Office of Inspector General Reports on the Biosolids Program
EPA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) is an independent office within EPA that helps the Agency protect the environment in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. Learn more about EPA Office of Inspector General.
2018 OIG Report on the Biosolids Program
The Biosolids Program was evaluated by the OIG in 2018 to determine whether EPA has and implements controls over the land application of sewage sludge that are protective of human health and the environment.
EPA continues to support the use of biosolids for land application. Biosolids are an important resource for this country and EPA takes very seriously its statutory obligations to evaluate and regulate, where appropriate, contaminants in biosolids that may pose a risk to human health and the environment through discharges to waters subject to Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction. The presence of a pollutant in biosolids alone does not equate to scientific risk and EPA's Biosolids Program is working hard to prioritize its risk assessment work for known but not yet regulated pollutants found in biosolids.
EPA has created a table titled 2018 Final Resolved Office of Inspector General Recommendations, EPA Corrective Actions and Target Completion Dates. The table includes information not available in the final OIG report including the OIG’s revised recommendations and EPA’s updated corrective actions and target completion dates. As of April 2023, EPA has completed all of the Corrective Actions in the 2018 OIG Report.