Purse Strings Tighter At Bpa In Wake Of Audit Independent Inquiry Cites Lax Oversight Fish Of Programs

Getting money out of the Bonneville Power Administration for fish and wildlife projects could be more difficult in the future.

The utility plans to follow the recommendations of an independent audit that calls for more stringent review and monitoring of programs funded by ratepayers and taxpayers.

The audit by Moss Adams, a Portland-based management and accounting firm, found lax oversight of BPA-funded fish and wildlife programs, a lack of competitive bidding and a need for more detailed planning.

The BPA’s head of fish and wildlife programs said he welcomed the review.

“The path we’re already on is to impose more demanding requirements to access this money,” Bob Lohn said. “This report encourages us to stay on that path.”

The BPA spends $127 million annually on fish and wildlife programs designed to recover salmon runs and improve other fish and wildlife habitat harmed by dams in the Columbia Basin.

The projects, such as fish hatcheries and fish behavior research, are funded in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana.

The spending amount was determined by a 1996 memorandum of agreement between federal agencies involved in energy and wildlife issues.

The Columbia River Alliance, a coalition of businesses and other interests in the basin, found the audit vindicating.

“This is great to have an independent auditor come in and echo the same things we’ve been saying,” said Bruce Lovelin, director of the alliance. “We’ve been after BPA and the Northwest Power Planning Council for years saying ‘Why don’t you force competitive bidding on this.”’

The audit specifically looked at how the fish and wildlife dollars are dispensed and what assurances BPA had that it’s being spent in a cost-effective manner.

The audit is part of a larger review in response to criticism that salmon runs continue to dwindle even as billions of taxpayer and ratepayer money have been spent on salmon recovery in the past two decades.

The increased scrutiny is directed by the Northwest Power Planning Council, which was authorized under a 1996 amendment to the Northwest Power Act to bring more accountability to salmon recovery efforts.

One of the findings of the audit was that some agencies tend to view the fish and wildlife funding as an entitlement, said John Hancock, principal auditor.

“We understand that the entities that received much of the contracts in the past believe they have a right to the property and resources connected to that,” Hancock said.

Of the projects approved for funding in 1998, 84 percent went to state, federal or tribal agencies. Only 7 percent went to local entities, private companies or universities.

The audit found that private contractors had to meet more stringent standards in their plans than governmental entities. Another finding was that some projects were significantly modified in midcontract without proper review.

Many contractors, moreover, never bothered to file quarterly progress reports as required by the contract. Other documentation, such as invoices, also was missing.

The criticism that too few of the contracts are let competitively is not new to the BPA. The Department of Energy concluded the same in a 1994 audit.

The problem is that “much of what we do requires permission from the states or the tribes,” Lohn said. “You’re dealing with an agency that has jurisdiction. It continues to be an issue.”

The audit made 28 separate recommendations, from more detailed planning on the council’s part to more dogged oversight of contractors on BPA’s part.

, DataTimes MEMO: These sidebars appeared with the story: FOR MORE INFORMATION The BPA audit’s findings and recommendations are posted on the Internet at the Northwest Power Planning Council’s web site: www.nwppc.org

WHERE THE FUNDS GO The BPA audit found that of the projects approved for funding in 1998, 84 percent went to state, federal or tribal agencies. Only 7 percent went to local entities, private companies or universities.