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  (1)GAO’s reports and testimonies give Congress, federal agencies, and the public timely, fact-based, non-partisan information that can improve government operations and save taxpayers billions of dollars.Jump To:
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                    Most Recent Reports**1 - 20 of 352 Reports**
	
	

	
	  **Released on   Apr 10, 2024**
          Broadband Deployment: Agencies Should Take Steps to Better Meet Deadline for Processing Permits
    GAO-24-106157
      Published:   Apr 10, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Apr 10, 2024
.
    The federal government is investing billions of dollars in expanding broadband access. Some new infrastructure—such as broadband towers—will be situated on federal lands. Federal agencies are required to process applications for such permits within 270 days. The Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service process most of these applications. Between 2018-2022, both agencies missed the deadline for some applications and for others couldn't determine...
      **Released on   Jan 10, 2024**
          Deferred Maintenance: Agencies' Project Selection and Challenges
    GAO-24-107234
      Published:   Jan 10, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 10, 2024
.
    Buildings, roads, and other structures on the federal government's public lands require billions of dollars to maintain each year. Agencies may defer maintenance projects to future years when funds are unavailable. This testimony discusses a fund Congress established in 2020 to address deferred maintenance in fiscal years 2021-2025. The money—as much as $1.9 billion annually—is divided among 5 eligible agencies at 70% for the National...
      **Released on   Jan 8, 2024**
          Deferred Maintenance: Agencies Generally Followed Leading Practices in Selections but Faced Challenges
    GAO-24-106495
      Published:   Jan 8, 2024
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jan 8, 2024
.
    Buildings, roads, and other structures on the federal government's public lands require billions of dollars to maintain each year. Agencies may defer maintenance projects to future years when funds are unavailable. In 2020, Congress established a fund to address deferred maintenance in fiscal years 2021-2025. The money—as much as $1.9 billion annually—is divided among 5 eligible agencies at 70% for the National Park Service, 15%...
      **Released on   Nov 6, 2023**
          Tribal Issues: Bureau of Indian Affairs Should Take Additional Steps to Improve Timely Delivery of Real Estate Services [Reissued with revisions on Nov. 6, 2023]
    GAO-24-105875
      Published:   Oct 26, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Nov 6, 2023
.
    The Bureau of Indian Affairs reviews and approves applications for several types of real estate transactions, including mortgages, for Tribes and their citizens on certain lands. BIA has deadlines for these services in federal regulations and internal policies, but it inconsistently met these deadlines. For example, after receiving a complete application for a certain type of mortgage, BIA is required to approve or disapprove it...
      **Released on   Aug 28, 2023**
          Alaska Land Management: Resolving Ownership of Submerged Lands
    GAO-23-106235
      Published:   Jul 27, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Aug 28, 2023
.
    Lakes and rivers in Alaska often serve as key transportation corridors. Many of these waterways and the lands below them—including their beds, banks, and natural resources—are managed by the federal government. But under federal law, a state owns submerged lands beneath waters that were navigable as of the date of statehood—1959 for Alaska. This Q&A describes the processes for resolving ownership of submerged lands and...
      **Released on   Apr 13, 2023**
          Disaster Contracting: Action Needed to Improve Agencies' Use of Contracts for Wildfire Response and Recovery
    GAO-23-105292
      Published:   Apr 13, 2023
. 
        Publicly Released:   Apr 13, 2023
.
    Wildfire season is getting longer, and the number of large fires is increasing—leaving more people and structures at risk. Several federal agencies share responsibility for leading wildfire response and recovery. These agencies often work with private sector contractors to obtain life-saving goods and services quickly. We looked at how three agencies contracted for goods and services for wildfire response. The agencies prioritized speed when ordering...
      **Released on   May 20, 2022**
          Oil and Gas: Federal Actions Needed to Address Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Development
    GAO-22-104759
      Published:   Apr 20, 2022
. 
