Millions in Earmarks Purchase Little of Use

In the first 12 years after the center was formed, Concurrent did not have to compete for contracts. It received at least three sole-source contracts, one of them worth $150 million.

The money added up -- and so did questions about the center.

Operating under Army oversight, the program received as much as $271 million in congressional appropriations and contract work from fiscal 1990 to fiscal 2000, according to Pentagon auditors.

Many technologies studied or developed by the center were demonstrated at the Johnstown facility. In some cases, the center made presentations at Defense facilities or promoted the technologies in reports or on the Web.

One technology that was demonstrated and transferred was an ultra high-pressure water jet system for cleaning aircraft engines, according to a 2001 report by the Pentagon inspector general's office. Auditors said the technology had the potential to save $8.7 million over 15 years. Pentagon auditors found that most military people working with the center were satisfied with its services.

But that apparent enthusiasm didn't prompt them to embrace the center's work very often.

Of the five dozen technologies demonstrated by the center in the 1990s, only 20 were put into use at Defense facilities, auditors said. Just one was used at multiple locations, auditors said.

The reasons for the failure included a lack of funding by the Defense Department, and the fact that in more than half the cases the technologies did not save money as promised. The inspector general's report said technologies were "not being effectively disseminated to many potential DoD customers."

Questions about the center's effectiveness prompted the Defense Department to ask the National Research Council to identify major barriers and remedies to the transfer of pollution-prevention technologies. The council's 2002 report took aim at the center's approach, saying it needed to do a better job reaching out to the Defense Department and "selecting and completing relevant projects with significant and quantifiable impacts."

Despite the criticism, spending on the center continued. It received at least $9.5 million in 2002 and $11.3 million in 2003, according to the Army. In 2003, Concurrent won its first competitive award to run the center. The contract was worth up to $350 million over five years and called on its researchers to find solutions for hazardous waste, groundwater pollution, nuclear waste, corrosion prevention and other problems, according to the statement of work. It was Concurrent's largest contract ever, contracting documents show.

Army officials defended the contract award, saying it was competitively bid and an important step in making the operation more effective.

"The all important first step in revitalizing the role of the NDCEE was to issue the new contract via a competitive process," the Army said in a statement. "Further, significant efforts were made to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of NDCEE."

The center has received $130 million under that contract, Army officials said. One success cited by Army officials is a system for helping Defense Department installations enter a federal workplace health and safety program. The center has also developed a plan for helping a Defense Department ammunition plant reduce contamination from the process of making explosives.

Tad Davis, the Army's deputy assistant secretary for the environment, safety and occupational health, declined to discuss the center's activity before he took on his job in October 2005. But he said the Army is doing a better job getting the center to focus on research that is germane to the Army and Defense Department.

"There's a certain amount of marketing that has to take place," Davis said. "It's not as easy as driving up to someone's installation and knocking on the door."

Davis said he sees the center's issues not as problems, but as challenges that can be overcome. "It's going to require effort," he said. "I think it's doable."