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As part of the Office of the Inspector General's (OIG) ongoing commitment to provide oversight in this area, we assessed Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Kingston ash spill clean-up and recovery efforts. We assessed TVA's progress in two areas: (1) the clean-up of the ash and returning the area to its previous condition and (2) reparations to victims and restoration of the community.We found comprehensive efforts have been completed and are still ongoing pertaining to the clean-up of the spill.

The Inspector General (IG) Criminal Investigator Academy (IG Academy) was officially established in February 1994 by a Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) and the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE). The training academy is located at FLETC in Glynco, Georgia. The PCIE was superseded by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) under the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008. Therefore, CIGIE assumed accountability for the IG Academy.

Marshall Miller & Associates, Inc. (Marshall Miller) was engaged by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Office of Inspector General to review the adequacy and completeness of environmental recovery plans prepared by TVA in response to the ash spill that occurred on December 22, 2008, at the Kingston Fossil Plant (KIF). Generally, Marshall Miller found no significant deficiencies in any of the proposed alternatives for the restoration of the Swan Pond Embayment, including the selected alternative.

Since 1933, Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) dam and reservoir construction program has acquired approximately 1.3 million acres of land for the creation of 34 reservoirs in five of the seven states in the Tennessee Valley region. Water flooded approximately 470,000 acres as part of the construction and operation of the reservoir system.

OIG reviewed the Lenoir City Utilities Board (LCUB), a distributor for TVA power based in Lenoir City, Tennessee. LCUB also operates nonelectric businesses that include gas, water, and sewer utilities.

We reviewed the design of a TVA contractor's process for administering subcontracted work for the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2 construction project. Specifically, we reviewed the contractor's (1) invoice review process, (2) process for scheduling work, and (3) process for ensuring subcontractor work meets the contractor's specifications. In addition, we made inquiries regarding concerns raised about the management of measuring and testing equipment (M&TE).

The OIG performed a review of the City of Scottsboro Electric Power Board (Scottsboro) which is a distributor for TVA power based in Scottsboro, Alabama. Scottsboro also operates a telecommunications department that offers cable, internet, and telephone services. Also, Scottsboro is one of four distributors to which TVA granted retail rate setting authority. In 2002, TVA Board of Directors approved and made available to distributors six wholesale power contract flexibility options.

As part of our annual audit plan, we audited $35.07 million in costs billed to TVA by a contractor for providing quality control inspections and nondestructive examinations under two contracts. In summary, we found TVA had been overbilled $159,662 under one of the contracts, including (1) $136,030 in overstated payroll taxes, insurance, and related performance fees, (2) $18,228 in ineligible labor costs, and (3) $5,404 in duplicate fees. The contractor agreed with our findings and plans to reimburse TVA for the overbilled costs. Summary Only

This review was the fourth in a series of reviews that will benchmark TVA's performance in key areas and answer the question, "How is TVA doing in regard to environmental performance." In conducting this review we: (1) assessed environmental performance, including key performance measures and, (2) evaluated TVA's performance relative to available benchmark information, and (3) identified key management challenges that could affect how successful TVA is in achieving these strategic objectives.

TVA Office of the Inspector General retained Marshall Miller & Associates, Inc. (Marshall Miller) to conduct a peer review of the report entitled "Report of Geotechnical Exploration and Slope Stability for Dike C," prepared by Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. (Stantec) of Lexington, Kentucky. In summary, it is Marshall Miller's opinion that Stantec generally performed a reasonable scope of investigation for the portion of Dike C covered in its report and applied appropriate investigative methods and evaluation techniques.