Management Controls over Western Area Power Administration's Central Valley
Project Transmission Services, OAS-M-05-02
Project Transmission Services, OAS-M-05-02
Department of Energy Contractor Home Office Expenses
Our review of five contracts for national laboratories
and disclosed that the Department of Energy (Department)
agreed to provide fees, fixed payments, and/or
reimbursements for actual home office expenses that were
(1) potentially duplicative; (2) not adequately documented;
(3) improperly calculated; and/or (4) for specifically
unallowable items. For a home office expense to be
allowable it must be reasonable, allocable, conform to
limitations and exclusions set forth in the cost principles
and in the contract, and be adequately documented.
and disclosed that the Department of Energy (Department)
agreed to provide fees, fixed payments, and/or
reimbursements for actual home office expenses that were
(1) potentially duplicative; (2) not adequately documented;
(3) improperly calculated; and/or (4) for specifically
unallowable items. For a home office expense to be
allowable it must be reasonable, allocable, conform to
limitations and exclusions set forth in the cost principles
and in the contract, and be adequately documented.
Unauthorized Handguns on the Nevada Test Site
Within the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Nuclear
OBJECTIVES Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) Office of Secure
Transportation (OST) is responsible for providing the safe and
secure transport of nuclear weapons, special nuclear materials, and
weapons components between DOE production facilities and
Department of Defense facilities via surface and air modes of
transportation. OST uses the Department’s Nevada Test Site
(NTS), which is located near Las Vegas, Nevada, for various
training and related exercises. The NNSA’s Nevada Site Office is
responsible for the management of the NTS.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) received allegations from an
OST official related to the transport of handguns by OST-affiliated
personnel between Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Nevada, in
conjunction with a Joint Training Exercise involving OST that was
held at the NTS. One allegation involved two contractor employees
transporting privately owned and Government owned handguns on
board an NNSA flight from Albuquerque to Las Vegas in October
2003. We addressed this allegation in our report entitled
“Unauthorized Handguns on National Nuclear Security Administration
Aircraft” (DOE/IG-0654, July 2004).
OBJECTIVES Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) Office of Secure
Transportation (OST) is responsible for providing the safe and
secure transport of nuclear weapons, special nuclear materials, and
weapons components between DOE production facilities and
Department of Defense facilities via surface and air modes of
transportation. OST uses the Department’s Nevada Test Site
(NTS), which is located near Las Vegas, Nevada, for various
training and related exercises. The NNSA’s Nevada Site Office is
responsible for the management of the NTS.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) received allegations from an
OST official related to the transport of handguns by OST-affiliated
personnel between Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Nevada, in
conjunction with a Joint Training Exercise involving OST that was
held at the NTS. One allegation involved two contractor employees
transporting privately owned and Government owned handguns on
board an NNSA flight from Albuquerque to Las Vegas in October
2003. We addressed this allegation in our report entitled
“Unauthorized Handguns on National Nuclear Security Administration
Aircraft” (DOE/IG-0654, July 2004).
The Department’s Federal Purchase Card Program at Headquarters
Transuranic Waste Management at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos) has been involved
in the development, production, and maintenance of the Nation's
nuclear weapons stockpile for over six decades. Research,
development, and fabrication of weapons components produced a
massive quantity of waste material, including over 40,000 drums
of transuranic waste. This waste is composed primarily of
protective clothing, tools, equipment, and sludges contaminated
with manmade radioactive elements such as plutonium. Materials
contaminated with transuranic elements pose health and safety
risks that require storage and disposal in highly regulated facilities,
such as the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP).
in the development, production, and maintenance of the Nation's
nuclear weapons stockpile for over six decades. Research,
development, and fabrication of weapons components produced a
massive quantity of waste material, including over 40,000 drums
of transuranic waste. This waste is composed primarily of
protective clothing, tools, equipment, and sludges contaminated
with manmade radioactive elements such as plutonium. Materials
contaminated with transuranic elements pose health and safety
risks that require storage and disposal in highly regulated facilities,
such as the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP).
Department of Energy Efforts to Dispose of Hanford's Chemical Separation Facilities
The Hanford Site is home to five large canyon facilities that were
part of the Department's chemical separations process for many
years. Four of the five canyon facilities are no longer operational
and are awaiting disposition. Because of the nature of work
performed in these facilities, they are contaminated with mixed
wastes. A common method of dispositioning contaminated
facilities is to decontaminate them and either close them in place or
demolish them for disposal in a licensed disposal facility. The
ultimate disposal method is determined by completing a Remedial
Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) to identify the advantages
and risks for each alternative, selecting a preferred alternative, and
issuing a Record of Decision on the selected alternative.Î
part of the Department's chemical separations process for many
years. Four of the five canyon facilities are no longer operational
and are awaiting disposition. Because of the nature of work
performed in these facilities, they are contaminated with mixed
wastes. A common method of dispositioning contaminated
facilities is to decontaminate them and either close them in place or
demolish them for disposal in a licensed disposal facility. The
ultimate disposal method is determined by completing a Remedial
Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) to identify the advantages
and risks for each alternative, selecting a preferred alternative, and
issuing a Record of Decision on the selected alternative.Î