May 27, 2003

Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory's Strategic Initiative Fund

We found that Bechtel BWXT Idaho, LLC (Bechtel) used the Strategic Initiative Fund to supplement the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; pay for activities that should have been direct funded; and, pay for questionable activities such as advertising, marketing, and direct selling, that did not directly benefit the site's predominant activity, environmental cleanup efforts. Also, the associated costs were not appropriately allocated to benefiting programs.