Nuclear Waste Cleanup: DOE Needs to Improve Contractor Oversight at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
Fast Facts
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is the nation's only facility for disposal of certain defense-related nuclear waste. It's expected to operate until the 2080s, but much of its important infrastructure is decades old and needs to be repaired or replaced.
The Department of Energy tracks the condition of its nuclear waste disposal infrastructure. Its contractor runs the facility's operations. DOE doesn't have fully accurate data or clear ways to encourage and evaluate the contractor's long-term planning. Such planning is key for the extensive infrastructure repairs and replacements needed.
Our recommendations address these issues.
Contractors Refurbishing the Salt Handling Shaft at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico in 2024
Highlights
Why This Matters
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is the nation’s only geologic repository for disposing of certain nuclear waste from defense-related activities, such as contaminated soil. The Department of Energy (DOE) expects the site to operate until the 2080s. However, much of the infrastructure is in degraded condition, increasing risks of failure and impacting WIPP’s waste disposal mission.
GAO Key Takeaways
DOE commissioned a survey in 2016 that identified over $37 million in deferred maintenance costs for WIPP’s site infrastructure—including buildings, electrical substations, hoists, and other assets. Some infrastructure has been refurbished or replaced since then. However, our analysis shows 29 of 56 assets that are essential to the mission were in substandard or inadequate condition in 2023 (the most recent data at the time of our review).
WIPP’s contractor handles daily maintenance, refurbishment, and replacement of infrastructure. The contractor also maintains data about the condition and deficiencies of site infrastructure. DOE uses the data to make decisions about assets. DOE has repeatedly identified issues with the data, including unreliable values, but has not ensured that the contractor develops timelines to correct those issues.
DOE evaluates the contractor’s performance annually and approves long-term plans for infrastructure management. However, DOE has not consistently incentivized the contractor to develop and execute long-term plans. Accurate data and clear long-term management plans would help DOE plan, prioritize, and fund critical maintenance for WIPP’s infrastructure and reduce costly emergency refurbishment of assets critical to nuclear waste disposal.
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, New Mexico
How GAO Did This Study
We visited WIPP in 2024. We analyzed data and documents and interviewed officials from DOE and from the contractor. We compared this information against DOE’s requirements for data maintenance and reporting and for contractor oversight.
Recommendations
We made three recommendations to DOE to improve data collection and ensure that the site contractor is meeting long-term site infrastructure planning requirements. DOE concurred with our recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Energy | The Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management should direct Carlsbad Field Office site officials to ensure that the M&O contractor establishes and documents timelines to correct identified data validation issues in FIMS. (Recommendation 1) |
In January 2026, DOE officials told us that Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) site officials will continue to ensure the Management and Operating (M&O) contractor establishes timelines to correct identified validation issues in the Facilities Information Management System (FIMS) and demonstrates improvement in the quality of the FIMS data as contractor expectation(s) within the FY26 Performance Evaluation Management Plan (PEMP). The FY26 PEMP was issued on September 30, 2025. DOE concurred with this recommendation and is expected to complete it by December 31, 2026.
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| Department of Energy | The Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management should monitor whether recent improvements in data collection at WIPP allow the site to accurately capture FIMS asset-level annual required maintenance costs, as required in DOE Order 430.1C. (Recommendation 2) |
In January 2026, DOE told us that Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) has made recent improvements to monitoring data collection at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) as it relates to the annually required maintenance costs in FIMS. The monitoring of these improvements is currently underway and is being accomplished by a number of activities, such as the review, feedback, and approval of the WIPP M&O contractor's Quarterly Maintenance Report in FIMS by CBFO and the Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center. Any concerns or discrepancies are immediately reported to the CBFO Federal Project Director. CBFO also participates in monitoring and oversight activities, such as site infrastructure physical field observations and informal independent FIMS database inspections. DOE concurred with this recommendation and is expected to complete it by December 31, 2026.
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| Department of Energy | The Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management should ensure the Carlsbad Field Office consistently uses available oversight tools, such as the performance evaluation and measurement plan and performance evaluation process, to incentivize the WIPP M&O contractor to satisfy all contractual long-term site infrastructure planning requirements. (Recommendation 3) |
In January 2026, DOE told us that Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) currently uses and will continue to use available oversight tools, such as the PEMP and the Contractor Monthly Project Reports (MPR), to incentivize the WIPP M&O contractor to satisfy all contractual long-term site infrastructure planning requirements. For FY26, CBFO included updates to the PEMP that provide appropriate focus on contract performance relating to long-term planning for site infrastructure needs. DOE concurred with this recommendation and is expected to complete it by December 31, 2026.
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