IG: CWI INAPPROPRIATELY TRANSFERRED $7.9 M FROM SODIUM BEARING WASTE

Idaho cleanup contractor CH2M WG Idaho inappropriately transferred about $7.9 million in funds from the Sodium Bearing Waste Treatment Facility construction project to other accounts, resulting in an understated total project cost, according to a Department of Energy Inspector General report released this week. In an effort to reduce SBWT total project costs below the $571 million cost cap, in 2010 CWI transferred about $13.1 million in costs from the project to other efforts within its contract. However, about $7.9 million of that actually were direct project costs, the IG said. “Because the contractor’s reimbursements for the project costs were limited by a cost cap, management informed us that these cost transfers reduced the contractor’s liability for costs above the cost cap,” the IG report states. It adds, “management officials told us that the inappropriate cost allocation issues would be considered during contract closeout negotiations and could impact the fee determination made by the contracting officer.”