Skip to main content

Department of the Interior

Jump To:

Recent Reports

View More Reports

Open Recommendations (59 total)

Tribal Transportation: Better Data Could Improve Road Management and Inform Indian Student Attendance Strategies

GAO-17-423
Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Interior To improve the DMR, the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs to develop and maintain documentation supporting the unit costs of maintenance used to estimate maintenance needs.
Open
As of March 2024, GAO requested an updated from BIA regarding the status of its efforts to implement this recommendation. When BIA responds to our request, GAO will provide updated information.

Alaska Land Management: Resolving Ownership of Submerged Lands

GAO-23-106235
Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior should ensure that the Directors of BLM, FWS, and NPS coordinate with the Chief of the Forest Service to secure an independent third-party facilitator to help agencies within the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture and the State of Alaska work toward agreement on a collaborative approach for the management of submerged lands in Alaska while ownership is being resolved. (Recommendation 1)
Open
In January 2024, Interior stated that it concurs with GAO's recommendation and that the Directors of BLM, FWS, and NPS within Interior will coordinate with the Chief of the Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture to obtain the assistance of an independent third-party facilitator by a target date of July 31, 2024.

Offshore Oil and Gas: Interior Needs to Improve Decommissioning Enforcement and Mitigate Related Risks

GAO-24-106229
Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior should ensure the BOEM Director completes planned actions to further develop, finalize, and fully implement changes to financial assurance regulations and procedures that reduce financial risks, including by (1) requiring higher levels of supplemental bonding, and (2) addressing other known weaknesses. (Recommendation 3)
Open
Interior agreed with this recommendation and finalized BOEM's financial assurance rule in April 2024. We will continue to monitor the agency's actions to implement the final rule and provide updated information when available.

Tribal Transportation: Better Data Could Improve Road Management and Inform Indian Student Attendance Strategies

GAO-17-423
Show
2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Interior To improve the DMR, the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs to develop a process for more complete and accurate reporting occurring under existing authority of Road Maintenance Program funds expended for performed maintenance on BIA roads.
Open
As of March 2024, GAO requested an updated from BIA regarding the status of its efforts to implement this recommendation. When BIA responds to our request, GAO will provide updated information.
Department of the Interior To best align resources allocation decisions to needs, the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs to review the formula to fund transportation at BIE schools and determine, with BIA and tribal stakeholders, what adjustments, such as distinguishing between gravel and paved roads, are needed to better reflect transportation costs for schools.
Open
As of April 2024, the Department of Interior has not taken any steps to address this recommendation. Previously, Interior reiterated that the agency did not concur with the recommendation and did not plan to take action to implement it. The agency had previously conducted listening sessions with Tribes to gauge interest in reviewing and adjusting the funding formula. According to Interior, due to more pressing priorities, Tribes did not express interest during these listening sessions in engaging in the resource-intensive negotiated rulemaking process that would be needed to change the funding formula. As a result, Interior indicated that it has no plans to undertake a rulemaking process with Tribes to review and adjust the formula. GAO continues to believe that adjusting the formula to better reflect transportation costs would help to best align resource allocation decisions to needs. However, GAO recognizes that despite Interior's attempts to engage on this issue, Tribes' other priorities have tempered their interest in undertaking the rulemaking process that would be needed to make modifications to the funding formula.

Southwest Border: Additional Actions Needed to Address Cultural and Natural Resource Impacts from Barrier Construction

GAO-23-105443
Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior should document, jointly with CBP, a strategy to mitigate cultural and natural resource impacts from border barrier construction that defines agency roles and responsibilities for undertaking specific mitigation actions; identifies the costs, associated funding sources, and time frames necessary to implement them; and specifies when agencies are to consult with Tribes. (Recommendation 2)
Open
Interior agreed with this recommendation. We will update the status of the recommendation when we received additional information from the agency.

Offshore Oil and Gas: Interior Needs to Improve Decommissioning Enforcement and Mitigate Related Risks

GAO-24-106229
Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior should ensure the BOEM Director completes planned actions to assess and revise qualification procedures to address decommissioning capacity and compliance history in consultation with BSEE, such as through qualification and disqualification criteria or fitness to operate standards. (Recommendation 4)
Open
Interior agreed with this recommendation. BOEM posted in the fall 2023 regulatory agenda a target of September 2024 for publication of a proposed rule. As of April 2024, we will continue to review the agency's actions to implement these plans and provide updated information when available.

Federal Chief Information Officers: Critical Actions Needed to Address Shortcomings and Challenges in Implementing Responsibilities

GAO-18-93
Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior should ensure that the department's IT management policies address the role of the CIO for key responsibilities in the five areas we identified. (Recommendation 12)
Open
The department indicated that it has work underway to address this recommendation, which it originally planned to complete in June 2021. As of March 2024, the department has taken some steps to implement this recommendation. Specifically, of the 17 responsibility gaps identified in the report, the agency addressed two responsibilities, partially addressed three of the responsibilities, and has not addressed 10 of them. Two of the responsibilities are no longer applicable due to a sunset provision in the law. We will continue to monitor the steps the agency takes to address these requirements.

Freely Associated States: Agencies Should Enhance Procedures to Address Millions of Dollars in Questionable Spending

GAO-23-106160
Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior should take appropriate action, such as dedicating adequate staffing resources, to ensure that management decisions for questioned costs identified in single audits for FSM, RMI, and Palau are issued within the required timeframe. (Recommendation 2)
Open
Department of the Interior concurred with our recommendation

Oil and Gas Pipelines: Agencies Should Improve Oversight of Decommissioning

GAO-24-106444
Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Interior The Director of BLM should develop a documented plan to ensure the agency collects and maintains the data necessary to oversee the decommissioning of gathering lines. (Recommendation 1)
Open
Interior agreed with this recommendation. We will update the status of the recommendation when we have more information.
View More Recommendations

Related Pages