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Lawmakers press DCNR on Auditor General's audit of C2P2 grants and discretionary awards
Summary
Members questioned DCNR Secretary Cindy Dunn about a February 2025 Auditor General report that found some Community Conservation Partnership Program (C2P2) grants were awarded using discretionary authority rather than strictly competitive rankings; Dunn said 3.9% of grants in the audited period used discretionary authority, cited process improvements including eGrants and better documentation, and disputed portions of the audit's language while accepting the recommendations for improvement.
Members of the House Appropriations Committee questioned DCNR Secretary Cindy Dunn about findings in the Auditor General's February 2025 performance audit of the Community Conservation Partnership Program (C2P2).
Representative Frio asked why some grants were awarded outside the advertised competitive rankings. Secretary Dunn said the audit covered awards from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2023 and found that 3.9% of grants were awarded using discretionary authority permitted by DCNR's grant manual to accommodate emergencies, innovative projects, and special Commonwealth priorities. Dunn said the department views the C2P2 program as a national leader with a 30-year history and roughly 8,400 projects funded statewide.
On a question about accepting a late application in an ARPA-funded round, Dunn said the applicant was a first-time user of the department's eGrants portal and staff could see the application data but the applicant did not click the final submit button. She said the bureau director exercised discretionary authority to accept the late application under the grant manual and added that DCNR intends to implement the Auditor General's recommendation to provide clearer documentation when discretionary authority is used.
Dunn told the committee DCNR does not agree with all of the audit's findings or wording, and that the department will provide a formal response outlining areas of agreement and disagreement. She called audits an important tool and said DCNR plans additional reporting and full electronic grant implementation to improve oversight.
