National Academies Press: OpenBook
« Previous: Executive Summary
Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management: Report 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26610.
×

1

Introduction

BACKGROUND

Congress directed the Secretary of Energy to enter into an arrangement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies) to provide advice on enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of defense environmental cleanup activities of the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM),1 particularly with respect to program and project management practices. The complete study statement of task is provided in Box 1.1. The Committee on Review of Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management was appointed by the National Academies to carry out this study. The committee is comprised of experts with training and experience in project management, civil and nuclear engineering, acquisition and contracting, construction and decommissioning management, and other fields. Biographical sketches of the committee members are provided in Appendix A.

The committee carried out this study in two phases, each producing a separate report. Phase 1 focused on the execution of cleanup projects and contracts and the adequacy of DOE-EM controls, oversight, and directives. The report from Phase 1 (NASEM, 2021) provided nine recommendations, shown in Chapter 2 of the present report.

The Phase 2 study that produced the present report focuses on several related issues:

___________________

1 National Defense Authorization Act of 2019, Public Law 115-232.

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management: Report 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26610.
×
  • How the policies and directives issued by DOE-EM headquarters are realized in cleanup projects at sites.
  • How DOE-EM manages and measures progress onsite cleanup projects.
  • How site-cleanup projects are rolled up into a DOE-EM-wide “portfolio,” and how that portfolio is reviewed and optimized.

The Phase 1 report identified two additional issues to be addressed in Phase 2:

  • The effectiveness of DOE-EM’s Project Assessment and Reporting System for tracking project management information (NASEM, 2021, p. 64).
  • The effectiveness of the Earned Value Management System governance processes for tracking project schedule, cost, technical performance, and other metrics (NASEM, 2021, p. 69).

The committee decided in the interests of time not to address these two detailed issues but instead focus on broader issues of portfolio management. In the committee’s view, these higher-order issues are more important for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the DOE-EM cleanup program.

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management: Report 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26610.
×

INFORMATION GATHERING FOR PHASE 2

The committee focused on gathering information directly from DOE-EM sites during Phase 2 of its study. Agendas for the site visits are provided in Appendix B. These visits were held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic and consisted of site tours, briefings from DOE-EM site leadership and contractors, and question-and-answer and discussion sessions. Actual site visits would likely have provided a deeper understanding of the cleanup work/challenges and provided opportunities to interact directly with site stakeholders.2 Nevertheless, the committee is grateful to DOE-EM site staff and contractors for helping the committee overcome the limitations of virtual site visits to obtain the information needed to complete this report.

The committee also received briefings from Ike White, Technical Advisor3 for DOE-EM, and Dae Chung, Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for corporate services for DOE-EM. The committee is grateful for their participation.

The committee used the following criteria in consultation with DOE-EM leadership to select sites for its virtual visits:

  • Site size, complexity, and budget.
  • Types of cleanup activities underway at the sites (e.g., decontamination and decommissioning [D&D] activities; tank waste remediation).
  • Types of cleanup contracts being used at the site (e.g., end-state contracts4).
  • Protocols used to manage cleanup activities at the site (e.g., Order 413.3B5).

The following four sites were selected for virtual visits:

  1. Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina. DOE-EM is the landlord of this large and active site where the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has ongoing and planned future missions. DOE-EM is managing multiple waste streams of various complexities, including tank wastes, at this site.
  2. Nevada National Security Site, previously known as the Nevada Test Site. NNSA is the landlord of this site, but DOE-EM is responsible for cleanup. NNSA’s missions at this site will continue after cleanup is completed.

___________________

2 The committee received information from each site on how it engages with external stakeholders, but the committee was unable to interact directly with stakeholders to obtain their perspectives.

3 Mr. White provides leadership of the EM cleanup program in the absence of a U.S. Senate–confirmed Assistant Secretary. Mr. White was appointed to this position in November 2021 and previously served as Acting Assistant Secretary for EM starting in January 2021 and Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Science overseeing EM starting in June 2019.

4 End-state contracting is discussed in Chapter 3 of this report.

5 Order 413.3B is discussed in Chapter 3 of this report.

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management: Report 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26610.
×
  1. Hanford’s Central Plateau and Tank Farm (two separate virtual visits) in Washington State. DOE-EM is managing multiple different cleanup activities of various complexities, including tank waste treatment, waste management and disposal, waste remediation, and building decontamination and demolition at this large site. No future missions are planned for this site after cleanup activities are completed.
  2. Portsmouth Site in Ohio. This site contains a large gaseous diffusion plant that is currently undergoing D&D.

Some other important details about these sites are provided in Table 1.1. As the present report was nearing completion, DOE-EM informed the committee about steps it was taking to address committee recommendations from the Phase 1 report (NASEM, 2021) and committee questions and comments from this Phase 2 study. These steps include issuing guidance on end-state contracting model implementation (DOE, 2019, 2020, 2021a; ICP, 2021), issuing a framework for technology development (DOE, 2021b), and prioritizing the development of an EM-wide succession plan to build and develop a diverse workforce (DOE, 2022). These are positive steps to be sure, but these actions are so new that there has been no time to assess their efficacy, and DOE-EM informed the committee about them too late in this study to be considered in formulating the findings and recommendations in the present report.