        Publicly Released:   May 20, 2022
.
    Methane, a greenhouse gas, is emitted during oil and gas production—either through intentional releases or leaks. It is also a lost source of revenue for the government when emitted from sources on federal lands. Methane emission rules are now being revised. Some in the oil and gas industry are voluntarily reducing methane emissions, such as by using satellites to detect them, in addition to the...
      **Released on   Dec 9, 2021**
          Oil and Gas Leasing: BLM Should Update Its Guidance and Review Its Fees
    GAO-22-103968
      Published:   Nov 9, 2021
. 
        Publicly Released:   Dec 9, 2021
.
    The Bureau of Land Management seeks to facilitate safe and responsible oil and gas development on federal lands while providing a fair return for the American people. There have been several changes to the Bureau's oil and gas leasing process since it was established in 1987, but guidance and related fees haven't kept pace with those changes. For example, lease application fees were intended to...
      **Released on   Nov 18, 2021**
          Bureau of Land Management: Better Workforce Planning and Data Would Help Mitigate the Effects of Recent Staff Vacancies
    GAO-22-104247
      Published:   Nov 16, 2021
. 
        Publicly Released:   Nov 18, 2021
.
    After the Bureau of Land Management announced in July 2019 that it was relocating its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Grand Junction, Colorado, many headquarters staff left the agency—increasing vacancies by about 169%. Bureau staff said that the vacancies caused problems with completing their duties. For example, because key decision makers at headquarters left, there were delays in creating or clarifying guidance and policy. We...
      **Released on   Nov 16, 2021**
          Federal Lands Snapshot: Hardrock Mining Systems
    GAO-22-105438
      Published:   Nov 16, 2021
. 
        Publicly Released:   Nov 16, 2021
.
    Federal lands are a major source of hardrock minerals such as gold, silver, and copper. These minerals have an important role in the U.S. and global economies, but mining them can create public health, safety, and environmental hazards. Our "Federal Lands Snapshot" draws on our prior work to describe the systems the federal government uses to manage hardrock mining. We also describe the challenges associated...
      **Released on   Sep 23, 2021**
          Federal Rulemaking: Selected Agencies Should Fully Describe Public Comment Data and Their Limitations
    GAO-21-103181
      Published:   Sep 21, 2021
. 
        Publicly Released:   Sep 23, 2021
.
    We surveyed people whose email addresses were attached to public comments on proposed rules from 10 federal agencies. From 5% to 30% of the people (depending on the agency) said they did not make the comment. At 8 agencies, most of the comments did not have email addresses. Agencies aren't required to collect information on or verify commenters' identities. While almost all of the agencies...
      **Released on   Jul 26, 2021**
          Federal Land Management: Key Differences and Stakeholder Views of the Federal Systems Used to Manage Hardrock Mining
    GAO-21-299
      Published:   Jul 21, 2021
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jul 26, 2021
.
    Hardrock minerals, like gold and copper, are crucial for modern technology. But mining can create lasting health hazards and contamination. This report describes, among other things, stakeholder views on management of hardrock mining on federal lands. Industry stakeholders emphasized a need for certainty—in knowing, for example, that lands will be open for exploration and can be developed. Public interest and tribal stakeholders emphasized balanced land...
      **Released on   Jul 21, 2021**
          Federal Lands and Waters: Information on Agency Spending for Outdoor Recreation Is Limited
    GAO-21-592
      Published:   Jul 21, 2021
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jul 21, 2021
.
    Federal agencies provide outdoor recreation areas and facilities on the lands and waters that they manage, attracting hundreds of millions of visitors each year. But how much does that cost the agencies? Although they aren't required to do so, most of the 7 federal agencies we reviewed identified some (but not all) of their spending related to outdoor recreation. It is difficult to identify spending...
      **Released on   Jun 28, 2021**
          Oil and Gas: Interior Should Strengthen Management of Key Data Systems Used to Oversee Development on Federal Lands
    GAO-21-209
      Published:   May 27, 2021
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jun 28, 2021
.
