The Energy Audits Unit inspected numerous management advisories sent to BLM and ONRR to check on the status of recommendations made in those summaries, in particular how many had been implemented and how many were in the process of being implemented.
We completed an inspection of nine energy-related management advisories issued to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) during fiscal years 2008 to 2013. The Energy Audits Unit issued one advisory and the Energy Investigations Unit (EIU) issued eight advisories.
The objective of the inspection was to determine if BLM and ONRR responded to the advisories expressing either concurrence or non-concurrence with the recommendations and if the Office of Policy, Management and Budget's Office of Financial Management (PFM) tracked and monitored the implementation of the recommendations concurred to by the bureaus.
Based on our analysis of BLM's and ONRR's responses—
• 19 recommendations were implemented;
• 14 recommendations are being implemented; and
• 2 recommendations did not have concurrence.
We agreed with BLM's and ONRR's responses for the two non-concurrences and consider both recommendations resolved.
We noted that BLM's Division of Evaluations and Management Services was not providing oversight above the program level for the EIU advisories. A BLM official told us that the Division did not track recommendations issued by EIU because the advisories were initiated by investigations and BLM's practice was to keep the circumstances confidential so as not to compromise the investigations. However, except for the use of names in the respective advisories, which could be redacted, the EIU advisories did not contain sensitive information.
We will refer the 4 advisory reports' 14 recommendations to PFM for tracking of implementation.