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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: "Federal lands"

10 publications with a total of 32 open recommendations

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Federal Oil and Gas Revenue: Actions Needed to Improve BLM's Royalty Relief Policy
GAO-21-169T, Oct 6, 2020

Director: Frank Rusco
Phone: (202) 512-3841

2 open recommendations

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Oil and Gas Permitting: Actions Needed to Improve BLM's Review Process and Data System
GAO-20-329, Mar 30, 2020

Director: Frank Rusco
Phone: (202) 512-3841

3 open recommendations

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Recommendation: The Acting Director of BLM should develop a documented process to consistently implement the APD prioritization process outlined in Instruction Memorandum 2013-104 at all field offices. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of the Interior, on behalf of BLM, did not concur with this recommendation. As of August 2020, BLM has not taken steps to address this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Acting Director of BLM should instruct agency staff to document formal change management processes for the rollout of future AFMSS II modules consistent with leading software development practices. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of the Interior, on behalf of BLM, did not concur with this recommendation--although, it did state that it agreed with the premise of the need to further improve its formal change management procedures. As of August 2020, BLM has not taken actions to address this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Acting Director of BLM should document and implement an action plan that identifies potential corrective actions based on previous lessons learned to address any challenges with the rollout of future AFMSS II modules. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of the Interior, on behalf of BLM, agreed with this recommendation. In its agency comment letter, the Department said that the BLM AFMSS team would implement adjustments and improvement based on the collected lessons learned. They also stated that upon completion of the last Field Office implementation and conversion to AFMSS II, BLM will conduct a formal program review and an annual operational assessment, which will also present opportunities for annual corrective actions and additional lessons learned considerations. As of August 2020, BLM has not taken actions to address this recommendation.

Federal Land Management Agencies: Additional Actions Needed to Address Facility Security Assessment Requirements
GAO-19-643, Sep 25, 2019

Director: Anne-Marie Fennell
Phone: (202) 512-3841

5 open recommendations

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Recommendation: The Director of BLM should develop a plan to conduct all required facility security assessments agency-wide, taking into consideration the agency's organizational structure, available resources, and training needs. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management
Status: Open

Comments: BLM agreed with our recommendation and stated it intends to revise its policy and develop a plan to complete required facility security assessments. As of November 2019, BLM had not yet completed its plan.

Recommendation: The Director of the Park Service should develop a plan to conduct all required facility security assessments agency-wide, taking into consideration the agency's organizational structure, available resources, and training needs. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of the Interior: National Park Service
Status: Open

Comments: Park Service agreed with our recommendation and cited its efforts to develop a plan that includes training and tools so that park unit staff can conduct the required assessments. As of November 2019, Park Service had not yet completed its plan.

Recommendation: The Director of the Park Service should update the agency's facility security assessment methodology to comply with requirements in the ISC Standard, including a step to consider the consequence of each undesirable event. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of the Interior: National Park Service
Status: Open

Comments: Park Service agreed with our recommendation to update its facility security assessment methodology to comply with requirements in the ISC Standard. As of November 2019, Park Service had not yet updated its methodology.

Recommendation: The Director of BLM should develop a facility security assessment methodology that complies with requirements in the ISC Standard to assess all undesirable events and consider all three factors of risk for each undesirable event. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management
Status: Open

Comments: BLM agreed with our recommendation and said it would revise its policy and develop a facility security assessment methodology that complies with requirements in the ISC Standard. As of November 2019, BLM had not yet developed its methodology.

Recommendation: The Director of FWS should develop a facility security assessment methodology that complies with requirements in the ISC Standard to assess all undesirable events and consider all three factors of risk for each undesirable event. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Department of the Interior: United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Status: Open

Comments: FWS agreed with our recommendation and cited its efforts to develop a facility security assessment methodology that complies with requirements in the ISC Standard. As of November 2019, FWS had not yet developed its methodology.

Oil and Gas: Bureau of Land Management Should Address Risks from Insufficient Bonds to Reclaim Wells
GAO-19-615, Sep 18, 2019

Director: Frank Rusco
Phone: (202) 512-3841

2 open recommendations

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Federal Oil and Gas Royalties: Additional Actions Could Improve ONRR's Ability to Assess Its Royalty Collection Efforts
GAO-19-410, May 31, 2019

Director: Rusco, Franklin W
Phone: (202) 512-3841

7 open recommendations

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Recommendation: The Director of ONRR should establish an accuracy goal (e.g., identifying the number of companies or percentage of royalties subject to compliance activities over a set period of time) that aligns with the agency's mission of collecting, accounting for, and verifying royalty payments. In doing so, ONRR should track the extent to which each compliance activity (audits, compliance reviews, and data mining) contributes toward achieving this goal. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Status: Open

Comments: In August 2020, ONRR officials stated they were on track towards implementing the recommendation by December 31, 2021.

Recommendation: The Director of ONRR should develop a documented case selection process that includes procedures for how to select all compliance cases. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Status: Open

Comments: In August 2020, ONRR officials stated they were on track towards implementing the recommendation by April 30, 2021.

