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Open Recommendations

Oil and Gas: Bureau of Indian Affairs Could Improve Lease Management of Trust and Restricted Land
GAO-25-106307
Dec 19, 2024
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6 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Indian Affairs The Director of BIA should compile comprehensive bond information for oil and gas leases—including bond amounts, bond types, and leases covered by each bond—and develop and implement an approach to maintain a record of bond information over time. (Recommendation 1)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Indian Affairs The Director of BIA should compile comprehensive information on bond claims for oil and gas leases and develop and implement an approach to maintain a record of bond claims over time. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Indian Affairs The Director of BIA should provide greater specificity in current guidance or develop additional policy or guidance for BIA offices related to their responsibilities for bonding including setting initial bond amounts for lessees, when and how to increase existing bond amounts, collecting bonds, and requiring bonds for non-lessee operators. (Recommendation 3)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Indian Affairs The Director of BIA should establish a policy for bond reviews that includes clear guidance on the frequency of reviews or specific triggers for reviews and factors to be included in reviews. (Recommendation 4)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Indian Affairs The Director of BIA should, in consultation with Tribes, assess its bond requirements to determine if they are sufficient to ensure lessees do not abandon wells and make changes, accordingly, to guidance or regulations, including considering if changes are needed to minimum bond amounts. (Recommendation 5)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Indian Affairs The Director of BIA, to help ensure that bond amounts are sufficient to meet their intended purpose, should provide information to Tribes on options for tailoring bond amounts to their needs, including mechanisms to require bond amounts higher than the regulatory minimum. (Recommendation 6)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Climate Change: Improved Data and Performance Management Would Strengthen U.S. Support to the Indo-Pacific
GAO-25-106236
Dec 10, 2024
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7 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that all relevant bureaus and offices implement improvements to track award amounts by country for multi-country activities provided to countries in the Indo-Pacific region to address climate risks, when possible. (Recommendation 1)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
U.S. Trade and Development Agency The Director of USTDA should ensure that all relevant offices track award amounts by country for multi-country activities provided to countries in the Indo-Pacific region to address climate risks, when possible. (Recommendation 2)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
U.S. Agency for International Development The USAID Administrator should clarify agency guidance for context monitoring to ensure the officials who manage the performance of climate activities develop mitigation strategies in their activity planning documents to address any identified external or internal factors that could affect achieving the activity's results. (Recommendation 3)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs establishes procedures for the officials who manage the performance of climate activities to develop activity plans that identify external or internal factors that could affect achieving results and associated mitigation strategies. (Recommendation 4)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior should ensure that the Office of Insular Affairs establishes procedures for the officials who manage the performance of climate activities to develop activity plans that identify external or internal factors that could affect achieving results and associated mitigation strategies. (Recommendation 5)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The Administrator of NOAA should ensure that the Director of the CRCP establishes procedures for the officials who manage the performance of climate activities to develop activity plans that identify external or internal factors that could affect achieving results and associated mitigation strategies. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Hazardous Waste: EPA Should Take Additional Actions to Encourage Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities to Manage Climate Risks
GAO-25-106253
Nov 14, 2024
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9 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Environmental Protection Agency The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Land and Emergency Management should develop and provide training and technical assistance to help EPA regions and authorized states implement recent guidance on using existing authorities and requirements to manage climate risks to TSDFs. (Recommendation 1)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Environmental Protection Agency The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Land and Emergency Management should use its upcoming rulemaking to seek feedback from authorized states, TSDFs, and other stakeholders to assess whether its recent guidance is sufficient or revising regulations would be necessary to clarify requirements for managing climate risks to TSDFs. (Recommendation 2)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Environmental Protection Agency The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance should issue guidance to clarify RCRA authorities and requirements for managing climate risks to TSDFs as part of authorized states' and EPA regions' RCRA compliance and enforcement efforts. (Recommendation 3)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Environmental Protection Agency The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Land and Emergency Management, in consultation with EPA regional offices, should develop and implement monitoring metrics and assess whether and how authorized states and TSDFs are managing climate risks to TSDFs in RCRA permitting and oversight efforts. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Environmental Protection Agency The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, in consultation with EPA regional offices, should develop and implement monitoring metrics and assess whether and how authorized states and TSDFs are managing climate risks to TSDFs in RCRA compliance monitoring and enforcement efforts. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Environmental Protection Agency The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Land and Emergency Management, together with other relevant EPA offices and EPA regions, should assess the current RCRA TSDF standards and requirements to determine if they will be sufficient to manage climate risks and, if one or more of them need to be updated to ensure they remain protective of human health and the environment, develop a plan for any revisions or updates. (Recommendation 6)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Persistent Chemicals: Additional EPA Actions Could Help Public Water Systems Address PFAS in Drinking Water
GAO-24-106523
Sep 24, 2024
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Environmental Protection Agency The Administrator of EPA should publish a Small Entity Compliance Guide for the PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation as soon as is feasible, to best support small public water systems preparing to comply with the PFAS maximum contaminant levels by April 2029. (Recommendation 1)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Environmental Protection Agency The Assistant Administrator of EPA's Office of Water should, in consultation with partners from Tribes, states, regional offices, and outside organizations, identify barriers public water systems experience obtaining federal funding to address PFAS contamination and assess how best to disseminate information on such funding potentially available to these systems. (Recommendation 2)
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When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Environmental Protection Agency The Assistant Administrator of EPA's Office of Water should establish a time frame for issuing additional planned resources—such as fact sheets and templates—to help public water systems communicate with customers about PFAS health risks. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Environmental Protection Agency The Assistant Administrators of EPA's Office of Water and Office of Land and Emergency Management should summarize and consolidate existing regulations, policy, and guidance relevant to the disposal of PFAS-contaminated waste into a straightforward resource for public water systems. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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