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Recommendations Database

GAO’s recommendations database contains report recommendations that still need to be addressed. GAO’s priority recommendations are those that we believe warrant priority attention. We sent letters to the heads of key departments and agencies, urging them to continue focusing on these issues. Below you can search only priority recommendations, or search all recommendations.

Our recommendations help congressional and agency leaders prepare for appropriations and oversight activities, as well as help improve government operations. Moreover, when implemented, some of our priority recommendations can save large amounts of money, help Congress make decisions on major issues, and substantially improve or transform major government programs or agencies, among other benefits.

As of October 25, 2020, there are 4812 open recommendations, of which 473 are priority recommendations. Recommendations remain open until they are designated as Closed-implemented or Closed-not implemented.

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Subject Term: "Energy development"

4 publications with a total of 8 open recommendations including 1 priority recommendation
Download these results in CSV format or XLSX format.
Tribal Energy: Opportunities Exist to Increase Federal Agencies' Use of the Tribal Preference Authority
GAO-19-359, Apr 19, 2019
Director: Frank Rusco
Phone: (202) 512-3841

1 open recommendations
Display
Recommendation: To the extent that Congress wants to further encourage federal agencies to use tribal energy sources, it should consider amending the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to provide more specific direction to federal agencies for implementing the tribal energy preference, to include consideration of additional incentives or requirements to use these energy sources. (Matter for Consideration 1)

Agency: Congress
Status: Open

Comments: We will provide updated information when we confirm what steps Congress has taken related to this matter.
Indian Energy Development: Additional Actions by Federal Agencies Are Needed to Overcome Factors Hindering Development
GAO-17-43, Nov 10, 2016
Director: Rusco, Franklin W
Phone: (202) 512-3841

4 open recommendations
Display
Recommendation: The Secretary of Energy should designate a career senior-level federal government employee to serve as co-chair of the White House Council on Native American Affairs' Energy Subgroup.

Agency: Department of Energy
Status: Open

Comments: In June 2013, an executive order established the White House Council on Native American Affairs. However, the Council did not convene under the current Presidential administration until mid-2020. We will follow-up with DOE in fiscal year 2021 regarding this recommendation.
Recommendation: The Secretary of the Interior, as Chair of the White House Council on Native American Affairs, should direct the co-chairs of the Council's Energy Subgroup to establish formal agreements with all agencies identified for inclusion in the Subgroup to encourage participation.

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: In June 2013, an executive order established the White House Council on Native American Affairs. The Tribal Energy Subgroup's efforts were to focus on creating a coordinated effort among the federal agencies to promote energy and energy infrastructure development in Indian Country. The Council convened under the current administration in mid-2020. We believe Interior should still pursue this collaboration and agreements with these agencies and will monitor the agency's progress.
Recommendation: The Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to incorporate effective workforce planning standards by assessing critical skills and competencies needed to fulfill BIA's responsibilities related to energy development and by identifying potential gaps.

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: In September 2019 BIA officials stated that they had begun to identify the critical skills and competencies necessary for select Indian energy-related occupations. BIA officials told us that, once complete, agency officials will be able to use the catalog of necessary skills and competencies to identify training needs for existing staff. To fully implement this recommendation, BIA needs to 1) assess the critical skills and competencies needed to fulfill BIA's responsibility related to energy development and 2) identify potential gaps. As of January 2020, BIA is in the early stages of identifying necessary skills and competencies, and BIA officials told us that they expect to complete the catalog of skills and competencies by the end of fiscal year 2020.
Recommendation: The Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to establish a documented process for assessing BIA's workforce composition at agency offices taking into account BIA's mission, goals, and tribal priorities.

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: Our recommendation was based on our findings that the workforce composition of agency offices is not regularly reviewed to provide reasonable assurance that it is consistent with BIA's mission and individual tribes' priorities and goals. In December 2019, BIA officials told us that they were in the early stages of developing a process to regularly assess workforce composition at agency offices. BIA officials said that they drafted a data collection tool to collect workforce composition information, and that BIA would be developing a system to collect and analyze the data on an annual basis. According to BIA officials, BIA intends to use the workforce composition data to identify BIA's staffing needs and inform BIA budget requests. BIA officials said that they aim to complete the documented process for assessing workforce composition by the end of February 2020.
Indian Energy Development: Interior Could Do More to Improve Its Process for Approving Revenue-Sharing Agreements
GAO-16-553, Jun 13, 2016
Director: Frank Rusco
Phone: (202) 512-3841

1 open recommendations
Display
Recommendation: The Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and, as appropriate, the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to establish required time frames for the review and approval of Indian CAs to ensure a more timely CA process.

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: In a meeting in December 2019, the Indian Energy and Minerals Steering Committee (IEMSC) members agreed that BIA should complete the review and approval of Indian communitization agreements (CA) within 120 days. This 120 days includes the requirement that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) complete its review in 30 days and that this review occurs concurrently. IEMSC is a committee within Interior that includes senior managers from BIA, BLM, and other agencies with a focus on Indian trust energy and mineral policies and issues. To fully implement this recommendation, BIA should formally establish required time frames for the review and approval of CA, such as including the time frames in its Onshore Energy and Mineral Lease Management Interagency Standard Operating Procedures. We will continue to monitor BIA's response to this recommendation.
Indian Energy Development: Poor Management by BIA Has Hindered Energy Development on Indian Lands
GAO-15-502, Jun 8, 2015
Director: Frank Rusco
Phone: (202) 512-3841

2 open recommendations
including 1 priority recommendation
Display
Recommendation: To improve the efficiency and transparency of its review process, the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Director of the Office of the Indian Energy and Economic Development, as appropriate, to develop a documented process to track its review and response times.

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: Interior agreed with this recommendation. The agency has taken initial steps by developing system enhancements to document the submittal date of energy-related documents. According to BIA officials, there is not yet a process for tracking and reporting on timeframes. To fully implement this recommendation, BIA needs to develop plans and procedures for management to gather information on agency response times for monitoring and assessment.
Recommendation: To ensure the tribal energy development capacity (TEDC) grant program is effective in moving tribes closer to developing the capacity needed to pursue TERAs, the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Director of the Office of the Indian Energy and Economic Development, as appropriate, to develop a documented process for evaluating the effectiveness of TEDC grants.

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development's Division of Energy and Mineral Development sent surveys to tribal stakeholders on the effectiveness of TEDC grants. However, as of January 2020, Indian Affairs does not have a documented process for evaluating the effectiveness of TEDC grants.