NASHVILLE (AP) — An audit of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation found data management was such a mess that auditors were unable to determine whether the department was adequately addressing environmental safety concerns.

The department's Bureau of Environment is the state's primary environmental regulatory agency. The audit by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury found the bureau's five divisions store information in any of 161 different places, including paper files.

The audit states, "Without more centralized control over data, the bureau cannot effectively manage its environmental programs."

The department concurred with the finding. It stated that it is already working with a vendor to improve one aspect of data management. But it also noted creating a better computer system "will require significant financial resources and time."