Recommendation: The Director of ONRR should develop performance measures (e.g., having a specified percentage of compliance cases identify findings of royalty noncompliance or total additional royalties) that assess whether the cases the agency is selecting are helping it achieve its compliance goals. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Status: Open

Comments: In August 2020, ONRR officials stated they were on track towards implementing the recommendation by December 31, 2022.

Recommendation: The Director of ONRR should periodically analyze whether the risk model is effectively identifying potential royalty noncompliance and whether the model's results are being effectively used to assist in case selection, and should use this analysis to make changes to the model (e.g., updating it) or develop a new model. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Status: Open

Comments: In August 2020, ONRR officials stated they were on track towards implementing the recommendation by June 30, 2021.

Recommendation: The Director of ONRR should include requirements in ONRR's agreements with State and Tribal Royalty Audit Committee (STRAC) members to develop a documented case selection process, including procedures for how to select compliance cases and how to document which factors were considered in selection decisions. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Status: Open

Comments: In August 2020, ONRR officials stated they were on track towards implementing the recommendation by November 30, 2020.

Recommendation: The Director of ONRR should require STRAC members to describe in their annual work plans how their compliance activities would align with ONRR's current compliance goals. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Status: Open

Comments: In August 2020, ONRR officials stated they were on track towards implementing the recommendation by November 30, 2020.

Recommendation: The Director of ONRR should track the performance of the compliance work of each state STRAC member and the contribution that each state makes to ONRR's compliance goals. (Recommendation 7)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Status: Open

Comments: In August 2020, ONRR officials stated they were on track towards implementing the recommendation by March 31, 2021.

Federal Timber Sales: Forest Service and BLM Should Review Their Regulations and Policies Related to Timber Export and Substitution
GAO-18-593, Aug 15, 2018

Director: Anne-Marie Fennell
Phone: (202) 512-3841

4 open recommendations

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Recommendation: The Chief of the Forest Service should determine whether new regulations governing timber export and substitution are appropriate. If the agency determines new regulations are appropriate, it should issue them in accordance with the 1997 act, in consultation with BLM. Otherwise, the agency should seek legislative relief from the act's requirement. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Agriculture: Forest Service
Status: Open

Comments: In its May 15, 2020 correspondence, the Forest Service stated that it is putting together a Corrective Action Plan for addressing the recommendation. It expects leadership review of the plan to be completed in June 2020.

Recommendation: The Director of the BLM should determine whether new regulations governing timber export and substitution are appropriate. If the agency determines new regulations are appropriate, it should issue them in accordance with the 1997 act, in consultation with the Forest Service. Otherwise, the agency should seek legislative relief from the act's requirement. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management
Status: Open

Comments: In its April 9, 2020 correspondence, BLM stated that a proposed rule continues to be reviewed by Departmental officials. BLM identified December 31, 2020 as a new target date for completing this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Chief of the Forest Service should review agency policies for continued relevance and effectiveness in addressing the risk of illegal timber export and substitution, and based on that review--and in accordance with applicable regulations--should issue new policies as necessary. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Agriculture: Forest Service
Status: Open

Comments: In its May 15, 2020 correspondence, the Forest Service stated that it is putting together a Corrective Action Plan for addressing the recommendation. It expects leadership review of the plan to be completed in June 2020.

Recommendation: The Director of the BLM should review agency policies for continued relevance and effectiveness in addressing the risk of illegal timber export and substitution, and based on that review--and in accordance with applicable regulations--should issue new policies as necessary. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management
Status: Open

Comments: In its April 9, 2020 correspondence, BLM stated that any action to address this recommendation is contingent upon the completion of Recommendation #2. Once BLM's response to that recommendation is completed, the agency will address this recommendation.

Oil and Gas Lease Management: BLM Could Improve Oversight of Lease Suspensions with Better Data and Monitoring Procedures
GAO-18-411, Jun 4, 2018

Director: Frank Rusco
Phone: (202) 512-3841

1 open recommendations

Display

Oil and Gas Wells: Bureau of Land Management Needs to Improve Its Data and Oversight of Its Potential Liabilities
GAO-18-250, May 16, 2018

Director: Frank Rusco
Phone: (202) 512-3841

2 open recommendations

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Recommendation: The Director of BLM should systematically and comprehensively track the actual costs BLM incurs when reclaiming orphaned wells and the information, including the number of orphaned wells and inactive wells over time, necessary to determine the agency's potential liabilities. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management
Status: Open

Comments: BLM concurred with this recommendation and, in July 2019, the agency developed a new funding code to track the costs incurred when reclaiming orphaned wells and issued written guidance to state and field offices in order to implement the bureau-wide use of the code. Also in July 2019, BLM officials stated that the agency will expand existing reporting capabilities to provide the ability to track orphaned and inactive well records over time. As of September 2020, we are working to confirm what actions BLM has taken to track the number of orphaned and inactive wells over time, and we will provide updated information when we obtain it.

