This section describes (1) DOE’s project management requirements for capital asset projects and cleanup projects, (2) TRU waste operations at Area G, (3) the TRU waste removal project, (4) the TWF construction project, and (5) GAO’s Cost Guide. DOE has established separate project management requirements for its capital asset projects and certain cleanup projects defined as operations activities. DOE’s project management order for capital asset projects, Order 413.3B, establishes the requirements for managing capital asset projects, and EM’s Operations Activities Protocol establishes the requirements for managing cleanup projects defined as operations activities. The TRU waste removal project is a cleanup operations activity and is subject to EM’s Operations Activities Protocol, whereas the TWF is a capital asset construction project and must be carried out in accordance with Order 413.3B. DOE’s project management order for capital asset projects, Order 413.3B, applies to all capital asset projects with a total project cost greater than or equal to $50 million. Capital asset projects include construction projects that build large complexes that often house unique equipment and technologies such as those that process TRU waste or other radioactive material. DOE’s order establishes a process for NNSA and other DOE offices to manage projects, from identification of need through project completion, with the goal of delivering projects within the original performance baseline that are fully capable of meeting mission performance and other requirements, such as environmental, safety, and health standards. In particular, the order defines five major milestones— or Critical Decision (CD) points—that span the life of a project: CD-0: Approve mission need. DOE identifies a credible performance gap between its current capabilities and capacities and those required to achieve the goals defined in its strategic plan. The mission need translates this gap into functional requirements. DOE formally establishes a project and begins the process of conceptual planning and identifying a range of alternative approaches to meet the identified need. CD-1: Approve alternative selection and cost range. DOE completes the conceptual design and selects its preferred approach based on analysis of life-cycle costs, and approves the project’s preliminary cost range to complete the project’s design and construction. CD-2: Approve the performance baseline. A project’s performance baseline consists of key cost, scope, schedule, and performance parameter targets. The project’s scope defines the technical goals and requirements that the project is to deliver at completion. The performance baseline cost includes the entire project budget, or total project cost, and represents DOE’s commitment to Congress. At this milestone, DOE completes its preliminary design and develops a definitive cost estimate that is a point estimate and no longer a range. CD-3: Approve the start of construction. Design and engineering are essentially complete and have been reviewed, and project construction or implementation begins. CD-4: Approve the start of operations or project completion. For construction projects, at this milestone, DOE completes the project and begins the transition to operations. DOE’s project management order for capital asset projects specifies the requirements that must be met, including for developing project cost estimates, along with the documentation necessary, to move a project past each CD point. In addition, the order requires senior management to review the supporting documentation and decide whether to approve the project at each CD point. DOE also provides suggested approaches for meeting the requirements contained in the order through a series of guides, such as guides for cost estimating and project reviews. The life-cycle cost estimate data are maintained in EM’s Integrated Planning, Accountability, and Budgeting System and are used to develop DOE’s reported environmental liability. performance and, if practical, how that performance affects the life- cycle cost estimate and contract period of performance baseline. Before 1970, TRU waste generated at LANL was managed as low-level radioactive waste and was disposed of at Area G in pits and trenches along with hazardous waste. In 1970, in response to concerns that TRU waste remained radioactive for an extremely long time and scientific research recommending deep geologic disposal for this waste, the Atomic Energy Commission––a DOE predecessor––directed sites that generated TRU waste to begin segregating it from other waste and storing it in retrievable packages for an interim period, pending disposal in a repository. As a result of the directive, starting in the early 1970s, the TRU waste generated at LANL was stored in segregated TRU waste pits and trenches and aboveground in fabric domes so that it could be more easily retrieved when a permanent repository site opened. (see fig. 1). Today, Area G serves as LANL’s primary location for storing and processing TRU waste. Both legacy and newly generated TRU waste are stored and processed for shipping to WIPP at facilities in