EPA Should Increase Fixed-Price Contracting for Remedial Actions

EPA continues to rely on high risk cost-reimbursement contracts and time-and- materials task orders in the Superfund remedial program. The President, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Congress, and U.S. Government Accountability Office have called for a reduction in high risk contracts. Resistance to change, regional program office pressure, lack of leadership, and lack of trained qualified staff have contributed to the reliance on high risk contracts. Reducing the reliance on these contracts can result in numerous benefits, including cost savings, increased competition, and achievement of socio-economic goals. Additionally, the EPA Acquisition System (EAS) contains inaccurate contract and task order types. Specifically, 5 of 17 contracts and 22 of 60 task orders and work assignments reviewed had an incorrect contract or award type listed in EAS. The inaccurate data in EAS is due to the lack of a specific EAS data quality plan and a decentralized quality assessment process. As a result, EPA is misreporting contract and spending information to the public.