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Open Recommendations (116 total)

Nuclear Waste Disposal: Better Planning Needed to Avoid Potential Disruptions at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

GAO-21-48
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management should identify and fully analyze what additional flexibilities could be used to address the staffing vacancies at CBFO. (Recommendation 1)
Open
As of June 2023, DOE has not yet implemented this recommendation. Specifically, DOE identified that EM re-established the Staffing Review Committee to monitor, track, and prioritize safety, technical, and key leadership vacancies and priority has been given to CBFO vacant positions along with other incentives to include reimbursement of relocation expenses and/or a recruitment incentive. However, EM reports that 23 positions at CBFO remain open.

Nuclear Waste: DOE Needs to Improve Transparency in Planning for Disposal of Certain Low-Level Waste

GAO-22-105636
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management should update the guidance and associated procedures DOE and contractors use to implement NEPA reviews to include qualityassurance steps on quantifying and reporting on uncertainty. (Recommendation 1)
Open
In January 2024, DOE officials told us they were evaluating existing guidance and requirements due to GAO's suggestions and to proposed changes to Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA Implementing Regulations. DOE plans to address the recommendation by March 31, 2024.

Low-Dose Radiation: Agency Leadership and Collaboration Are Needed to Set the Direction of Future Research

GAO-24-106317
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy If in the process of leading a collaborative effort, the Office of Science finds that it should share or hand over leadership to another agency, the Secretary of Energy should ensure that the Director of the Office of Science or other designee work with Congress to determine how best to meet DOE's statutory requirements under the Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act. (Recommendation 2)
Open
As of February 2024, DOE had no updates on the implementation status of the recommendation. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Payments in Lieu of Taxes: Revisions to DOE Order Could Provide Better Assurance That Payments Meet Goals

GAO-20-122
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should direct DOE's Office of the Chief Financial Officer to revise DOE's PILT order to require DOE site offices to review key determinants of PILT payments in communities' PILT invoices for accuracy and consistency with the agreed-upon bases of PILT payments and PILT goals and for DOE headquarters to document its review and validation of site office determinations. (Recommendation 2)
Open
In June 2023, according to DOE officials, DOE continues to work on updating its policies on PILT based on GAO's recommendations, which have received some internal approvals but is undergoing additional internal review. DOE did not provide an estimate of when these reviews would be completed. In addition, DOE provided a report to Congress on the PILT program in November 2022.

Electricity Grid Cybersecurity: DOE Needs to Ensure Its Plans Fully Address Risks to Distribution Systems

GAO-21-81
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy, in coordination with DHS, states, and industry, should more fully address risks to the grid's distribution systems from cyberattacks—including the potential impact of such attacks—in DOE's plans to implement the national cybersecurity strategy for the grid. (Recommendation 1)
Open
DOE agreed with our recommendation. In its response to our report, DOE stated that it has been engaged in two congressionally directed projects to better address risks to the grid's distribution systems, and that, in 2020, it issued new awards for the implementation of cybersecurity solutions on distribution systems. These efforts may help states and industry improve the cybersecurity of distribution systems, but to fully address our recommendation, DOE should more fully address risks to the grid's distribution systems from cyberattacks in its plans to implement the national cybersecurity strategy for the grid. As of December 2023, we continue to monitor DOE's progress to implement our recommendation.

Nuclear Security: DOE Should Take Actions to Fully Implement Insider Threat Program

GAO-23-105576
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Insider Threat Program senior official should work with DOE program offices and NNSA, in coordination with contracting officers, as appropriate, to ensure that contractors' specific Insider Threat Program responsibilities are clearly stated and consistently applied across the sites by, for example, reviewing and, if necessary, revising contract requirements to include responsibilities such as insider threat response actions. (Recommendation 5)
Open
As of April 2024, DOE plans to update and revise the existing DOE Order 470.5, Insider Threat Program, to include specific responsibilities for senior officials, program stakeholders, program offices, and other relevant activities. The revised DOE Order will provide direction for contractors through a Contractor Requirements Document, consistent with the structure of DOE's Directives program. DOE expects updates to the order by September 2024.

Nuclear Waste: DOE Should Take Actions to Improve Oversight of Cleanup Milestones

GAO-19-207
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Assistant Secretary of DOE's Office of Environmental Management should comply with the requirements in the National Defense Authorization Act by reporting annually to Congress on the status of its cleanup milestones and including a complete list of cleanup milestones for all sites required by the act. The annual reports should also include, for each milestone, the original date along with the currently negotiated date. (Recommendation 3)
Open
DOE agreed with the recommendation, but as of November 2022, DOE has not fully implemented the recommendation. DOE officials told us that they have collected data from each of the cleanup sites and are now evaluating the information after which DOE will be able to provide a standard report on milestones at each site. As of October 2023, we are following up with DOE and will update this recommendation when we receive additional information.

Financial Management: DOE and NNSA Have Opportunities to Improve Management of Carryover Balances

GAO-22-104541
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The DOE Chief Financial Officer should document DOE's and NNSA's percentage target thresholds to more clearly describe how the thresholds should be applied to uncosted balances and better define the purpose of the percentage targets to ensure that EM, NNSA, and other departmental elements apply the thresholds consistently. (Recommendation 1)
Open
DOE concurred with GAO's recommendation and established a working group tasked with providing the Office of the Chief Financial Officer options to address the recommendation. DOE estimated it would complete the department's response by March 2023. As of September 2023, actions proposed by the working group to address the recommendation are undergoing departmental review. When we confirm the final action taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Electricity Grid: DOE Could Better Support Industry Efforts to Ensure Adequate Transformer Reserves

GAO-23-106180
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should establish a plan, including time frames as appropriate, to guide the agency's efforts to develop solutions and support for addressing transformer supply chain challenges. (Recommendation 1)
Open
In September 2023, DOE officials told us that they are developing a plan with timelines that will guide agency efforts to address supply chain challenges. They stated that this plan would be completed by June 30, 2024.

Uranium Management: Actions to Mitigate Risks to Domestic Supply Chain Could Be Better Planned and Coordinated

GAO-21-28
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should ensure, particularly as operational details for the uranium reserve are clarified, that any future funding requests for the uranium reserve are based on cost estimates that have been thoroughly reviewed and deemed reasonable. (Recommendation 1)
Open
The Department of Energy (DOE) did not request any funding for the uranium reserve in its budget requests for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. DOE began implementing the reserve in the summer of 2022, including issuing a procurement solicitation. GAO will continue to track issues and developments related to the reserve, and monitor future DOE budget requests for any additional requested uranium reserve funding.
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