{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "deskKey": "GAO-26-108018:recommendation-1",
  "title": "Nuclear waste cleanup decisions",
  "page": "https://america.co/oversight/nuclear-waste-cleanup",
  "selectedAction": "Recommendation 1",
  "actorType": "agency",
  "owner": "DOE Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management",
  "source": {
    "report": "GAO-26-108018",
    "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-26-108018",
    "published": "2026-03-25",
    "publiclyReleased": "2026-03-25",
    "consulted": "2026-10-05",
    "statusInConsultedSource": "Open",
    "latestSelectedCommentAsOf": "2026-08"
  },
  "progressSummary": "GAO’s August 2026 comment reports DOE’s view that it had implemented the action. GAO said evidence of a systematic evaluation and communication to Congress was still needed. The associated congressional matter about clarifying statutory definitions is a separate decision; this page tracks the agency recommendation.",
  "annualContext": {
    "report": "GAO-26-108505",
    "url": "https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108505",
    "published": "2026-05-12",
    "benefitType": "potential-savings",
    "estimateAsReported": "Tens of billions; conditional",
    "timeHorizon": "No comparable horizon in annual example",
    "estimateAttribution": "GAO annual report; underlying 2020 DOE scenario",
    "scope": "Topic-level; not a price tag solely on the selected action",
    "basis": "The annual report describes potential savings in the tens of billions. The underlying report discusses a 2020 DOE scenario estimating $73–210 billion for an alternative approach to certain Hanford waste. That older scenario is not a measured 2026 result or a forecast reproduced by this desk."
  },
  "boundary": "Classification, treatment, disposal, legal authority, environmental protection, and site-specific technical feasibility must all be addressed. A cost scenario does not establish that an alternative is safe, lawful, available, or fully funded.",
  "evidenceToCloseSummary": "The evaluation and congressional communication GAO identifies as necessary, supported by records showing opportunities and barriers were assessed systematically. An agency’s belief that it complied is not GAO closure.",
  "proposedEvaluation": {
    "notOfficialProcedure": true,
    "test": "For any proposed alternative, compare the same waste scope and endpoint. Include treatment, transport, disposal, monitoring, legal review, schedule risk, and protections for affected communities—not only the cheapest headline scenario.",
    "questions": [
      "Do compared options achieve the same safety and cleanup endpoints?",
      "Which assumptions explain the cost range?",
      "What evidence addresses legal authority and community or tribal consultation?"
    ]
  },
  "cashAvailable": false,
  "actualSavingsAsserted": false,
  "coverage": "One selected action; not every recommendation in the report",
  "compiler": "America.co public-resource desk; AI-assisted; no expert review claimed"
}