A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Oil shale deposits in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are estimated to contain up to 3 trillion barrels of oil--or an amount equal to the world's proven oil reserves. About 72 percent of this oil shale is located beneath federal lands, making the federal government a key player in its potential development. Extracting this oil is expected to require substantial amounts of water and could impact groundwater and surface water. GAO was asked to report on (1) what is known about the potential impacts of oil shale development on surface water and groundwater, (2) what is known about the amount of water that may be needed for commercial oil shale development, (3) the extent to which water will likely be available for commercial oil shale development and its source, and (4) federal research efforts to address impacts to water resources from commercial oil shale development. GAO examined environmental impacts and water needs studies and talked to Department of Energy (DOE), Department of the Interior (Interior), and industry officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In early 2008, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responded to a crisis involving the contamination of heparin, a medication used to prevent and treat blood clots, when the agency received multiple reports of adverse events involving severe allergic reactions. The crisis took place from January 2008 through May 2008, during which time FDA took several actions in its response to the crisis. GAO was asked to review FDA's management of the heparin crisis. This report examines (1) how FDA prevented additional contaminated heparin from reaching U.S. consumers, (2) how FDA coordinated its response to the contaminated heparin crisis, and (3) FDA's monitoring and analysis of adverse events associated with heparin. To conduct this review, GAO reviewed relevant FDA documents, regulations, and guidance; analyzed FDA data; and interviewed FDA officials and other experts involved in the crisis and knowledgeable about drug quality standards."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of the Interior (Interior) leases public lands for oil and natural gas development, which generated about $9 billion in royalties in 2009. Some gas produced on these leases cannot be easily captured and is released (vented) directly to the atmosphere or is burned (flared). This vented and flared gas represents potential lost royalties for Interior and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. GAO was asked to (1) examine available estimates of the vented and flared natural gas on federal leases, (2) estimate the potential to capture additional gas with available technologies and associated potential increases in royalty payments and decreases in greenhouse gas emissions, and (3) assess the federal role in reducing venting and flaring. In addressing these objectives, GAO analyzed data from Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and others and interviewed agency and industry officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In recent decades, managing the nation's public and private forests and rangelands has become increasingly complex, requiring a sound understanding of science and science-based tools to address these complexities. The Department of Agriculture's Forest Service maintains a research and development program (FS R&D) to help provide scientific information and tools. GAO was asked to examine (1) the scope of research and development carried out by FS R&D and some of its resulting accomplishments, (2) trends in resources used in performing FS R&D work and the effects of those trends on its research efforts and priorities, and (3) recent steps FS R&D has taken to improve its ability to fulfill its mission and challenges it faces in doing so. In conducting this review, GAO analyzed FS R&D funding data for fiscal years 2000 to 2009 and staffing data for fiscal years 2006 to 2009 and interviewed officials from FS R&D, other federal agencies, and nonfederal entities."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to a mandate in the conference report to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act, 2010. In accordance with the direction in that report and in consultation with congressional staff, we provided interim oral briefings in March and July 2010 and are reporting the results of our final briefing on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) efforts to assess national preparedness. Specifically, we are reporting on (1) the usefulness and limitations of the national preparedness capabilities data that have been collected to date through selected evaluation efforts as described by FEMA, and (2) the extent to which FEMA has made progress in its national preparedness capability assessment efforts since we last reported on this issue in April 2009."