In 1995, the Office of Inspector General evaluated planned construction projects at the Idaho
National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. In our resulting audit report, we
questioned a number of the projects because they were not needed to support the Laboratory's
mission, or because they were inappropriately sized. At the time, we found that the Department
was not consistently verifying the need for projects, nor was it identifying and evaluating
alternatives. As a result of the audit, the Department agreed to more aggressively manage
construction by canceling unnecessary projects and thoroughly assessing alternatives at the
Idaho site.
