Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR) have issued the following statement regarding the release of the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) report entitled, “Nuclear Waste Cleanup: DOE Could Improve Program and Project Management by Better Classifying Work and Following Leading Practices."
“Billions of taxpayer dollars are at stake in the Department of Energy’s efforts to clean up nuclear waste and environmental contamination at legacy Cold War sites.
“DOE’s Office of Environmental Management currently faces future cleanup costs of more than $377 billion and growing - the federal government’s single largest environmental liability. Today’s GAO report highlights concerns that the office continues to fall short in effectively managing cleanup programs, particularly the operational activities that address environmental liabilities and account for most of the office’s budget. GAO’s findings suggest that DOE lacks a holistic approach to cleanup at legacy sites, while providing a road map for improving its cleanup operations.
“These findings underscore the need for the Committee’s ongoing bipartisan oversight of DOE management practices. We will continue to examine what may be necessary for DOE to more effectively tackle its large and growing environmental liabilities."
