Action Needed to Ensure Centerra-Savannah River Site Appropriately Manages High-Risk Property at the Savannah River Site

October 6,2026

Action Needed to Ensure Centerra-Savannah River Site Appropriately Manages High-Risk Property at the Savannah River Site

Centerra-Savannah River Site (Centerra-SRS) is a paramilitary organization that provides security services to the Savannah River Site. Due to the nature of its work, Centerra-SRS maintains a large inventory of high-risk property such as protective gear, weapons, ammunition, optics, and explosives. Centerra-SRS' Personal Property Section is responsible for property management. Prior to October 2024, the Office of Environmental Management's Savannah River Operations Office was responsible for overseeing property management at Centerra-SRS. In October 2024, the National Nuclear Security Administration's Savannah River Field Office assumed responsibility for overseeing property management at Centerra-SRS.

We initiated this audit to determine whether Centerra-SRS' property management program was sufficient to adequately classify, account for, and disposition high-risk property.

We found that Centerra-SRS' property management program was not sufficient to adequately classify, account for, and disposition high-risk property. Specifically, we found that Centerra-SRS did not appropriately classify or account for thousands of property items as high-risk. Further, Centerra-SRS did not perform required high-risk property assessments prior to dispositioning the property.

These issues occurred because Centerra-SRS' property management procedures did not fully incorporate Federal requirements related to high-risk property. Further, Centerra-SRS did not always follow its own procedures, and personnel were not fully knowledgeable of high-risk property requirements. Additionally, the Department of Energy's oversight of Centerra-SRS' high-risk property program was insufficient.

By not sufficiently classifying, accounting for, and dispositioning its high-risk property, Centerra-SRS is at risk for potential adverse impact on public health and safety, the environment, national security interests, and proliferation concerns. Proper classification of high-risk property is important to ensure that only authorized individuals have access to it. Unauthorized access could lead to loss, theft, or misuse of protective gear, weapons, ammunition, optics, and explosives.

To address the issues identified in this report, we have made four recommendations that, if fully implemented, should help ensure that Centerra-SRS' high-risk property is properly classified, accounted for, and dispositioned.

• DOE-OIG-27-01.pdf (1.44 MB)