GAO report: DOE needs to improve strategic planning for the acquisition workforce
ECA Staff | 11/17/2021
|
|
|
On November 16, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report titled “Department of Energy: Improvements Needed to Strengthen Strategic Planning for the Acquisition Workforce.”
The Department of Energy (DOE) is "one of the largest civilian contracting agencies in the federal government, with about 80 percent of its annual obligations for contracts," the report states. "Staff in most federal positions in DOE are involved in the acquisition process, according to officials from offices included in GAO’s review – the Office of Science, the Office of Environmental Management, and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Some of
these staff, such as contracting officers, hold federal or DOE acquisition certifications. DOE generally requires acquisition-related training only for certified staff, which represent about 15 percent of DOE’s workforce, and maintains training requirements for only these staff through the agency’s Acquisition Career Management Program."
"Senior DOE and NNSA officials have raised concerns that they do not have enough staff or staff with the right skills in the acquisition workforce to properly oversee contracts," the report continues. "However, NNSA has conducted limited evaluations of gaps in skills and competencies for some positions in its acquisition workforce, and the other offices in GAO's review have not conducted such analyses. With a more complete and thorough understanding of
skill and competency gaps for its acquisition workforce, DOE can improve the information it has available to develop its budget and other strategies to build a workforce with the right skills and of the right size to address the agency's long-standing issues with contract management." Currently, DOE's contract and project management is listed on GAO’s High Risk List.
GAO is making four recommendations to DOE:
- Assess the agency’s criteria for determining the workforce managed under the agency’s Acquisition Career Management Program to ensure that any significant acquisition-related positions at DOE and NNSA are included in the program;
- Establish a process for top management’s participation in future strategic acquisition workforce planning efforts with program offices and NNSA;
- Determine critical skills and competencies for DOE and NNSA staff with acquisition-related responsibilities in positions that do not require a federal or DOE acquisition certification and ensure these skills and competencies inform training requirements; and
- Work with program and other offices, including NNSA, to lead ongoing and thorough analyses to identify gaps in skills and competencies for the agency’s acquisition workforce and develop strategies to address identified gaps.
|
|
|
|
|
"CAPITALIZING ON A NEW ERA OF CLEANUP
SUCCESS"
December 7-9, 2021
Hilton Alexandria Mark Center
Alexandria, Virginia
If you have already registered for the Workshop, you will not need to re-register. If you need to register, please click here. If you have questions, please contact Autumn Bogus at abogus@la-inc.com or (865)
300-1061.
|
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT
|
NOVEMBER 18
DOE recently issued the Draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing Evaluation for the Test Bed Initiative Demonstration (Draft WIR Evaluation) concerning a proposed 2,000-gallon demonstration of the Test Bed Initiative for technical review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and to obtain input from the public during a 90-day public comment period that began November 5,
2021.
A virtual public meeting on the Draft WIR Evaluation will be held on November 18, 2021. After consultation with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and considering comments from States, Tribal Nations, stakeholders and the public, DOE plans to prepare a Final WIR Evaluation.
To access the commenting and meeting details, please click here.
DECEMBER 6
On Thursday, December 6, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM ET, the Committee on Merits and Viability of Different Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Technology Options and the Waste Aspects of Advanced Nuclear Reactors will hear from the sponsor U.S. Department of Energy-Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), congressional staff
from the appropriations committees, an expert on China’s advanced nuclear energy systems, and an expert on the U.S. advanced nuclear programs.
The meeting information is below:
WEBEX MEETING LINK
Meeting number: 2764 170 4525
Password: ekHPhJp4i35 (35474574 from phones and video systems)
The committee welcomes input and will host public comment sessions at the end of each public session. Attendance is open and free to the public. Both public sessions will be held exclusively online and will be recorded. The recordings will be made available pending permissions and processing time.
Agenda and connection information may also be accessed here.
|
|
|
|
|
NM judge upholds change in how nuclear waste is counted at WIPP
Carlsbad Current-Argus | 11/15/2021
A New Mexico appellate judge upheld a change in how the volume of nuclear waste disposed of at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is counted, shifting the repository from being halfway to capacity to only a third full.
In 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy requested to modify its WIPP operating permit with the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) to change how it counts the amount of waste toward the facility’s statutory limit of 6.2 million cubic feet of transuranic (TRU) waste consisting of clothing materials and equipment irradiated during nuclear activities.
The change was intended to count the inner volume of the waste as opposed to the volume of the outer containers that hold the waste, seeking to avoid counting air between the waste itself and waste drums.
NMED approved the permit modification request (PMR) in 2019, but Albuquerque-based watchdog groups Southwest Research and Information Center and Nuclear Watch New Mexico immediately appealed the decision.
On Nov. 9, Judges J. Miles Hanisee, Shammara Henderson and Kristina Bogardus issued a concurring opinion rejecting the appeal. The judges argued the initial decision was legal and that when the WIPP permit was initially approved and the facility began accepting waste in 1999, it was assumed incorrectly that the drums would be full.
The modification would not increase WIPP’s disposal capacity, read the decision, but clarified the maximum capacity of WIPP facility was based on the actual volume of waste held in the drums emplaced at WIPP for disposal.
|
|
|
|
|
Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation.
Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
|
|
Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World
Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org.
|
Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local governments.
|
|
|
|