FORMAT OF PHASE 2 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The findings and recommendations in this report have a different numbering scheme than those in the first report (NASEM, 2021). The findings in the first report are unnumbered, and the recommendations are numbered by their serial appearance in each chapter (e.g., the first recommendation in Chapter 4 is denoted as Recommendation 4-1). The findings and recommendations for the first three task elements (i.e., Task Elements A, B, and C; see Box 1.1 in this chapter) in the present report are numbered by their serial appearance under each task element (e.g., the first recommendation for Task Element A is denoted as Recommendation A-1). The finding and recommendation for the task in the final paragraph of the task statement (see Box 1.1) are denoted as “overarching” because that task element is unlettered and also is broad and encompassing.

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management: Report 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26610.
×

TABLE 1.1 The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) Sites Selected for Virtual Site Visits by the Committee

table

NOTE: FY = fiscal year; NNSA = National Nuclear Security Administration.

a File provided to the committee by DOE: Presentation 1 - NAS Savannah River Site Overview Briefing(cleansed)(1).pdf.

b File provided to the committee by DOE: FY12-FY21 Enacted(cleansed).pdf (follow-up material provided, FY21 enacted budget is $1.7B for EM’s work at SRS).

c This value is the total workforce of DOE-EM and NNSA, federal employees and contractors combined; contractors comprise 95 percent of workforce (excluding support contractors), see slide 5 of Presentation 1.

d File provided to the committee by DOE: Presentation 3 - NAS Liquid Waste Briefing(cleansed).pdf.

e Read-ahead material provided by DOE-EM NV personnel, ID 2553_NAS EM Nevada Overview_FINAL_withToC+FactSheets.pdf.

fPortsmouth Annual Site Environmental Report, December 29, https://www.energy.gov/pppo/downloads/2019-portsmouth-annual-site-environmental-report.

g File provided to the committee by DOE: Response to NAS Questions - Question 9. Distribution of Costs for Activities-Projects-Programs.pdf.

h Federal employees at the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office from PORTS Org Charts for DOE and Prime Contractors; Contractor employees at Portsmouth estimated from Info on Ports Prime Contractors.pdf. Federal oversight = 16 federal staff plus 52 contracted support services staff.

iDOE (2022). Estimated date for completing active cleanup. Long-term stewardship will continue after this date.

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management: Report 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26610.
×

REPORT ORGANIZATION

This report is organized as follows:

  • Chapter 2 presents and re-evaluates the recommendations from the Phase 1 report based on information gathered during the committee’s virtual site visits.
  • Chapter 3 addresses Task Element A of the task statement.
  • Chapter 4 addresses Task Element B of the task statement.
  • Chapter 5 addresses Task Element C of the task statement.
  • Chapter 6 addresses the tasking in the last paragraph of the task statement “on actions to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of DOE-EM’s cleanup activities.”
  • The appendixes provide supporting materials.

REFERENCES

DOE (Department of Energy). 2019. “DOE Awards Hanford Central Plateau Cleanup Contract.” December 12. https://www.energy.gov/em/articles/doe-awards-hanford-central-plateau-cleanup-contract.

DOE. 2020. “Policy Directive: End State Contracting Model Program Plan.” DOE EM DIR 2020-001. Washington, DC: Office of Environmental Management. https://www.emcbc.doe.gov/SEB/em_escm/Documents/Document%20Library/EM%20Policy%20Directive%20for%20the%20ESCM%20Program%20Plan.pdf.

DOE. 2021a. EM Strategic Vision: 2021-2031. Washington, DC: Office of Environmental Management. https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/EM-Strategic-Vision-2021-2031.pdf.

DOE. 2021b. “Technology Development Framework.” Washington, DC: Office of Environmental Management. https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/EM-TechnologyDevelopment-Framework-January-2021-V2.pdf.

DOE. 2022. EM Strategic Vision: 2022-2032. Washington, DC: Office of Environmental Management. https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-03/DOE-EM-Strategic-Vision-2022-Final3-8-22.pdf.

ICP (Idaho Cleanup Project). 2021. Ten-Year End State Strategic Task Order Plan, Revision 0. Washington, DC: Department of Energy. https://www.id.energy.gov/doeid/IEC%20Contract/ICP%20Ten-Year%20Strategic%20Task%20Order%20Plan.pdf.

NASEM (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine). 2021. Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of DOE’s Office of Environmental Management: Report 1. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26000.

Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management: Report 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26610.
×
Page 5
Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management: Report 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26610.
×
Page 6
Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management: Report 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26610.
×
Page 7
Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management: Report 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26610.
×
Page 8
Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management: Report 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26610.
×
Page 9
Suggested Citation:"1 Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management: Report 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26610.
×
Page 10
Next: 2 Phase 1 Report Recommendations »
Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management: Report 2 Get This Book
×
Buy Ebook | $18.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) was established by Congress in 1989 to remediate waste and environmental contamination that have resulted from nuclear weapons production and related activities. It has expended almost $200 billion on cleanup and related activities since its establishment and completed cleanup at all but 15 of the more than 100 sites.

At the request of Congress, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine formed a committee to provide advice on enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of DOE-EM cleanup activities, particularly with respect to project management, contracting, and oversight practices. These recommendations were provided in two reports. The first report, Review of Effectiveness and Efficiency of Defense Environmental Cleanup Activities of DOE's Office of Environmental Management: Report 1, considered overall project management practices, project management metrics and outcomes, and contract structures and performance measures. This second report focuses on specific DOE-EM sites to assess how effective the management of the numerous projects at the sites is contributing to the wider programmatic objectives of DOE-EM.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!