Millions of dollars being paid by Exxon Corp. to repair oil-spill damage in Alaska are being spent on projects that may not be linked to the 1989 spill, says a congressional study.
The critical report by the General Accounting Office says state and federal officials charged with administering $1 billion in Alaska oil-spill recovery money too often have funneled money to government agencies for dubious scientific studies and data collection.In some cases, the GAO said in the findings released Sunday, projects have been approved that "either do not appear to be directly linked to the oil spill or appear to duplicate existing responsibilities of federal and state agencies."
The study confirmed findings reported by the Associated Press last week that most of the more than $200 million spent by the trustee council during the past two years had gone to reimburse state and federal agencies, Exxon for some past cleanup work, and for administrative and legal expenses.
The report was issued a day before a scheduled meeting between Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and members of the state-federal Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council in Alaska to discuss future spending of $900 million being paid by Exxon into a special fund over a 10-year period. The fund is administered by the trustees.
In a written statement from its Houston headquarters, Exxon said it has spent more than $2.5 billion for the cleanup and a voluntary claims program relating to the Valdez spill.
A 1991 court settlement also directed that Exxon pay the state and federal government $50 million each. Spending plans for some of that money also have been criticized by environmentalists and some members of Congress.
Instead of moving quickly to put money into programs aimed at protecting natural resources "the bureaucrats gave top priority to feathering their own nests with reimbursements and gold-plated studies of questionable merit," Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said Sunday.
The GAO said money too often was distributed to state and federal agencies with no independent audits and no concern of potential conflict of interest.