DOE Contracting: Risk-Informed Oversight and Clearer Expectations for Assurance Systems Would Improve Accountability

GAO reviewed how the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management judges the effectiveness of contractor assurance systems — the self-monitoring setups contractors use to police their own safety and compliance on nuclear cleanup sites. Selected field offices did make effectiveness determinations, but GAO found neither DOE nor EM has ever defined what 'effective' means or set measurable evaluation criteria, leaving the basis for those judgments unclear.

Every field office GAO examined reported recurring problems and poor performance from these contractor systems, undermining confidence in whatever conclusions were reached. A 2024 independent review had already found contractors inadequately managing issues in ways that compromised safety and raised the odds of serious consequences.

GAO made four recommendations, including that EM finally define what CAS effectiveness looks like and set concrete evaluation standards. DOE concurred with all four.

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