Results in Brief, continued

AOC issued its Utility Tunnel Improvement Plan on August 31, 2006, as directed by the House Committee on Appropriations, but the plan is incomplete, in part because AOC has not completed its assessment of the tunnels and potential asbestos exposure.

In a June 1, 2006, House report, the House Committee on Appropriations directed AOC to provide to the committee "a plan and budget that strategically addresses long term repairs to the steam tunnels." Combining the information it currently has on the condition of the tunnels, AOC categorized the tunnel projects into immediate and short-term repairs that it estimates will cost about $119 million over the next 6 years. AOC identified another $14.4 million in longer-range initiatives to mitigate the known problems in the tunnels.

Such initiatives include conducting quarterly structural inspections and making necessary annual repairs. The plan does not contain an analysis or discussion of options for addressing the immediate and short-term needs of the tunnels, as called for in the House report. AOC does indicate in the plan that it will conduct an alternatives study to evaluate the long-term use of the existing tunnels and options for meeting the Capitol Hill Complex’s future utility distribution needs.

AOC recognizes that the current plan does not fully respond to the questions raised in the committee’s report. According to AOC officials, AOC could not complete the work necessary to respond to all of the requested information in the time allotted. But without information on options and recommendations for addressing tunnel problems and future utility distribution needs, Congress does not get a full picture of the potential solutions to the tunnel problems and their costs.

AOC and OOC are working cooperatively to resolve the health and safety concerns in the utility tunnels, but the slow progress of the work has left the tunnel workers frustrated. To settle OOC’s January 2006 citations and February 2006 complaint, AOC and OOC are exchanging proposals and discussing ongoing technical issues. OOC has been reviewing AOC’s utility improvement plan. While AOC’s plan covers the issues raised by the OOC and the tunnel workers, limited work has been completed to date and the workers have no clear picture of when the work will be done. To improve communication, AOC began holding weekly meetings with the tunnel shop workers in April 2006 to discuss tunnel issues and the actions being taken.