Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) progress in implementing pilot tests for new environmental restoration management contractors (ERMC) at its Fernald and Hanford sites. GAO found that: (1) DOE has selected a contractor for the ERMC pilot test at the Fernald site; (2) DOE has not fully implemented the recommendations for improving ERMC pilot tests and is in the process of designing a plan for evaluating the ERMC approach; (3) DOE evaluation, scheduled to be completed by May 1994, will determine ERMC program effectiveness and whether pilot tests can be used at other DOE cleanup sites; and (4) although DOE has identified staffing needs at the Fernald and Hanford sites, it has not developed a plan for acquiring staff for either site.