Contractor at Hanford Nuclear Waste Project Admits Fraud

March 8, 2013

The nuclear waste processing facility near Hanford, Wash.

A “key contractor” involved in the construction of a nuclear waste processing plant in Hanford, Wash., admitted to criminal time card fraud, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times.

The contractor, CH2M Hill, was charging the government for overtime work that was not performed. CH2M Hill agreed in a settlement to pay back the $2 million in profit it earned from the scheme as well as $16.5 million to “resolve its civil liabilities.”

The project is over-budget and years behind schedule, but this latest scandal does not seem to be halting the complex.

From the article:

The problems, however, have not dimmed political support for the project, given the threat that about 56 million gallons of radioactive sludge at the site could eventually leak and reach the nearby Columbia River.

"Even with all the money rupturing out of the Treasury on this project, Congress doesn't care," said Tom Carpenter, executive director of the Hanford Challenge, a watchdog group that has helped expose many of the technical and management problems at the project.

Read more in the Los Angeles Times.

Image from Hanford.gov.

Topics: Energy and Natural Resources

Related Content: Contractor Accountability, Energy & Environment, Federal Contractor Misconduct, Waste

Authors: Andre Francisco

Submitted by exoffivio at: March 15, 2013

CH2MHill has contracts with most counties and cities, perhaps states as well. Hmmm... time for an extensive audit?

Submitted by Truth Teller at: March 8, 2013

CH2MHill is a pretty large and widely respected engineering firm. That it copped a plea, in so many words, and got away with less than $20 million in "settlement," seems pretty fortunate for the company. But why isn't the US Attorney and the US government looking into--and seeking an indictment for criminal violations of the the FCA and related fraud statutes. Finally, if a firm lies big time on silly little things like a few million dollars of time sheets, why should the government trust and respect its engineering and other technical judgements on the leaking and burping radioactive waste tanks. Betcha some big name firm designed and built those tanks. But by trust a firm now that does the most brazen thing imaginable with administrative tasks?

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