Area G. TRU waste operations at Area G include the following processes: packaging waste into 55-gallon drums or other approved containers following DOE standards, called waste acceptance criteria, to protect human health, safety, and the environment during the waste’s transport to and disposal in WIPP; repackaging containers if they are found to not meet WIPP’s waste acceptance criteria; resizing large waste using methods such as cutting it into smaller pieces so that it can be placed into approved containers; characterizing the waste by using specialized scanning equipment to assess the contents of each waste container and the amount of radioactivity it contains; and certifying the waste to declare that it meets WIPP’s waste acceptance criteria. Starting in 2011, NNSA and the New Mexico Environment Department agreed to significant changes in the strategy for completing the TRU waste removal project. In that year, a wildfire occurred near Area G, resulting in increased public concern about the risk posed by the TRU waste stored aboveground at Area G. To address this risk, in 2012, NNSA and the New Mexico Environment Department reached a voluntary agreement, called the Framework Agreement, which established a June 2014 deadline for the accelerated removal of 3,706 cubic meters of aboveground TRU waste at a high risk from wildfires. To meet this deadline, NNSA initiated an effort know as the “3706 Campaign.” To facilitate this campaign, the New Mexico Environment Department and DOE agreed to extend other deadlines established under the 2005 Consent Order governing hazardous waste cleanup activities for locations across LANL. With these deadlines extended, NNSA was able to reallocate EM funding for environmental cleanup activities at LANL to focus on the 3706 Campaign. Using the additional funds, NNSA increased the TRU waste processing capacity at LANL by constructing more facilities for repackaging waste and hiring additional contractors to operate the facilities 7 days a week. Under the Framework Agreement, NNSA also agreed to remove the remaining aboveground TRU waste at Area G and developed a schedule for removing the belowground TRU waste at Area G by September 30, 2018. According to NNSA officials, part of the plan in establishing the Framework Agreement was that, once the 3706 Campaign was completed, NNSA and the New Mexico Environment Department would discuss renegotiating the final completion date for the Consent Order. On May 30, 2014, DOE announced that NNSA had completed the removal of about 93 percent of the TRU waste included in the 3706 Campaign but would not meet the June 2014 deadline because of the department’s decision to halt the TRU waste removal project. As noted previously, DOE halted the project at LANL in February 2014, in response to an incident at WIPP that involved a LANL TRU waste container that ruptured and leaked radioactive material while in storage. The TWF project is to replace NNSA’s existing capabilities that reside at Area G for storage, characterization, and certification of newly generated TRU waste at LANL. The TWF design includes multiple buildings for waste storage, waste characterization, and operational support. The facility will also have space and utility hookups for three mobile trailers to be provided by WIPP that will contain additional characterization capabilities needed to certify that TRU waste containers meet WIPP waste acceptance criteria (see fig. 2). The TWF is being designed and constructed as a high-hazard nuclear facility, which must meet nuclear safety standards for storage and handling of nuclear waste. Nuclear safety design features of the TWF include a barrier to prevent large vehicles from crashing into the facility, a seismic power cutoff switch designed to reduce possible sources of fire that could result from an earthquake, and a tank to store water to help suppress any earthquake- initiated fire. NNSA’s Office of Defense Programs, which is the program office responsible for maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, is sponsoring the TWF project. The office provides the annual funding for planning and construction and approves the project’s milestones. NNSA’s Office of Acquisition and Project Management is responsible for overseeing the construction of the TWF within NNSA’s approved cost and schedule estimates. To do so, the office provides direction and oversight of NNSA’s management and operating contractor at LANL. NNSA divided the TWF project’s design and construction into two subprojects: site development and facilities construction. NNSA completed the site development activities, which included relocation of utility lines, as well as excavation and grading to prepare the site for the facility’s construction, in December 2012, at a cost of $7.7 million. In February 2013, NNSA approved the project’s CD-2 performance baseline estimate of $99.2 million to construct the TWF with a completion date between April 30, 2016, and January 31, 2018. As mentioned previously, NNSA also estimated that the facility will cost $300 million to operate and maintain for its projected useful life of 50 years, spanning 2018 through 2068.