Ravenna Fixed-Price Contracting Dispute

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

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On February 3, 2004, Senate Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) sent a letter to the
Army questioning its plans to use a Guaranteed Fixed Price Remediation
(GFPR) contract at the closed Ravenna Army Ammunition Plant, in Ravenna,
Ohio. On March 26, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Environment,
Safety and Occupational Health) Ray Fatz replied. Fatz's response
doesn't appear to resolve the concerns of DeWine and Ohio's state
government, but it does help clarify the Army's evolving position on
performance-based contracting.

Fatz reported that in the summer of 2002 the Army conducted a national
review of potential GFPR sites using three criteria. (Note, the Army
reviewed individual "sites," which usually make up a portion of an
installation, not entire installations.)

1) no remedial record of decision in place

2) investigation nearly complete

3) cost-to-complete is at least $2 million

Fatz also confirmed a decision I reported last November. The Army
rejected a proposal to report sites as "completed" once a fixed price
remediation contract is signed.

He also said that regulatory agencies - in this case Ohio EPA - will
play an important part in GFPR cleanups. They will be able to assist in
developing performance measures for the GFPR contract, and they will
ultimately have to concur with remedy completion.

Similarly, public involvement activities, including Restoration Advisory
Board meetings, are supposed to continue under GFPR cleanups.

Fatz defended the GFPR initiative, explaining: "The Army has reviewed
the challenges faced by the Department of Energy in implementing
performance based contracting and we learned two valuable lessons.
First, better knowledge of the nature, extent, and scope of the
contamination reduces the risks associated with using performance based
contracting. Second, sufficient funding is required to support the
cleanup effort."

Specific to Ravenna, Fatz wrote, "The performance based contracting
effort undertaken to date at Ravenna was limited to four load lines
where the characterization was essentially complete and the contract was
fully funded." Thus, the Army hopes to have addressed some of the
concerns earlier expressed by DeWine, such as, "GFPR is perhaps a valid
method for smaller sites with limited contamination that is well
documented and well understood."

However, Fatz appears to have fallen short of Ohio's concrete demands,
demands ironically associated with military readiness. DeWine wrote:
"The current remediation plan does not include any provisions to remove
concrete pads, walkways, or underground piping. As a result, none of the
contamination beneath the concrete, or in the piping, will be
remediated. The property will not meet most standards of 'clean' and
will be rendered worthless for most possible future uses.

"In fact the Ohio Army National Guard is interested in obtaining the
property to provide them with a venue for tracked vehicle maneuver
training. However, they have indicated that they will not agree to take
ownership of the property unless it is fully remediated. The property is
unacceptable for use as a tracked vehicle maneuver area with the
infrastructure remaining in place."

In response, Fatz promised continuing consultation, and he assured
DeWine that the Army retains responsibility for residual contamination.
But he also stated, "We also recognize there could be inherent benefits
in coordinating any concrete removal action with the cleanup process.
However, the current site characterization of Load Lines 1-4 indicates
that there is no known contamination under the concrete pads that
requires a response. At this time, the restoration account is not an
appropriate funding source for the removal of the concrete pads."

Lenny
--


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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