Status of the Administration's Implementation of the Energy Emergency Preparedness Act of 1982

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided a status report on whether reports, which are to be prepared by the Department of Energy (DOE), would meet the statutory requirements and deadlines of the Energy Emergency Preparedness Act of 1982.

GAO stated that, since the reports are still in a very early stage of preparation, it could not offer a final conclusion on whether the reports' contents will meet the statutory requirements. However, GAO did raise several concerns about the reports based on preliminary information provided by DOE officials. Although DOE plans to meet these deadlines, and the reports are progressing according to plan, it is too early to say whether the drafts will be completed and approved by DOE as scheduled. Only 2 weeks have been allotted for final review outside DOE for all but one report. GAO stated that limited input by other agencies, the possible lack of advance review by other agencies, and the potentially large number of concurrences needed may make approval difficult in the short time allotted. Also, the reports seem to have a limited scope, not specifying precise emergency response policies; however, GAO noted that, because the reports are in an early stage of preparation, their contents could change greatly.