June 15, 2001

Letter Report, Environment, Safety & Health Issues at the Ashtabula Environmental Management Project

The purpose of this report is to make you aware of issues that came to our attention during recent Office of Inspector General (OIG) inspection activity at the Ashtabula Environmental Management Project (Ashtabula). Inspectors visited Ashtabula during the week of April 30, 2001, and we concluded that certain conditions at Ashtabula may require immediate management attention. During our visit, OIG Inspectors provided daily briefings to the Department’s Ashtabula Site Manager to allow for immediate corrective actions as deemed necessary by the Site Manager. The Office of Inspector General is continuing its work at the Ashtabula site. During our visit to Ashtabula, we physically inspected buildings and equipment owned by the Department and located on property owned by Earthline Technologies (Earthline). We also physically inspected Earthline-owned buildings, known as “Plant 2,” where the Department leases storage space. Our inspection found conditions that indicated questionable contract implementation and administration by both Earthline and Department officials. As a result, there are serious concerns about worker safety and health, and conservation of Government equipment and resources.