National Nuclear Security Administration program offices do not consistently monitor performance of minor construction projects of fewer than $30 million in total cost, the Government Accountability Office found in a recent audit.
From fiscal year 2019 through July 2023, NNSA offices undertook 414 minor construction projects that cost an estimated total of about $3 billion, the Government Accountability Office said in a report published Jan. 25.
“GAO could not assess the performance for some of these projects — that is, the extent to which they adhered to their baseline cost estimates and schedules — because the NNSA program offices responsible for the projects did not collect quality information in a consistent manner,” the report said.
NNSA plans to initiate up to 437 minor construction projects over the next 5 fiscal years totaling about $5 billion, according to the GAO report.
The threshold for minor construction projects limits how much the NNSA can spend on these projects without having to identify them as specific line items in its budget for congressional authorization and appropriation.
Congress first set this threshold at $5 million in fiscal year 2003 and has since raised it incrementally, most recently to $30 million in fiscal year 2023.
The threshold is now more than double what it would have been had Congress tied it to inflation or a construction-specific economic indicator in fiscal year 2003, GAO said. Had Congress done that, the threshold for minor construction projects would be between $8 million and $12 million in fiscal year 2022.
NNSA officials have called for further raising the minor construction threshold so the agency could more quickly address emerging issues without having to seek specific congressional authorization and appropriations for these projects, GAO said. But a higher threshold could also limit congressional and departmental insight into the performance of some minor construction projects, the report said.
NNSA also has not documented, “in a formal and comprehensive manner,” its processes and related requirements for managing minor construction projects, GAO found.
“Consistently collecting and tracking information on minor construction projects and documenting the processes and related requirements for managing these projects will enable NNSA to better manage and assess projects’ performance — including schedule and cost,” GAO said. “This is important because cost overruns on minor construction projects have been significant.”
In a written response to the GAO findings, NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby agreed with the report’s two recommendations for future minor project management. She said NNSA will “determine the best approach for consistent collection and tracking of information on cost and schedule performance for minor construction projects.” The agency also will set standards for “formally documenting processes and requirements for ensuring that minor construction projects apply Department of Energy best practice for minor project management,” Hruby wrote.
