Department Of Energy Audit Uncovers Wasteful Inel Projects
Officials at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory planned at least $26 million in unneeded construction, until an Energy Department audit exposed the waste.
The DOE’s Idaho field office at Idaho Falls disputes the inspector general’s report, and says it was uncovering the excess projects on its own.
Site manager Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies proposed the projects, but the audit said DOE’s field office should have scrutinized the requests more closely.
“Although Lockheed has the authority to manage construction projects from conceptual design through project completion, (DOE) Idaho still has responsibility … to verify the need for construction, identify and evaluate alternatives, and reassess need when significant events occur,” said the report from Inspector General John Layton.
The report said some of the projects became unnecessary as INEL functions were downsized. Its annual budget requests have gone down from about $1 billion to $700 million.
The unnecessary projects:
A $17.4 million, 80,000-square-foot administrative support building. It was to replace and consolidate 17,000 square feet of space scattered among 10 buildings at the Central Facilities Area. Downsizing at INEL, which has trimmed the work force by 1,700 to less than 9,000 the last two years, has made it unnecessary.
A 21,000-square-foot health physics instrument laboratory that the audit said could be smaller and save $4.7 million. After the audit, the field office asked Lockheed Martin to consider alternatives such as privatization.
A $1.6 million, 4,800-square-foot records storage building planned adjacent to a vacant 160,000-square-foot building that hadn’t been used since its construction in 1992. After the audit, the field office canceled this project.
A $1.3 million parking lot upgrade at the Naval Reactors Facility. After the audit, managers instead decided to repair the road to the facility for $450,000.
A $981,000 upgrade of water systems for guard and office buildings at Test Area North, both scheduled to be closed and demolished this year.
A $670,000 bunkhouse expansion at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, designed to accommodate workers too tired to drive home after work, and a $200,000 upgrade to the records storage building at Test Area North. The projects for which the records were to be stored are scheduled for completion by 2000. Both projects were canceled.