Nuclear Waste Cleanup: DOE Needs to Address Weaknesses in Program and Contractor Management at Los Alamos
Fast Facts
The Department of Energy's Environmental Management Site Office at Los Alamos is tasked with cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater, and shipping nuclear and hazardous waste to offsite disposal areas.
The site office recently drafted new program management documents, including an updated cost estimate for the work. But it hasn't taken a comprehensive approach to prioritizing cleanup activities at the site. For example, the site office hasn't documented different options it can take to meet cleanup goals and, therefore, can't be assured it is best prioritizing these activities.
We recommended that DOE address this and other issues.
Building Awaiting Demolition and Cleanup at Los Alamos, NM
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) site office at Los Alamos (EM-LA) has taken steps to establish elements of EM's Program Management Protocol, which contains requirements and expectations for planning, budgeting, executing, and evaluating all work within EM's program. As of March 2023, EM-LA officials said they had submitted program management documents for approval, including a life cycle cost estimate and risk management plan. However, EM-LA has not taken a comprehensive approach to prioritizing cleanup activities in a risk-informed manner. For example, EM-LA has not analyzed different options for achieving site cleanup objectives, as called for in GAO's risk-informed decision-making framework, including optimization analyses that could identify how to most efficiently meet cleanup milestones. Without a comprehensive framework for prioritizing cleanup activities, EM-LA cannot be assured that it is making optimal cleanup decisions.
Weaknesses in EM-LA's oversight of the Los Alamos contractor, which is responsible for the execution of cleanup activities at the site, have limited EM-LA's understanding of cleanup progress and costs. Specifically, the contractor did not meet deadlines to develop a final performance baseline and EM-LA did not use available mechanisms to compel compliance with this requirement. A performance baseline is a measure against which EM-LA can track ongoing cost, scope, and schedule progress. EM-LA officials said that part of the difficulty in developing a baseline was due to the many modifications needed after the contract was awarded. Nonetheless, the delay in finalizing a baseline had consequences, including preventing EM-LA from understanding how much of the work it contracted for in 2018 is complete and at what cost. Without an approved baseline going forward, EM-LA will not have the data it needs to track cleanup progress, which is crucial for effective contract management.
Example of Legacy Waste Cleanup at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Why GAO Did This Study
The federal government established the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1943 to conduct nuclear weapons research and development activities to support our nation's defense. Over the years, these activities have necessitated cleanup in three areas: (1) soil and groundwater remediation, (2) legacy waste removal, and (3) deactivation and decommissioning of contaminated facilities.
In 2014, DOE established EM-LA to clean up waste at Los Alamos. To help address cleanup challenges at Los Alamos and other sites, EM issued a Program Management Protocol in 2020.
The Senate committee report that accompanied a bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 includes a provision for GAO to, among other things, assess the status of cleanup at Los Alamos. This report examines issues including (1) the steps EM-LA has taken to implement EM's Program Management Protocol and (2) EM-LA's oversight of contractor performance. GAO reviewed EM-LA documents related to the Program Management Protocol and contractor oversight and interviewed EM and EM-LA officials.
Recommendations
GAO is making six recommendations, including that EM-LA adopt a comprehensive approach to prioritizing cleanup and ensure that contractors have an approved performance baseline. DOE generally concurred with the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Energy | The Secretary of Energy should direct the EM-LA Field Office Manager to work—in conjunction with the New Mexico Environment Department—with a third-party facilitator to improve the relationship and build trust. (Recommendation 1) |
In August 2024, EM-LA took some steps to improve its relationship with the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) by collaborating with NMED to select a team of experts to conduct an independent technical review of the hexavalent chromium groundwater plume at Los Alamos National Laboratory. While these actions partially address the broader recommendation that EM-LA work with a third-party facilitator to improve the relationship and build trust, more recent developments suggest several areas of continued disagreement or impasse. As of February 2026, NMED planned to fine DOE because chromium was detected in a monitoring well outside the lab's border in the groundwater of the San Ildefonso Pueblo in excess of state standards. In addition, after EM-LA deferred plans to clean up MDA-C (a legacy landfill), NMED did not concur with that determination. These actions suggest a continued divergence between EM-LA and NMED rather than increased trust and cooperation. We will continue to monitor the agency's progress toward implementing this recommendation.
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| Department of Energy | The Secretary of Energy should direct the Senior Advisor for the Office of Environmental Management to conduct a root cause analysis and develop and implement a corrective action plan to account for the increases in cost and schedule at EM-LA. (Recommendation 2) |
DOE indicated that it directed EM-LA to complete a sensitivity analysis of the remedies for the Material Disposal Areas (MDAs), which will be part of an update to the Federal Site Lifecycle Estimate (FSLE). As of February 2026, EM-LA reported that it is updating its draft FSLE to resubmission to EM for review and approval. The status of completion of the FSLE is unknown at this time as EM-LA suffered significant reduction in resources and are currently focused on mission critical activities.
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| Department of Energy |
Priority Rec.
The Secretary of Energy should direct the Senior Advisor for the Office of Environmental Management to develop guidance for its cleanup sites on how to incorporate GAO's essential elements of risk-informed decision-making when applying the prioritization schema referenced in EM's 2020 Program Management Protocol. (Recommendation 3) |
In April 2024, DOE reported that EM was drafting an implementation plan for its Program Management Protocol that will include detailed guidance on areas needing clarification, including prioritization. In July 2024, DOE told us that it expected the implementation plan to be completed by September 30, 2024. In April 2025, DOE told us that the anticipated completion date for an implementation plan is September 30, 2025. In February 2026, DOE reported that FSLEs are currently on hold. To fully implement our recommendation, EM should finalize guidance that informs cleanup sites on how to incorporate the essential elements of GAO's risk-informed decision-making when applying EM's prioritization schema. Doing so will help EM ensure that cleanup sites consistently use a risk-informed approach when making and documenting decisions.
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| Department of Energy | The Secretary of Energy should direct the EM-LA Field Office Manager to formalize and document the decision rules it uses and the analyses it conducts to prioritize cleanup actions, as it waits for EM to issue guidance on how to incorporate risk-informed decision-making when applying EM's prioritization schema. (Recommendation 4) |
In February 2026, DOE reported that while guidance to EM-LA is being developed, EM headquarters will work with EM-LA to document the decisions and bases for the prioritization of cleanup activities at the site. However, DOE indicated that the FSLEs are on hold and it took no actions on this recommendation in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026. DOE's revised expected completion date is September 30, 2027. We will continue to monitor this effort.
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| Department of Energy | The Secretary of Energy should direct the Senior Advisor for the Office of Environmental Management to ensure that EM-LA uses available mechanisms to incentivize timely approval of a final contractor performance baseline for the 3-year option period. (Recommendation 5) |
As of July 2024, DOE indicated that EM-LA approved a 3-year option period baseline. As of April 2026, we have requested additional documentation from the agency for recommendation closure consideration.
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| Department of Energy | The Secretary of Energy should direct the Senior Advisor for the Office of Environmental Management to track and report on the implementation and effectiveness of the recommendations from the July 2022 integrated project team review. (Recommendation 6) |
As of February 2026, DOE indicated it has closed this recommendation. We have requested information to support the implementation actions DOE said it has taken and will update as new information is received.
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