Audit: DOE-OIG-25-37

September 29, 2025

Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC’s Statement of Costs Incurred and Claimed for Fiscal Year 2020 Under Contract No. DE-EM0001971

The Office of Inspector General initiated this audit to evaluate $334,425,291 of costs claimed by Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC (NWP) from October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2020.

NWP managed and operated the Office of Environmental Management’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant under a contract with the Department of Energy from October 1, 2012, through February 3, 2023. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant was built to safely dispose of the nation’s defense-related transuranic radioactive waste. 

Specifically, our audit objective was to determine if costs charged to Department Contract No. 

DE-EM0001971 during fiscal year 2020 were allowable, allocable, and reasonable, in accordance with contract terms, applicable laws, and regulations.

We identified three material noncompliances and internal control deficiencies. We questioned nearly $7 million of costs claimed by NWP in its Statement of Costs Incurred and Claimed for fiscal year 2020. We questioned proposed labor and procurement costs due to unsupported bonus costs, executive compensation over the approved compensation limits, lobbying and procurement costs that exceeded subcontract ceilings. The internal control deficiencies were related to NWP’s accounting for unallowable costs and inadequate oversight of labor costs, invoice reviews, and various procurement processes.

To address the issues identified in this report, we made five recommendations that, if fully implemented, should help ensure that costs charged to the Department are allowable, allocable, and reasonable, in accordance with contract terms. Further, we recommend that the contracting officer work with NWP to resolve nearly $7 million in questioned costs identified in this report.

NWP concurred with the recommendations. However, NWP did not concur with the questioned costs.