Park Service:
Need to Address Key Management Problems That Plague the Concessions Program
T-RCED-00-136: Published: Jun 15, 2000. Publicly Released: Jun 15, 2000.
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the National Park Service's (NPS) concessions program, focusing on program management problems and options available to address them.
GAO noted that: (1) shortcomings in the agency's overall approach to managing the concessions program center on three areas: (a) the inadequate qualifications and training of the agency's concessions specialists and concessions contracting staff; (b) the agency's out-of-date practices in handling its contracting workload as well as its chronic backlog of expired contracts; and (c) a lack of accountability within the concessions program; (2) for the most part, these problems are long-standing and are consistent with similar concerns raised by the Department of the Interior, its Office of the Inspector General, and NPS concessions staff; (3) NPS has two principal options available for dealing with the problems identified in the management of the concessions program: (a) using better hiring and training practices to professionalize the workforce and thus obtain better business and contracting expertise; or (b) contracting for the needed business and contracting expertise; (4) these two options are not mutually exclusive in that the agency could contract for expertise in certain functions while developing the expertise in-house for other functions; (5) no matter which option--or combination of options--it selects, the agency needs to strengthen its accountability for and control of the program; and (6) unless this is done, the effectiveness of other changes to the program will likely be diminished.
Jan 22, 2021
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:
Information on the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability ProgramGAO-21-240R: Published: Jan 22, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 22, 2021.
Jan 19, 2021
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Chemical Assessments:
Annual EPA Survey Inconsistent with Leading Practices in Program ManagementGAO-21-156: Published: Dec 18, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 19, 2021.
Jan 15, 2021
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Environmental Liabilities:
NASA's Reported Financial Liabilities Have Grown, and Several Factors Contribute to Future UncertaintiesGAO-21-205: Published: Jan 15, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 15, 2021.
Jan 13, 2021
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Nuclear Waste:
Congressional Action Needed to Clarify a Disposal Option at West Valley Site in New YorkGAO-21-115: Published: Jan 13, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 13, 2021.
Jan 7, 2021
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Hanford Cleanup:
DOE's Efforts to Close Tank Farms Would Benefit from Clearer Legal Authorities and CommunicationGAO-21-73: Published: Jan 7, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 7, 2021.
Dec 18, 2020
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Drinking Water:
EPA Could Use Available Data to Better Identify Neighborhoods at Risk of Lead ExposureGAO-21-78: Published: Dec 18, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 18, 2020. -
Recycling:
Building on Existing Federal Efforts Could Help Address Cross-Cutting ChallengesGAO-21-87: Published: Dec 18, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 18, 2020.
Dec 9, 2020
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Environmental Protection:
Action Needed to Ensure EPA's Enforcement and Compliance Activities Support Its Strategic GoalsGAO-21-82: Published: Dec 9, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 9, 2020. -
Oil and Gas:
Onshore Competitive and Noncompetitive Lease RevenuesGAO-21-138: Published: Nov 19, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 9, 2020.
Dec 7, 2020
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Air Pollution:
Opportunities to Better Sustain and Modernize the National Air Quality Monitoring SystemGAO-21-38: Published: Nov 12, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 7, 2020.
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