The Department of Justice plans to intervene in part of a federal lawsuit against Washington Closure Hanford and two subcontractors alleging that false claims were made in respect to subcontract awards. The lawsuit was filed by Savage Logistics in 2010 after the company failed to win a subcontract. The Department of Justice plans to intervene in the case against Washington Closure and Federal Engineers and Constructors, both of which were named among original defendants by Savage Logistics. It also is adding new defendants Sage Tec and Sage Tec’s owner Laura Shikashio. But it will not pursue a case against Washington Closure subcontractor Phoenix Enterprises, which was named as a defendant by Savage Logistics. The Department of Justice has 120 days to file a complaint, as ordered by Judge Edward Shea in Eastern Washington District U.S. Court.
The federal complaint may not include all or the same allegations made in Savage Logistic’s complaint, which alleged that FE&C conspired with Washington Closure to rig bids and misrepresent the size and independence of subcontractors bidding on Washington Closure work. That would allow FE&C to continue performing work and getting paid, while Washington Closure could satisfy Department of Energy requirements to subcontract work to small and disadvantaged companies. FE&C believes that Savage Logistic’s allegations are without merit and will continue to vigorously defend the company against them, said FE&C attorney Jessica Blankenship. Sage Tec could not be reached for comment. None of the unsealed documents in the case indicate which Sage Tec subcontract is of concern to the Department of Justice, but Sage Tec teamed with FE&C to win a Washington Closure subcontract worth up to $5.3 million in 2010 to dig up soil contaminated with chromium near C Reactor. Washington Closure awarded Phoenix Enterprises a contract worth more than $4 million in 2009 to transport nonradioactive waste at Hanford. The Small Business Administration later found that Phoenix Enterprises was affiliated with FE&C, according to court documents.
