Hanford Contractors Settle $58 Million Claim Over Fraudulent Labor Billing Practices
READ ON
BY SCOTT LEADINGHAM & ANNA KING
Two contractors at the Hanford Site have settled with the federal government over allegations they fraudulently billed for labor costs.
Under the settlement, Bechtel Corp. and Aecom will pay nearly $58 million over allegations from current or former Hanford employees. The workers said they were retaliated against for blowing the whistle over how labor hours were billed.
The two contractors are building the massive vitrification plant at Hanford that will help dispose of radioactive waste and cost upward of $17 billion.
The companies also agree to cooperate with the Justice Department for an investigation into employees involved in the billing practices that defrauded the Department of Energy and, ultimately, U.S. taxpayers.
This marks the second time in four years that the two contractors have paid tens of millions of dollars to settle claims over their work at Hanford. In 2016, they settled a case with the Justice Department for $125 million over claims of using substandard building materials and poor quality in construction of the same vitrification plant.
In an emailed statement Tuesday night, a Bechtel Corp. executive, Barbara Rusinko, president of the company’s nuclear, security and environmental business unit, wrote:
“As a company, we felt it was in the best interest of the project and our customer to resolve this matter so that we can avoid the distractions and expenses of a protracted legal proceeding, move beyond these issues, and fully focus on completing our work at such a critical time for WTP. Thanks to the commitment and dedication of the project’s employees, the contractors have made significant progress toward remediation of one of our country’s oldest and most complex environmental waste problems.”
The vitrification plant, formally known as the waste treatment and immobilization plant, has been under construction since 2002. It is scheduled to go “hot” and be active by late 2023.
Related Stories:
Hanford managers and watchdogs hold first in-person cleanup dialogue meeting since before pandemic
The last in-person public meeting about Hanford cleanup was in Richland in 2019. (Courtesy of Washington State Department of Ecology) Listen (Runtime :56) Read The public can ask questions and… Continue Reading Hanford managers and watchdogs hold first in-person cleanup dialogue meeting since before pandemic
U.S. Department of Energy beckons clean energy development at Hanford
David Turk, federal Deputy Secretary of Energy, speaks to about 100 people during an informational meeting about potential clean energy development at Hanford. (Credit: Anna King / Northwest News Network)… Continue Reading U.S. Department of Energy beckons clean energy development at Hanford
Feds say Hanford’s 324 Building has more waste under it than previously known, float new plan for cleanup
The 324 Building on the Hanford Site (Courtesy: U.S. Department of Energy) Read A creepy old building used for 30 years to research radioactive materials from 1966 to 1996 has… Continue Reading Feds say Hanford’s 324 Building has more waste under it than previously known, float new plan for cleanup