Energy and Environmental Protection Office of Consumer Counsel Connecticut Siting Council for the Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 2012, 2013 and 2014
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STATE OF CONNECTICUT AUDITORS’ REPORT DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION OFFICE OF CONSUMER COUNSEL CONNECTICUT SITING COUNCIL FOR THE FISCAL YEARS ENDED JUNE 30, 2012, 2013 AND 2014 AUDITORS OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS JOHN C. GERAGOSIAN ROBERT M. WARD Table Of Contents Auditors’ report ......................................................................................................................... 1 COMMENTS ............................................................................................................................ 2 FOREWORD ........................................................................................................................ 2 Significant New Legislation .............................................................................................. 4 RÉSUMÉ OF OPERATIONS ............................................................................................... 5 GENERAL FUND ................................................................................................................ 5 SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS ............................................................................................. 6 Federal and Other Restricted Accounts Fund .................................................................... 6 Consumer Counsel/DPUC Fund........................................................................................ 7 Grants to Local Governments and Others Fund ................................................................ 8 ENTERPRISE FUND – CLEAN WATER FUND ............................................................... 8 CAPITAL AND NON-CAPITAL PROJECTS FUNDS ...................................................... 9 TRUST FUNDS .................................................................................................................... 9 OFFICE OF CONSUMER COUNSEL .............................................................................. 10 CONNECTICUT SITING COUNCIL ................................................................................ 10 STATE AUDITORS’ FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS....................................... 12 Other matters–emergency response and spill prevention division ...................................... 12 Reporting Deficiencies – GAAP Financial Data and Statutorily-required Reports ........ 15 Payments not Conforming with Statutory Provisions ..................................................... 17 Segregation of Duties over Payroll and Personnel .......................................................... 19 Monitoring Personnel Actions History ............................................................................ 20 Sick and Compensatory Time Errors .............................................................................. 21 Monitoring of Periodic Financial Reporting for Grants .................................................. 22 Trust Funds Administered by DEEP ............................................................................... 23 Expenditures Processing .................................................................................................. 25 Deficiencies in Inventory Reporting and Internal Controls ............................................ 27 Organizations Supporting DEEP ..................................................................................... 28 Home Garaging of State Vehicles ................................................................................... 29 Ground Water Permitting Revenues Sacrificed .............................................................. 30 Internal Controls over Facility Admission and Parking Revenues ................................. 32 Collection and Reporting of Emergency Spill Costs ....................................................... 33 Nuclear Safety Preparedness Account ............................................................................. 35 Inaccurate PURA Assessment Calculations .................................................................... 36 Internal Controls over Inventory of Firearms .................................................................. 37 RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................................ 39 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................... 47 STATE OF CONNECTICUT AUDITORS OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS State Capitol JOHN C. GERAGOSIAN 210 Capitol Avenue ROBERT M. WARD Hartford, Connecticut 06106-1559 September 27, 2016 AUDITORS’ REPORT DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FOR THE FISCAL YEARS ENDED JUNE 30, 2012, 2013 AND 2014 We have audited certain operations of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC), and the Connecticut Siting Council (CSC) in fulfillment of our duties under Section 2-90 of the Connecticut General Statutes. The scope of our audit included, but was not necessarily limited to, the fiscal years ended June 30, 2012, 2013, and 2014. The objectives of our audit were to: 1. Evaluate the department’s internal controls over significant management and financial functions; 2. Evaluate the department’s compliance with policies and procedures internal to the department or promulgated by other state agencies, as well as certain legal provisions; and 3. Evaluate the economy and efficiency of certain management practices and operations, including certain financial transactions. Our methodology included reviewing written policies and procedures, financial records, minutes of meetings, and other pertinent documents; interviewing various personnel of the department, as well as certain external parties; and testing selected transactions. We obtained an understanding of internal controls that we deemed significant within the context of the audit objectives and assessed whether such controls have been properly designed and placed in operation. We tested certain of those controls to obtain evidence regarding the effectiveness of their design and operation. We also obtained an understanding of legal provisions that are significant within the context of the audit objectives, and we assessed the risk that illegal acts, including fraud, and violations of contracts, grant agreements, or other legal provisions could occur. Based on that risk assessment, we designed and performed procedures to provide reasonable assurance of detecting instances of noncompliance significant to those provisions. 1 Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Office of Consumer Counsel, Connecticut Siting Council, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Auditors of Public Accounts We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards applicable to performance audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. Those standards require that we plan and perform our audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides such a basis. The accompanying Résumé of Operations is presented for informational purposes. This information was obtained from the department’s management and was not subjected to the procedures applied in our audit of the department. For the areas audited, we identified (1) deficiencies in internal controls; (2) apparent noncompliance with legal provisions; and (3) the need for improvement in management practices and procedures that we deemed to be reportable. The State Auditors’ Findings and Recommendations in the accompanying report presents any findings arising from our audit of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Office of Consumer Counsel and the Connecticut Siting Council. COMMENTS FOREWORD The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) operates under the provisions of Titles 15, 16, 16a, 22a, 23, 25 and 26 of the General Statutes. DEEP was created by Public Act 11-80, effective July 1, 2011, and brings together the former Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Public Utility Control, along with the energy policy group from the Office of Policy and Management. DEEP has jurisdiction over all matters relating to the preservation and protection of the air, water and other natural resources of the State of Connecticut. The principal areas of operation, stated in terms of broad purpose, are as follows: conservation of land and water resources, parks and recreation, fish and wildlife, water resource management, solid waste management, air and water pollution, geological survey, and energy efficiency. Robert J. Klee was appointed commissioner in January 2014 and continues to serve in that capacity. He succeeded Daniel C. Esty as commissioner. The major divisions within DEEP are Energy, Environmental Conservation, and Environmental Quality. The Energy Division includes the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), which reviews utility rates, and the Bureau of Energy and Technology Policy (BETP), which develops energy efficiency, infrastructure and alternative power programs. The Environmental Conservation Division is concerned primarily with our natural resources represented by open spaces and underdeveloped land areas; fish life; streams and coastal areas; and state-owned parks and forests. The Environmental Quality Division maintains and improves the quality of the air, land, and water resources of the state by preventing pollution or mismanagement thereof