The Department of Energy’s (DOE) corrective actions in response to Inspector General (IG) audit findings over the years have often been “incomplete, ineffective, or untimely,” the IG said in a report released last week. It said that corrective actions identified in 88 percent of 48 IG reports closed in fiscal 2011-2014 had not been completed within one year, as required by DOE regulations. “In fact, 24 reports took more than 2 years to close, with 5 reports exceeding 5 years,” it said.
The IG reviewed four of its audit reports and found that in three of those, the recommendations were closed even though corrective actions were “incomplete or ineffective.” In one example, a 2009 audit found that the DOE was not fully using the energy setback capabilities of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, something the NNSA agreed to address. However, a follow-up review of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex found that out of the 29 buildings with setback capability at the two sites, only 11 implemented the function. The absence of proper corrective actions on this issue may have cost the DOE $11.5 million in annual cost savings, the IG said.
Regarding timely resolution of issues uncovered in audits, the IG also recalled a 2007 report that found the DOE and Y-12 “may not be minimizing the risk of worker exposure to beryllium and recommended that the Department issue revised regulations to include posting when beryllium surface contamination occurs in nonoperational areas.” The DOE plans to address this issue by September 2016, the IG said, nearly nine years after the report was issued.
The IG recommended that the DOE – specifically its chief financial officer Joseph Hezir – review guidance to establish target milestones for the completion of corrective actions. Hezir responsed that the DOE would update its audit resolution directive by Feb. 1, which “eliminates the one-year timeline for completion of corrective actions, recognizing that some audit recommendations are urgent and corrective actions should be taken immediately, while corrective actions for other audit recommendations may take longer than a year to implement.”
