September 30, 2011

The 12 GeV CEBAF Upgrade Project at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

In September 2008, the Department of Energy's (Department) Office of Science approved a construction project to double the electron beam energy of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Laboratory) from 6 to 12 billion electron volts (GeV).  We found that the 12 GeV Upgrade Project (Upgrade Project) generally complied with the American Recovery Act and Reinvestment Act of 2009 requirements we tested and was, for the most part, on schedule.  However, we identified several opportunities to strengthen project monitoring and control.  Specifically, we found that:  1) Jefferson Science Associates (JSA) used funds from the Commonwealth of Virginia (Virginia) to pay for Upgrade Project tasks even though the funds had not been formally obligated to its contract; 2) Jefferson Laboratory did not include all of the costs for the Upgrade Project in the Total Project Cost; and, 3) Jefferson Laboratory was not timely in addressing concerns regarding risks posed by a solenoid magnet to be used in the GlueX spectrometer, which is the centerpiece of the Upgrade Project.  Subsequent to our inquiries on the issue, the Site Office in consultation with the Oak Ridge Office placed the Virginia funding on JSA's contract using a Work for Others (WFO) agreement.  The Department's WFO directives were not clear on how this particular type of transaction constituted being a WFO because the agreement was for Upgrade Project tasks that were already included in the Department's planned funding profile.

Topic: Science & Innovation