An engineering firm embroiled in a legal battle over accusations of a fraudulent cleanup of San Francisco’s Hunters Point Shipyard has agreed to a massive payout to settle the case.
Tetra Tech EC Inc., a subsidiary of Tetra Tech Inc., will fork over $97 million to the federal government to partially resolve the legal battle over its remediation practices, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission document filed by the company Friday.
The shipyard, located in the southeastern corner of the city, started as a repair facility during World War II. The Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory used it until the 1960s as a cleanup site for ships exposed to atomic weapons and for research into the effects of radiation.
The Navy stopped using the site in 1974. By the 1980s, it had been placed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities List and designated for ongoing cleanup efforts. The Navy hired Tetra Tech EC to test for radiation and clean any unsafe areas.
Tetra Tech EC got the attention of federal prosecutors in 2018 when the government joined whistleblower cases alleging that the company had misrepresented soil samples it submitted for radiological testing and falsified data. That same year, two employees were sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to falsifying records.
In a statement, Tetra Tech EC spokesperson Sam Singer said the company “entered into the settlement agreement and consent decree to avoid the delay, uncertainty, and expense of protracted litigation.” He added, “The settlement agreement and consent decree contain no admission of liability by the company.”
A U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Friday’s settlement doesn’t end Tetra Tech EC’s legal troubles.
According to David Anton, the lawyer who has represented the whistleblower case since 2013, the settlement agreement still needs to be reviewed by a judge. He said other fraud allegations made by the whistleblowers are ongoing and won’t be affected by the settlement agreement.
Tetra Tech EC is also being sued by Bayview Hunters Point residents and a developer, Five Point Holdings.