    Agencies within the Department of the Interior use 3 data systems to oversee oil and gas development on leased federal lands. The data systems process permits for drilling wells, among other things. The systems are aging and create oversight challenges for the department. For example, they don't fully connect or communicate with each other. As a result, one agency uses more than 22,000 staff hours...
      **Released on   Dec 9, 2020**
          Oil and Gas: Onshore Competitive and Noncompetitive Lease Revenues
    GAO-21-138
      Published:   Nov 19, 2020
. 
        Publicly Released:   Dec 9, 2020
.
    Federal onshore oil and gas leases generate about $3 billion a year in federal revenues. Leases are sold in competitive auctions. If there aren't adequate bids in an auction, leases can be sold noncompetitively. Our analysis of 100,300 leases in 2003-2019 found: Competitive leases averaged nearly 3 times greater revenues than noncompetitive leases About 72,800 competitive leases produced $14.3 billion in revenue Leases that sold...
      **Released on   Oct 6, 2020**
          Federal Oil and Gas Revenue: Actions Needed to Improve BLM's Royalty Relief Policy
    GAO-21-169T
      Published:   Oct 6, 2020
. 
        Publicly Released:   Oct 6, 2020
.
    The Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management oversees energy production on federal lands and collects royalties to help ensure a fair return for taxpayers. Oil and gas producers faced a sharp drop in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Price declines can increase financial risk for producers of recoverable oil and gas. Interior responded with a policy allowing temporary relief from royalties. We testified that Interior...
      **Released on   Jul 14, 2020**
          Social Cost of Carbon: Identifying a Federal Entity to Address the National Academies' Recommendations Could Strengthen Regulatory Analysis
    GAO-20-254
      Published:   Jun 23, 2020
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jul 14, 2020
.
    When assessing the costs and benefits of proposed environmental regulations, federal agencies use estimates of the “social cost of carbon”—economic damages from increases in greenhouse gas emissions. According to EPA, these gases stay in the atmosphere long enough to become “well mixed”—contributing to global damages regardless of their origin. Current national estimates are based on domestic damages and are about 7 times lower than prior...
      **Released on   Jun 25, 2020**
          Supplemental Material for GAO-20-461R: Data on Solid Mineral Operations on Federal Lands
    GAO-20-520SP
      Published:   May 28, 2020
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jun 25, 2020
.
    This is a supplement to our report, Mining on Federal Lands: More Than 800 Operations Authorized to Mine and Total Mineral Production Is Unknown , GAO-20-461 . It provides additional data on each of the individual operations authorized to produce solid minerals such as gold, phosphate, and coal on federal lands as of September 30, 2018. It also contains information such as the state in...
          Mining on Federal Lands: More Than 800 Operations Authorized to Mine and Total Mineral Production Is Unknown
    GAO-20-461R
      Published:   May 28, 2020
. 
        Publicly Released:   Jun 25, 2020
.
    Mining on federal lands can produce minerals such as gold, copper, coal, and phosphate. Several laws govern such mining. Depending on the type of federal land and what kind of mineral is produced, mine operators may or may not have to pay the government a royalty. There are 872 authorized mining operations on about 1.3 million acres of federal land as of September 2018—most of...
      **Released on   May 29, 2020**
          Wildfire: Information on Forest Service Response, Key Concerns, and Effects of the Chetco Bar Fire
    GAO-20-424
      Published:   Apr 29, 2020
. 
        Publicly Released:   May 29, 2020
.
    A large 2017 wildfire in southwest Oregon destroyed 6 homes and threatened thousands more. Its smoke also contributed to respiratory and other health problems in nearby communities and hurt businesses and workers. The fire grew slowly over its first month before strong, hot winds caused a rapid expansion, as shown in this map . Local officials, community members, and others questioned whether the Forest Service...
    
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