GAO says DOE unable to ‘fully analyze’ why cost increases, delays occur with nuclear waste cleanup

A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office finds that incomplete documentation and inconsistent cost information are making it harder for officials to oversee some of the federal government’s largest nuclear waste cleanup efforts, even as the projected price tag for the work exceeds half a trillion dollars.The report examined cleanup activities managed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, which is responsible for addressing contamination from decades of nuclear weapons production and energy research. 
Since the GAO’s first “biennial assessment of DOE’s progress” in 2022, DOE’s data “shows cost increases of more than $2 billion for projects like demolishing old buildings and $75 billion for ongoing activities like treating soil.”
“DOE can’t fully analyze why cost increases and schedule delays happened,” the report read.
Nuclear cleanup bll may reach half a trillion dollars
According to the watchdog, the remaining work at the agency’s cleanup sites is increasing. As of May 2025, officials estimated “that the remaining cleanup work at all its sites would cost more than half a trillion dollars.”
Auditors said oversight of those projects is complicated by gaps in key records and inconsistent cost tracking.
The report found that the cleanup office “struggles to maintain complete documentation and reconcile data discrepancies,” noting that key project documents are “not consistently accessible for headquarters review in DOE’s project management database.”
The GAO also found that cost and schedule information for ongoing operations activities is not always consistent between headquarters and site-level offices.
“Ensuring availability of complete project information and improving coordination to address the accuracy and consistency of cost and schedule information will help [the Office of Environmental Management] manage its projects and activities, report more accurate information to Congress, and provide support to sites,” the report said.
The watchdog noted that the overall cost outlook for the cleanup program remains uncertain because some key decisions about final cleanup methods have not yet been made. Officials at several sites told investigators that “final cleanup remedies at their sites still need to be determined, which may increase costs and schedules.”
Cost saving is still possible
Despite the challenges, the report also highlights opportunities for large potential savings depending on the approaches selected for waste treatment and disposal. For example, GAO previously reported that certain strategies at the Hanford Site in Washington state could save tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars, including about $18 billion by grouting closed waste tanks rather than removing them and up to $210 billion by grouting remaining low-activity waste.
In total, the report said that “significant cost and schedule savings are still possible on several cleanup projects and activities.”
To address the problems identified in the review, GAO issued two recommendations to the DOE. The watchdog urged officials to ensure cost and schedule information for major capital projects is complete in DOE’s project reporting systems and to improve coordination with site officials and contractors so lifecycle cost and schedule data are accurate and consistent.
The Department of Energy agreed with the recommendations, the GAO said.

Read Full Article: https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/gao-doe-unable-fully-analyze-why-cost-increases-and-delays-occur?utm_source=justthenews.com&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=external-news-aggregators