United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2004-01-13 monographic deposited born digital 57 p. GA 1.13:GAO-04-340R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-340R P0b002ee18037f704 f:d04340r DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-340R machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-340R GAO-04-340R Erroneous payments Federal funds Funds management Internal controls Noncompliance Oil pollution Pollution monitoring Records management Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund Correspondence A09112

The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (Fund) is a $1 billion fund that has two major components: the Emergency Fund and the Principal Fund. The Emergency Fund is used for paying for federal removal actions and the initiation of natural resource damage assessments by designated federal, state, or Indian tribe officials, resulting from oil spills or the substantial threat of oil spills to the waters or shorelines of the United States. The Principal Fund is used for paying certain claims for uncompensated removal costs and damages resulting from oil spills or the substantial threat of oil spills to the waters or shorelines of the United States. The Fund is administered by the National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC) of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). In May 2002, we issued a legal opinion related to the uses and limitations of the Fund and concluded that the Fund is not available to pay employee salaries and other operating expenses. The USCG reported that from fiscal years 1998 through 2002, $32.8 million from the Fund was used to pay costs associated with processing claims, including salaries and other operating expenses. In April 2003, the USCG returned the $32.8 million to the Fund. In light of our conclusion regarding the appropriate use of these funds, Congress asked that we review the control over disbursements from the Fund and assess the propriety of these disbursements. We reviewed disbursements for operating expenses and removal costs to determine whether (1) the design of existing internal control provided reasonable assurance that improper payments would not occur or would be detected in the normal course of business, (2) they were made in accordance with established USCG and NPFC policies and procedures, and (3) they were made in accordance with the uses specified in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and other federal laws and regulations, and represented a proper use of government funds. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-340R/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-340R.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-340R/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-340R.pdf GAO-04-340R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-340R Correspondence GAO-04-340R; U.S. Coast Guard National Pollution Funds Center: Improvements Are Needed in Internal Control Over Disbursements; Erroneous payments Federal funds Funds management Internal controls Noncompliance Oil pollution Pollution monitoring Records management Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund Title 5 Section 5703 5 U.S.C. 5703 Title 31 Section 1345 31 U.S.C. 1345 Volume 104 Page 484 104 Stat. 484