Project Katrina

The government wasted millions of dollars in its award of contracts, including spending $10 million to renovate and furnish 240 rooms in Alabama that housed only six occupants before being closed. The Associated Press reports that the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) review of 13 major contracts—many of them awarded with little or no competition—offers one of the the first analysis of the post-Katrina Hurricane procurement process. Some of the findings include:

• Nonexistent communication with local officials led to misjudgments on the need for temporary housing. They included $3 million that FEMA spent for 4,000 base camp beds that were never used and $10 million to renovate and furnish 240 rooms in Alabama that housed only six occupants before being closed.
• Poor coordination between FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers contributed to waste in an Americold Logistics LLC’s contract for ice. “The local Corps personnel were not always aware of where ice might be delivered and did not have authority … resulting in inefficient distribution,” it said.
• Inadequate planning led to the award of a Mississippi contract for classrooms without competition. “Information in the contract files suggests the negotiated prices were inflated.” A review of that specific contract, with Akima Site Operations LLC, was continuing.
• FEMA had only 17 of the 27 monitors it deemed necessary to oversee the installation of temporary housing in four states, leading to inadequate controls.

The 13 Katrina contracts reviewed by the GAO include: C. Henderson Consulting; Americold Logistics; Clearbrook LLC; CS&M Associates; Gulf Stream Coach Inc.; Morgan Building & Spas Inc.; Bechtel National; Fluor Enterprises Inc.; CH2M Hill Constructors Inc.; E.T.I. Inc.; Ceres Environmental Services Inc.; and Thompson Engineering Inc. You can download a copy of the report here (PDF format).