

DHS OIG Budget Examiner 

Congress 

Congressional Oversight and Appropriations Committees 

External 

County Administrator, Aiken County, South Carolina 

Finance Director, Aiken County, South Carolina 

Executive Director, South Carolina Emergency Management Agency 

State Auditor, South Carolina 

6 www.oig.dhs.gov OIG-17-41-D 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND COPIES 

To view this and any of our other reports, please visit our website at: www.oig.dhs.gov. 

For further information or questions, please contact Office of Inspector General Public Affairs 

at: DHS-OIG.OfficePublicAffairs@oig.dhs.gov. Follow us on Twitter at: @dhsoig. 

OIG HOTLINE 

To report fraud, waste, or abuse, visit our website at www.oig.dhs.gov and click on the red 

"Hotline" tab. If you cannot access our website, call our hotline at (800) 323-8603, fax our 

hotline at (202) 254-4297, or write to us at: 

Department of Homeland Security 

Office of Inspector General, Mail Stop 0305 

Attention: Hotline 

245 Murray Drive, SW 

Washington, DC 20528-0305