Fernald Environmental Management Project remedial investigation and feasibility study
Environmental restoration involves the cleanup and restoration of US Department of Energy (DOE) sites and facilities contaminated with hazardous substances during past production or disposal activities. An important element of the environmental restoration process is the remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS), which is designed to determine the extent of contamination and to identify alternatives for cleanup. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Restoration and Waste Management is responsible for policy direction and oversight of DOE`s environmental restoration program. The objective of the audit was to determine whether DOE and its contractors had developed effective management control systems to ensure that maximum benefits were obtained from the funds spent on the RI/FS at the Fernald Environmental Management Project. Although DOE had improved the Fernald RI/FS project over the previous 18 months, the project at Fernald was not planned and controlled cost effectively. This condition occurred because (1) DOE and its contractors lacked experience in the RI/FS process, (2) DOE and its contractors had not communicated effectively with one another and outside regulators, and (3) DOE had not placed enough emphasis on management control systems. As a result, after about 6 years and the expenditure of over $100 million on the RI/FS project at Fernald, DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had made no decisions as to future land use, cleanup methods, disposal sites, or the level of environmental protection needed for the site. For each year that the completion of the RI/FS and cleanup is unnecessarily delayed, DOE will be required to spend about $149 million to support site infrastructure costs. Finally, DOE was planning for the possible construction of waste storage buildings, estimated to cost $2.6 billion, when the need for the buildings had not been validated .
- Research Organization:
- USDOE Office of Inspector General, Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Eastern Regional Audit Office
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 10159146
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/IG--0326; ON: TI93013891; NC: NONE
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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