Hazardous Waste: Contractors Should Be Accountable for Environmental Performance
RCED-90-23
Published: Oct 30, 1989. Publicly Released: Nov 17, 1989.
Skip to Highlights
Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) and the Department of Defense's (DOD): (1) payment of contractors' penalties and associated legal costs for noncompliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); and (2) reductions of contractors' award fees when they failed to comply with environmental regulations.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Energy | To ensure that its contractors are held accountable for charged RCRA violations and resulting costs, the Secretary of Energy should, in consultation with appropriate congressional oversight committees, initiate a rulemaking to revise the current DOE policy and practice of paying for penalties, settlement agreements, and legal costs incurred by its contractors. Recognizing that there may be limited circumstances warranting such payment, the revised policy should include criteria that detail when such payments should or should not be allowed. |
On February 7, 1991, DOE issued an interim final rule that requires contractors to pay for their environmental penalties, settlement payments, and legal costs if they resulted from the contractors' actions or inactions.
|
| Department of Defense | To help maximize award-fee contractors' incentives to comply with environmental laws and regulations, the Secretaries of Defense and Energy should initiate a rulemaking to revise DOD and DOE regulations to require all award-fee contracts to include environmental performance as a distinct evaluation area. |
On March 27, 1990, DOD issued a policy memo that encouraged consideration of contractors' environmental performace in all award-fee determinations.
|
| Department of Energy | To help maximize award-fee contractors' incentives to comply with environmental laws and regulations, the Secretaries of Defense and Energy should initiate a rulemaking to revise DOD and DOE regulations to require all award-fee contracts to include environmental performance as a distinct evaluation area. |
On July 2, 1990, DOE issued a notice that required consideration of contractors' environmental performance in all award-fee determinations.
|
Full Report
Public Inquiries
Topics
Atomic energy defense activitiesContract performanceContractor paymentsCost plus award fee contractsEnvironmental monitoringFines (penalties)Hazardous substancesQuestionable paymentsEnvironmental performanceRegulatory noncompliance