The following is a list of the oversight results by the Office of Inspector General regarding The Department's programs, grants, and projects funded under the Recovery Act.
The Department of Energy's Program to Assist Federal Buyers in the Purchasing of Energy Efficient Products
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was enacted to stimulate the U.S. economy, create jobs and make infrastructure investments in energy and other areas. The Department of Energy's (Department) Advanced Battery and Hybrid Components Program (Program) received almost $2 billion to support the construction of U.S. based manufacturing plants to produce batteries and electric drive components. While the Department had funded some vehicle battery research in the past, this Program adds a new manufacturing component that the Department must administer. The Program is managed by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE) Vehicle Technologies Program and is being implemented and monitored primarily by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). As of March 17, 2010, NETL had made 20 grant awards from the 30 selections made from its Advanced Batteries and Hybrid Components Funding Announcement. The 20 awards represent almost $1.7 billion of the planned $2 billion allotted to the Program.
Progress in Implementing the Advanced Batteries and Hybrid Components Program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
The Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project (Moab Project) is located at
a former uranium-ore processing facility near Moab, Utah on the west bank of the
Colorado River. In 2005, the Department of Energy (Department) issued a Record of
Decision to relocate, by rail, approximately 16 million tons of uranium mill tailings from
that location to a disposal site 30 miles away in Crescent Junction, Utah. In June 2008,
the Department awarded a $92 million contract, with approximately $6 million in
available fee, to EnergySolutions to construct the necessary infrastructure, upgrade the
rail lines, and begin the transportation of mill tailings to Crescent Junction. Under the
terms of the contract, EnergySolutions was required to relocate about 2.5 million tons of
tailings by the end of Fiscal Year 2011. In April 2009, EnergySolutions completed the
first shipment of tailings to Crescent Junction.
a former uranium-ore processing facility near Moab, Utah on the west bank of the
Colorado River. In 2005, the Department of Energy (Department) issued a Record of
Decision to relocate, by rail, approximately 16 million tons of uranium mill tailings from
that location to a disposal site 30 miles away in Crescent Junction, Utah. In June 2008,
the Department awarded a $92 million contract, with approximately $6 million in
available fee, to EnergySolutions to construct the necessary infrastructure, upgrade the
rail lines, and begin the transportation of mill tailings to Crescent Junction. Under the
terms of the contract, EnergySolutions was required to relocate about 2.5 million tons of
tailings by the end of Fiscal Year 2011. In April 2009, EnergySolutions completed the
first shipment of tailings to Crescent Junction.
Audit of Moab Mill Tailings Cleanup Project
The NuMI Off-Axis electron neutrino (ve) Appearance (NOvA) experiment is a neutrino physics research project conducted by the Office of Science's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). The goal of the NOvA experiment is to advance the understanding of neutrino particles.
Fermilab, in coordination with the University of Minnesota (University), must complete an accelerator and detector system needed for the experiment. Fermilab is upgrading its accelerator complex to increase beam power and constructing a 220 ton "Near Detector" that will monitor the neutrino beam as it leaves Fermilab. The University is responsible for constructing a detector hall and fabricating components for the 14,000 ton "Far Detector," near Ash River, Minnesota, 503 miles away.
Fermilab, in coordination with the University of Minnesota (University), must complete an accelerator and detector system needed for the experiment. Fermilab is upgrading its accelerator complex to increase beam power and constructing a 220 ton "Near Detector" that will monitor the neutrino beam as it leaves Fermilab. The University is responsible for constructing a detector hall and fabricating components for the 14,000 ton "Far Detector," near Ash River, Minnesota, 503 miles away.
Audit of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory's NOvA Project
The Administration and the Congress, through policy statements and passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), have signaled that they hope that proactive actions by agency Inspectors General will help ensure that Federal Recovery Act activities are transparent, effective and efficient. In that context, the purpose of this management alert is to share with you concerns that have been raised to the Office of Inspector General
regarding the planned disposition of the Savannah River Site's (SRS) inventory of Depleted Uranium (DU) oxides. This inventory, generated as a by-product of the nuclear weapons production process and amounting to approximately 15,600 drums of DU oxides, has been stored at SRS for decades. A Department source we deem reliable and credible recently came to the Office of Inspector General expressing concern that imminent actions are planned that may not provide for the most cost effective disposition of these materials. During April 2009, the Department chose to use funds provided under the Recovery Act to
accelerate final disposition of the SRS inventory of DU oxides. After coordination with State of Utah regulators, elected officials and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department initiated a campaign to ship the material to a facility operated by Energy Solutions in Clive, Utah.
Although one shipment of a portion of the material has already been sent to the Energy Solutions facility, the majority of the product remains at SRS. As had been planned, both for the shipment already made and those planned in the near term, the Energy Solutions facility was to have been the final disposal location for the material.
regarding the planned disposition of the Savannah River Site's (SRS) inventory of Depleted Uranium (DU) oxides. This inventory, generated as a by-product of the nuclear weapons production process and amounting to approximately 15,600 drums of DU oxides, has been stored at SRS for decades. A Department source we deem reliable and credible recently came to the Office of Inspector General expressing concern that imminent actions are planned that may not provide for the most cost effective disposition of these materials. During April 2009, the Department chose to use funds provided under the Recovery Act to
accelerate final disposition of the SRS inventory of DU oxides. After coordination with State of Utah regulators, elected officials and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department initiated a campaign to ship the material to a facility operated by Energy Solutions in Clive, Utah.
Although one shipment of a portion of the material has already been sent to the Energy Solutions facility, the majority of the product remains at SRS. As had been planned, both for the shipment already made and those planned in the near term, the Energy Solutions facility was to have been the final disposal location for the material.
Management Alert on Environmental Management's Select Strategy for Disposition of Savannah River Site Depleted Uranium Oxides
The Department of Energy's Management of the NSLS-II Project