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Open Recommendations

Nuclear Waste Cleanup: Changes Needed to Ensure DOE Is Not Prematurely Excluding Less Expensive Options for Large Projects
GAO-26-108193
Jul 02, 2026
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Assistant Secretary for EM should ensure that the mission need for future large projects does not identify a particular solution and is revised as necessary before approval so that EM initiates projects that are open to a broad range of potential solutions. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Energy The Assistant Secretary for EM should incorporate independent experts outside of DOE into the mission need review stage for future large projects subject to the critical decision process, or the investigation stage for CERCLA cleanups with a high likelihood of resulting in a large capital asset project, to ensure that EM is not limiting potential solutions due to legal and regulatory constraints, influence from contractors, or existing projects. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Energy Security: Congress and DOE Need a Unified Plan to Align Priorities and Investments for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
GAO-26-106918
Jun 26, 2026
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7 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Congress To the extent that Congress wants additional and more timely information to inform its oversight of the SPR, Congress should consider mandating a timeline and requirements for DOE to complete periodic long-term plans for the SPR. (Matter for Consideration 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Congress To the extent that Congress wants to limit further SPR size decreases or avoid operational inefficiencies, including strain on aging infrastructure during ongoing capital projects, Congress should consider temporarily limiting non-emergency sales—such as by further canceling or delaying mandated sales or temporarily limiting drawdown authorities except in case of emergencies. (Matter for Consideration 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Congress To the extent that Congress wants to prioritize sustaining the SPR's operational capability, it should consider authorizing a funding mechanism that aligns with long-term plans to facilitate DOE's cost-effective management of investments to maintain the SPR—such as budget authority for DOE to collect and retain a portion of the revenues from any sales or leased assets for the purpose of covering ongoing or periodic costs. (Matter for Consideration 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Energy The SPR Project Management Office in coordination with the Office of Petroleum Reserves should assess lessons learned from the 2022 drawdown—including on the SPR's effective operational capability and limitations—and incorporate those lessons into any long-term plans or capability assessments. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Energy The SPR Project Management Office in coordination with the Office of Petroleum Reserves should assess lessons learned from the LE2 project—including on scoping, staffing, and contractor oversight—and incorporate those lessons into any long-term or more immediate action plans for further infrastructure projects. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Energy The Office of Petroleum Reserves in coordination with the SPR Project Management Office should assess the need to update the SPR's technical and performance criteria and revise them as deemed appropriate. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Department of Energy: Action Needed to Approve Advanced Test Reactor Spent Fuel Plan
GAO-26-107969
May 07, 2026
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should direct the Office of Nuclear Energy senior leadership, in coordination with the Office of Environmental Management, to complete its evaluation of the Idaho Operations Office's research and test reactor spent fuel storage facility reconfiguration plan to enable continued storage and management of ATR spent fuel after 2030 without an interruption to ATR operations. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Nuclear Waste Cleanup: Better Data and Project Prioritization Vital to Managing Aging Infrastructure and Communicating Needs
GAO-26-107957
May 05, 2026
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of Environmental Management The Assistant Secretary for EM should ensure sites create and complete corrective action plans to correct data validation issues identified in the FIMS validation scorecard process. (Recommendation 1)
Open
DOE agreed with the recommendation and said the Office of Environmental Management will coordinate with its field offices to create and track the status of corrective action plans. DOE expects to complete this update by the end of 2026. We will follow up with DOE after it has taken action.
Office of Environmental Management The Assistant Secretary for EM should ensure EM sites have procedures to accurately and comparably capture deferred maintenance and annual actual maintenance FIMS data elements, as required in DOE Order 430.1C. (Recommendation 2)
Open
DOE agreed with the recommendation and said the Office of Environmental Management will coordinate with its field sites to review current procedures for real property reporting requirements and propose changes as needed. DOE expects to complete this update by the end of 2026. We will follow up with DOE after it has taken action.
Office of Environmental Management The Assistant Secretary for EM should better incorporate more reliable information from EM sites in the Master Asset Plan, such as site project prioritization decisions for infrastructure maintenance projects, to better reflect site maintenance needs. (Recommendation 3)
Open
DOE partially agreed with the recommendation and said the Office of Environmental Management will evaluate current reporting requirements for the Master Asset Plan. EM stated in its comments that the plan does not prioritize EM-wide funding needs or provide direction to the sites. We recognize this and note that it is intended to communicate site prioritization decisions. Given the differences we found in the data between the Master Asset Plan and sites' integrated priority lists, as well as site officials' views that few to none of the maintenance needs are reflected in the Master Asset Plan, more reliable information is needed for the plan to function as intended. We will follow up with DOE after it has taken action.
Office of Environmental Management The Assistant Secretary for EM should communicate to Congress the reductions in cost and risk to mission that can be achieved by specific projects identified by their prioritization model. (Recommendation 4)
Open
DOE partially agreed with the recommendation and said the Office of Environmental Management will issue a memo to the sites to emphasize the importance of including additional information to support funding requests. The Master Asset Plan includes a project prioritization model that generates recommendations for how EM could utilize small increases in funding to make significant differences in reducing risks. A model that shows how to save millions of dollars while reducing risk is a powerful tool, but EM will not realize the goal of its model--to maximize the expected return from a limited budget--if it does not inform those who can help EM achieve its goal. We will follow up with DOE after it has taken action.
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