We evaluated the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Montana/Dakotas State Office’s use of oil and gas (O&G) funds.
We found that the BLM Montana/Dakotas State Office did not comply with O&G fund expenditure requirements from fiscal years (FYs) 2015 through 2018. Specifically, BLM employees incorrectly charged more than $1 million in labor costs to the O&G program. We also found that the BLM transferred more than $3.5 million in labor hours originally charged to non-O&G accounts (e.g., rangeland management) to O&G accounts. In addition, the BLM incorrectly charged $268,251 to the O&G program for retention bonuses and awards for employees who did not perform related duties. The BLM also incorrectly charged $144,000 in miscellaneous operations expenses to O&G accounts. In total, we identified more than $4.8 million of questioned costs and funds that could have been put to better use for FYs 2015 through 2018.
We make 12 recommendations to help the BLM improve program accountability for its O&G funding. The BLM concurred with 11 of the 12 recommendations in its response to our draft report. We consider one recommendation unresolved, eight recommendations resolved and implemented, and three recommendations resolved but not implemented. We will refer the recommendations to the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget for resolution and to track implementation.