Recommendation: The Director of BLM should develop a resource management plan addressing resources needed for conducting well and bond adequacy reviews and reclaiming orphaned wells. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management
Status: Open

Comments: BLM officials stated that the agency conducts annual work planning processes which facilitates the decisions regarding the allocation of agency resources. In July 2019, BLM included additional language in its annual work plan that underscores the importance and relevance of well and bond adequacy reviews. The agency also developed a new fund code to track the actual reclamation costs incurred from reclaiming orphaned wells. The annual work plan also lists identifying and cataloging orphaned wells as a performance goal and the plan states that BLM is working with state regulatory agencies to plug wells within funding levels and state agreements. However, as of September 2020, absent identification of funds needed to reclaim orphaned wells and where those funds will come from, BLM does not have a plan to reclaim wells that are currently orphaned.

Unauthorized Grazing: Actions Needed to Improve Tracking and Deterrence Efforts
GAO-16-559, Jul 7, 2016

Director: Anne-Marie Fennell
Phone: (202) 512-3841

4 open recommendations

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Recommendation: To improve the effectiveness of BLM's efforts to track and deter unauthorized grazing, the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director of BLM to amend the regulations on unauthorized grazing use--43 C.F.R. Subpart 4150 (2005)--to establish a procedure for the informal resolution of violations at the local level, or follow the existing regulations by sending a notice of unauthorized use for each potential violation as provided by 43 C.F.R. 4150.2(a) (2005).

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: As of April 2020, BLM is reviewing comments from the Department of the Interior's Office of the Solicitor on the revised grazing handbook. In addition, BLM will need to develop and roll-out a communication strategy and plan. Therefore, the recommendations will not be fully implemented until December 31, 2020.

Recommendation: To improve the effectiveness of BLM's efforts to track and deter unauthorized grazing, the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director of BLM to record all incidents of unauthorized grazing, including those resolved informally.

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: As of April 2020, BLM is reviewing comments from the Department of the Interior's Office of the Solicitor on the revised grazing handbook. In addition, BLM will need to develop and roll-out a communication strategy and plan. Therefore, the recommendations will not be fully implemented until December 31, 2020.

Recommendation: To improve the effectiveness of BLM's efforts to track and deter unauthorized grazing, the Secretary of the Interior should direct the Director of BLM to revise the agency's Unauthorized Grazing Use Handbook to make it consistent with 43 C.F.R. pt. 4100 (2005).

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: As of April 2020, BLM is reviewing comments from the Department of the Interior's Office of the Solicitor on the revised grazing handbook. In addition, BLM will need to develop and roll-out a communication strategy and plan. Therefore, the recommendations will not be fully implemented until December 31, 2020.

Recommendation: To improve the effectiveness of the Forest Service's efforts to track and deter unauthorized grazing, the Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Chief of the Forest Service to adopt an unauthorized grazing penalty structure that is based, similar to BLM's, on the current commercial value of forage.

Agency: Department of Agriculture
Status: Open

Comments: As of July 2020, Washington Office staff are finalizing directive revisions affecting the change in the excess and unauthorized use fee structure and preparing them for tribal consultation. It is anticipated that the 120-day tribal consultation period will begin concurrent with the publication in the Federal Register of a 60-day notice and comment period for the revised directives. It is expected that the revisions would be ready to be implemented prior to the beginning of the 2021 grazing fee year that begins March 1, 2021.

Oil and Gas: Interior Could Do More to Account for and Manage Natural Gas Emissions
GAO-16-607, Jul 7, 2016

Director: Frank Rusco
Phone: (202) 512-3841

2 open recommendations

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Recommendation: To help improve reporting of emissions data on the OGOR, the Secretary of the Interior should direct BLM to provide additional guidance on how to estimate natural gas emissions from federal oil and gas leases.

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: In November 2018, BLM's "Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation; Rescission or Revision of Certain Requirements" rule (43 C.F.R. 3179.301) took effect, revising the 2016 rule. According to BLM in July 2020, the revision satisfies the intent of the recommendation because the rule specifies the acceptable means of estimation or measurement of vented or flared gas. The rule says the operator may estimate or measure vented gas in accordance with applicable state or tribal regulatory agency rules or regulations, estimate using the gas to oil ratio (GOR) test (which, during GAO's review, some BLM officials said was not accurate), or to "measure" the volume of the flared gas. We do not believe the revised rule provides sufficient additional specificity on how natural gas emissions should be estimated by operators.

Recommendation: To help improve reporting of emissions data on the OGOR, the Secretary of the Interior should direct ONRR to provide additional guidance on how to differentiate between combusted and noncombusted lease use volumes reported on the OGOR, which could assist Interior in measuring its progress toward greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: In July 2020, ONRR reported that it developed and implemented two disposition codes--one for the royalty-bearing flaring of gas and another for the royalty-bearing venting of gas volumes. ONRR did not develop additional disposition codes because, according to BLM, other disposition codes would not be required due to BLM's 2018 revision of the methane rule. However, we do not believe the measurement provisions in the revised methane rule contain any specific provisions requiring reporting for combusted and non-combusted lease use gas. Gas could be used on lease in pneumatic valves, which is released into the atmosphere as methane; or combusted to power up generators, where it's released as carbon dioxide. Knowing whether the emissions are in the form of methane or carbon dioxide is critical to helping Interior accurately estimate greenhouse gas emissions.