FINDING # 2022-001 SPECIAL TESTS AND PROVISIONS- ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS TESTING AND REMEDIATION ? MATERIAL WEAKNESS PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING (ALN # 14.850) CONTRACT #: NOT AVAILABLE FEDERAL AGENCY: PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT 1. CRITERIA Special Tests and Provisions - Environmental Contaminants Testing and Remediation As stated in the April 2022 Compliance Supplement, Public Housing must be decent, safe, sanitary, and in good repair. Public Housing Authority?s (PHA) must maintain such housing in a manner that meets the physical condition standards set forth in 24 CFR section 5.703 in order to be considered decent, safe, sanitary, and in good repair. Those standards address the major areas of the public housing: the site; the building exterior; the building systems; the dwelling units; the common areas; and health and safety considerations. Health and safety considerations require that all areas and components of the housing must be free of health and safety hazards. These areas include, but are not limited to, air quality, electrical hazards, elevators, emergency/fire exits, flammable materials, garbage and debris, handrail hazards, infestation, and lead-based paint. The housing must have no evidence of infestation by rats, mice, or other vermin, or of garbage and debris. The housing must have no evidence of electrical hazards, natural hazards, or fire hazards. The dwelling units and common areas must have proper ventilation and be free of mold, odor (e.g., propane, natural gas, methane gas), or other indoor air hazards such as radon. The housing must comply with all requirements related to the evaluation and reduction of lead-based paint hazards and have available proper certifications of such (see 24 CFR Part 35). For the period under audit, the PHA is required to test for and remediate environmental contaminates including but not limited to lead-based paint, radon gas, and mold to ensure that public housing met the physical condition standards for health and safety considerations set forth in 24 CFR section 5.703. 2. CONDITION/PERSPECTIVE The New York City Housing Authority (the ?Authority?) performs environmental contaminates testing and remediation including but not limited to Lead-based paint, Mold, Pest Control, Elevators, Heating and Annual Apartment Inspections. To track compliance with the Agreement executed on January 31, 2019 by and among the Authority, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (?HUD?) and the U.S. Attorney?s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and The City Of New York (the ?HUD Agreement?), the Authority maintains monthly inspection reports for the various inspections performed and provides that information to HUD, the SDNY and the Federal Monitor appointed under the HUD Agreement. Deloitte obtained the bi-annual lead-based paint compliance reports from the Authority and for the Period from February 2022 through July 2022 and August 2022 through December, 2022, we read extermination, heat outage, mold inspections, annual apartment inspections, and elevator outage reports for the months of February 2022; April 2022; July 2022; September 2022 and November 2022.. During our audit, we noted that the Authority did not complete all corrective actions in the 2022 audit period and is in the process of addressing these issues. 3. CAUSE Some environmental contaminates were not remediated in the 2022 audit period. 4. EFFECT The Public and Indian Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) may consider the Authority non-compliant with the HUD Grant Agreement and withhold or reduce future Federal funding. Notably, HUD has signed a settlement agreement due to environmental health and safety issues on NYCHA properties and NYCHA is in the process of implementing the terms of the settlement agreement. 5. REPEAT FINDING YES During our 2022 audit, we made additional selections and noted that the Authority did not complete all corrective actions in the 2022 audit period. 6. RECOMMENDATION We recommend that the Authority continue to ensure that all environmental contaminates are properly remediated during the audit period through the HUD Agreement. 7. QUESTIONED COST None. 8. VIEWS OF RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL In January 2019, the Authority entered into the HUD Agreement to address building conditions, including conditions related to lead-based paint, mold, pests, elevators, and heating. Among other things, the HUD Agreement appointed a federal Monitor and established three new Departments ? Compliance, Environmental Health & Safety, and Quality Assurance. It also required the promulgation of action plans around these health and safety issues and other items. These action plans are publicly available at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nycha/about/reports.page, along with other reports on health and safety issues, which detail the Authority?s efforts to inspect for and correct deficiencies associated with environmental contaminants like lead-based paint and mold. The Authority plans to continue to work to address these health and safety issues, and to work towards meeting the multi-year obligations laid out in the HUD agreement in addition to the action plans. NYCHA has recorded $3,808,843,000 of pollution remediation obligations as of December 31, 2022, which relates to costs to inspect for and correct deficiencies associated with environmental contaminants.