Proposed Relocation of the NRC Region IV Office From Arlington, Texas, to Fort Worth, Texas

GAO was requested to review the proposed relocation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Region IV office from Arlington, Texas, to Fort Worth, Texas. Specifically, GAO reviewed a cost-benefit analysis prepared by General Services Administration (GSA) of the proposed relocation of the NRC regional office to the historic Texas and Pacific (T&P) Building in Fort Worth. Based on the cost-benefit analysis, GSA decided not to relocate the NRC regional office to the T&P Building.

GAO found that GSA did not base its decision to move the NRC regional office to Fort Worth solely on cost effectiveness. Its rationale and criteria for relocating the NRC regional office were based primarily on complying with: (1) an Executive order which concerns the President's urban policy and the location of Federal facilities in urban areas; and (2) the Public Buildings Cooperative Use Act which concerns the use of space in historic buildings. Although GSA analyzed the cost benefits of the relocation, there was little documentation to support this analysis. In addition, the analysis did not include all relevant costs associated with the proposed relocation, such as the costs to duplicate special alterations at the T&P Building and the costs to relocate employees that NRC says it would have paid.