Selected Aspects of the New Jersey Interagency Toxic Waste Investigations/Prosecutions Program

GAO reviewed three separate grants to be used in the New Jersey Interagency Toxic Waste Investigations/Prosecution Program and a program for white collar crime investigations. The review covered program operations by New Jersey's Division of Criminal Justice and focused on three separate areas of program operations: (1) financial controls, (2) the development of toxic waste training programs for regulatory and investigative personnel, and (3) the establishment of laboratory services at the State level. GAO analyzed and accounted for the expenditures of the grant funds by reviewing Federal and State expenditures, salary and equipment expenditures, purchase orders, invoices, applicable reporting schedules, and interviewing officials responsible for administering the funds. GAO found that adequate records were maintained for each of the grants, personnel costs were supported for the staff assigned to the program, and equipment purchases were supported by invoices. The Division of Criminal Justice was to assume responsibility for hiring, equipping and training personnel to investigate toxic waste violations, training local police officials, and informing the general public of the environmental dangers of toxic waste disposal. GAO could not determine the total expenditures for training. The majority of investigators with law enforcement experience lacked the experience for investigation of toxic waste cases, and training programs for participating agencies have been held and are scheduled. Contrary to a grant objective, toxic waste sampling and analytical capability have not been established in the State medical examiner's office. The two technical staff members who were paid from grant funds were not utilized in toxic analysis work. Toxic analysis service was obtained primarily from private laboratories. Officials of the State medical examiner's office advised GAO that to have used their equipment for toxic sampling analysis would have contaminated it for use in forensic analysis work.