Report Summary
Minnesota Department of Agriculture: Incentives and Grants for
Renewable Energy and Renewable Chemicals Programs
Performance Audit
| Financial Audit Division |
August 2024 |
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture generally complied with
significant finance-related legal requirements for its Bioincentive
Program and its Biofuels Infrastructure Grant Program (BIP). We
identified some noncompliance and internal control weaknesses in the
department’s administration of BIP. The list of findings below and the
full report provide more information about these concerns.
Finding 1
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture paid grantees for costs
not associated with the purchase or installation of qualified
equipment, costs not specified in the budgets, and equipment
ordered prior to contract start dates. (p. 24)
Recommendations
-
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture should only make payments
to grantees for eligible expenses and require grantees to submit
updated budgets for any anticipated changes.
-
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture should reclaim $18,894
from grantees for costs not associated with the purchase or
installation of qualified equipment.
-
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture should ensure staff follow
the Department of Administration’s Office of Grants Management
policies and its own policies while administering grants. In
addition, managers should review the work of their staff to ensure
compliance with these policies.
Finding 2
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture did not obtain all
required progress reports and issued payments to grantees with
past-due reports. Furthermore, the submitted progress reports
lacked sufficient details on project progress. (p. 26)
Recommendations
-
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture should require that
grantees submit progress reports annually and that the reports
include sufficient details on project progress.
-
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture should not make payments
to grantees with past-due progress reports.
