Published: September 06, 2008 12:08 am      

Blame game begins in project’s failure

RAINELLE — The finger-pointing has begun in the aftermath of who’s responsible in the controversial Western Greenbrier Co-Generation project which has been scrapped at a cost to taxpayers of more than $16 million.

One Co-Gen committee member said wasteful spending, secret deals and hiding public information were elements of the project’s failure and much of it can be attributed to one man: co-manager Wayne Brown.

Bill Shiffer, the chairman of the Co-Gen management committee, said Brown’s lack of management skills caused him to “waste” millions on unnecessary engineering designs.

“Wayne Brown spent a lot of money on aspects of the project that were unwarranted and had little possibility of coming to fruition,” Shiffer said by phone Thursday.

Shiffer specifically pointed to one engineering design that used railroad cars for shipping coal and ash to and from the proposed power plant in Rainelle.

The proposed electric-producing power plant, owned by the municipalities of Rainelle, Quinwood and Rupert, was designed to burn coal waste known as “gob,” primarily from a four-million-ton site on top of Anjean Mountain.

“Nearly $1 million was spent on that design,” Shiffer said. That design was later scuttled by the committee.

Out of the original $12 million that was awarded in 2003, $10 million had already been spent by August 2005, he said.

Shiffer came on board as CEO of the project in June 2005, but later took a leave of absence from that role.

Brown on Wednesday publicly blamed the U.S. Department of Energy and the Bush administration for “playing destructive political games” in the project’s failure. DOE pulled funding for the $416 million coal-fired electric plant in June.

The Co-Gen plant still owes the state millions due to defaulting on at least two loans. The three cities involved, however, will not be held liable for any lost money, state officials said Friday.

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Shiffer said Brown had no right to blame the Bush administration for the death of the project.

“I am repudiating and rejecting the comments made by Wayne Brown regarding the Bush administration,” Shiffer said. “That is nothing more than his personal opinion, which he is entitled to, but it does not represent my views or the views of the other co-manager, Gary Skidmore.”

Skidmore confirmed Friday he doesn’t hold the same views Brown made concerning the Bush administration.

“Wayne’s comments were purely his own,” Skidmore said.

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Shiffer said his yearly salary was $120,000, but 35 percent of that salary was to be deferred until after construction bonds were sold. The management committee was composed of six members, he said, and was responsible for company policies, legal and compliance issues.

Shiffer said he estimated total salaries of the board to be about $750,000 per year.

“I know that the salaries of the two co-managers were more than mine,” Shiffer said. “And I speculate they were between $150,000 and $180,000 per year.”

Brown downplayed the same question Wednesday, calling the salaries “a small percentage” of the $16 million already spent on the project, but confirmed that part of the salaries had been deferred so more money could be used for matching funds.

When contacted Friday by phone, Brown refused to disclose his salary, stating it was “not public information.”

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Shiffer also slammed Brown on his handling of the June letter from DOE officials saying funding for the project had been eliminated.

Shiffer said the committee had voted unanimously to inform all stakeholders that the DOE had pulled out of the project. Another vote called for issuing a news release to the media. The stakeholders were contacted, Shiffer said, but Brown delayed telling the media about DOE’s decision.

“The reason it was not released to the media was because Wayne Brown had this secret deal with a foundation that was going to provide $150 million to the project, but it was never disclosed to the foundation that the DOE had pulled out. It was all a lie, ” Shiffer said. “Wayne Brown thought if he had the $150 million, he could convince the DOE to reinstate the grant.”

Shiffer said Brown’s “micro-management style” combined with his “poor leadership skills,” was a major factor in the project’s failure.

Shiffer said he doesn’t believe Brown used any of the money for his own personal gain, but rather was “in over his head.”

“Wayne Brown went through four engineering firms. He fired two of them and one of them quit,” Shiffer said. “He micro-managed every detail of the project.”

The Co-Gen committee met Friday and issued an official news release that said the power plant project had been canceled. The release said Brown would handle all media questions.

“I am making no comment past the official news release,” Brown said Friday by phone. When asked if he wanted to respond to Shiffer’s comments, he declined.

Brown said a news conference he previously promised had been canceled.

— E-mail:

cgiggenbach@register-herald.com