Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is calling for the Department of Energy Inspector General’s Office to launch an investigation into what he has alleged are “questionable procurement practices” at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant. Yesterday, Wyden publicly released a report prepared by WTP contractor Bechtel National warning of the potential cost impacts of the 56 active purchase orders for equipment and materials for the WTP Pretreatment Facility that have been suspended since 2012, when the Department of Energy stopped work at the facility due to the need to resolve technical issues. “Ongoing suspension and escalation costs of almost $5.3 million per year have resulted in a scenario that, if left unchecked, could result in costs of over $276 million in as little as several years,” the Jan. 9 report states.
In a letter to DOE IG Gregory Friedman yesterday, Wyden said the Bechtel report shows that “hundreds of millions of dollars have been misspent on components and services for just a single portion of the WTP due to questionable procurement practices by the contractor and inadequate oversight by the Department.” The senator added, “Millions of dollars more are at stake if the suspended purchase orders are not concluded.”
Bechtel National recommended in the report that 15 of the purchase orders should be immediately terminated, six should be finished immediately and 13 should be terminated if the suspension period for work at the Pretreatment Facility is expected to be at least seven years. Such recommendations would result in savings to DOE totaling $66 million over seven years, the report says, adding that the recommendations would also reduce the annual suspension costs to $1.6 million. The report states that “all results of the model and the analysis consistently point to one fundamental truth, delaying a decision is the most costly decision that can possibly be made.” DOE is currently evaluating Bechtel National’s recommendations, a Department spokesperson said yesterday in a written response.
For its part, Bechtel National believes its recommendations represent a “prudent” approach, the company said in a statement yesterday. “Bechtel uses the industry’s best practices to manage any project. After the Department decided to suspend work on the Pretreatment Facility, we performed an analysis of the financial impacts on existing purchase orders for equipment and materials affected by the Department’s decision to suspend. We believe our recommendations provide prudent actions for the Department to consider. We look forward to continuing to work with DOE on the most efficient ways to safely address Hanford’s tank waste,” Bechtel National said.