Feds: Hanford contractors to pay $125 million settlement
SEATTLE — Bechtel National Inc. and a subcontractor have agreed to pay $125 million to settle a lawsuit alleging subpar work in building a nuclear waste treatment facility on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state, along with accusations that Bechtel illegally used taxpayer money for lobbying.
The settlement, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Spokane, resolves a lawsuit initially brought in 2013 by three whistleblowers — managers at the nuclear site who sued on behalf of the federal government because they worried about safety issues at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant.