UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
OFFICE OF
INSPECTOR GENERAL
September 13, 2022
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: Notification:
Inquiry into Jackson, Mississippi, Drinking Water Emergency
FROM: Nicole N. Murley, Acting Deputy Inspector General
TO: Daniel Blackman, Regional Administrator
Region 4
The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is initiating an inquiry into
the drinking water emergency in Jackson, Mississippi. This inquiry will include interviews, data gathering,
and analysis of compliance with regulations, policies, and procedures for, among other things, overseeing
the city’s water system and administering the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds.
As we conduct our inquiry, we may contact individuals associated with the Region 4 Water Division and
the Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division, as well as individuals associated with the State of
Mississippi and the City of Jackson.
We respectfully note that the OIG is authorized by the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, to have
timely access to personnel and all materials necessary to complete its objectives. Similarly, EPA Manual
6500, Functions and Activities of the Office of Inspector General, dated 1994, requires that each EPA
employee cooperate with and fully disclose information to the OIG. Administrator Michael S. Regan, in
an April 28, 2021, email message to EPA employees, conveyed his “expectation that EPA personnel
provide OIG timely access to records or other information” and observed that “full cooperation with the
OIG is in the best interest of the public we serve.” We will request that you immediately resolve the
situation if an Agency employee or contractor refuses to provide requested materials to the OIG or
otherwise fails to cooperate with the OIG. We may report unresolved access matters to the administrator
and include the incident in the Semiannual Report to Congress.
We will post this memorandum on our public website at www.epa.gov/oig. Anyone with knowledge of
potential fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct, or mismanagement related to this inquiry should contact the
Office of Inspector General's hotline at (888) 546-8740 or via an electronic form at OIG Hotline.
Questions about this topic should be directed to the OIG’s public affairs office at (202) 566-2391.
cc: Janet McCabe, Deputy Administrator
Dan Utech, Chief of Staff, Office of the Administrator
Jon Monger, Associate Deputy Administrator
Wesley J. Carpenter, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Administrator
Radhika Fox, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water
Fred Thompson, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 4
Lasha Geter, Audit Follow-Up Coordinator, Region 4
Susan Perkins, Agency Follow-Up Coordinator
Andrew LeBlanc, Agency Follow-Up Coordinator
José Kercado, Backup Agency Follow-Up Coordinator
Lindsay Hamilton, Associate Administrator for Public Affairs
Lance McCluney, Director, Office of Administrative and Executive Services, Office of
the Administrator
Regional Audit Follow-Up Coordinators, Regions 1–10
Sean W. O’Donnell, Inspector General
Benjamin May, Counsel to the Inspector General
Kellie J. Walker, Chief of Staff, Office of Inspector General
Katherine Trimble, Assistant Inspector General for Audit
Paul H. Bergstrand, Assistant Inspector General for Special Review and Evaluation
Jason Abend, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations
Tom Collick, Deputy Counsel to the Inspector General
Erin Barnes-Weaver, Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Evaluation
James Hatfield, Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Audit
Susan Barvenik, Associate Deputy Counsel to the Inspector General
Jennifer Kaplan, Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Congressional and Public Affairs
Lori Hoffman, Congressional and Media Liaison, Office of Inspector General
