A former Securities and Exchange Commission accountant has been appointed to serve as the corporate monitor of CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. after a timecard fraud scandal at the Hanford tank farms. As part of a March agreement between CH2M Hill and the Department of Justice to avoid prosecution, CH2M Hill agreed to pay for a corporate monitor for CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. for three years. Pamela M. Roberts, who worked as an SEC supervisory staff accountant, will serve as the monitor to ensure the contractor is in compliance with its own policies and procedures for recording and reporting labor hours to the Department of Energy, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday. She also will monitor CH2M Hill’s compliance with regulations in claiming performance-based incentives. She will be given full access to CH2M Hill records at Hanford and may attend any meeting. She also will have review and comment authority on the Hanford contractor’s policies and procedures and its internal audits. Although Roberts will be an independent monitor, she will work with the DOE Office of Inspector General and will provide quarterly reports, according to the Department of Justice.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington will support her work, particularly in the area of labor hours and performance-based incentives tied to large management bonuses. Federal court records have alleged that timecard fraud was permitted at the tank farms when CH2M Hill Hanford Group held the contract to get workers to agree to overtime shifts so work could be completed that was tied to bonuses. “We cannot allow for another timecard fraud conspiracy to develop at Hanford,” said Michael Ormsby, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. “We anticipate that Ms. Roberts will work with cooperating CHPRC employees to prevent just that.” CH2M Hill admitted as part of the settlement that it had conspired with its employees when CH2M Hill Hanford Group held the tank farm contract to commit criminal timecard fraud and paid $18.5 million in penalties and damages, according to the Department of Justice. CH2M Hill now holds the contract for central Hanford cleanup, where Roberts will be assigned. Roberts starts work July 15 and will be the first corporate monitor ever appointed at Hanford, according to the Department of Justice. CH2M Hill has been complying with the letter and spirit of the settlement agreement since it was signed, Ormsby said. “We fully expect that they will continue their commendable assistance in the process of getting Ms. Roberts set up and supporting her efforts,” he said.
