Improvements Needed in Managing Federal Coal Mapping Contracts

Maps, which were intended to provide a basic source of coal resource data for the Department of Interior's land use planning system, were prepared under contracts awarded and managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Sixteen cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts were awarded for the purpose of mapping coal deposits in seven western States. A review was made of shortcomings in contract management practices which were largely responsible for the poor quality of the maps and, if not corrected, could also jeopardize other programs that rely on contracting.

The shortcomings included a questionable basis for awarding and amending the contracts, vague contract provisions, lack of other guidance, and inadequate cost estimating and contract monitoring. One of the contracts was awarded on a sole-source basis without adequate justification. Two other contracts were modified without seeking outside competition. Ten of the contractors were orally requested to make major changes in the scope of the contracts. These changes were the basis for later contract modifications resulting in significant cost increases. Contract monitors and program officials were not trained adequately in contract administration, and there were no written guidelines for them to follow. The statement of work did not adequately describe what data contractors were to use in preparing the maps, how data were to be analyzed and interpreted, or what procedures would be followed in reviewing the maps. Consequently, standards varied, delays occurred, and map quality suffered. A program manual was not published until more than 2 years after the initial contract was issued and after work on all the contracts was nearly completed. Cost overruns were due to costs not properly estimated, delays caused by agency planning, and frequent changes in the basic format of the maps.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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