That prompted Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minnesota), a member of the subcommittee, to demand Jones provide the committee with statements from the individuals who changed their position.
But that's not what the committee was told in a July 26 letter signed by Tom Webb, Alyeska's engineering integrity manager, who worked on the relocation analysis.
Webb said, "At the current time, I do not know of any Integrity or Safety risks resulting from the relocation," adding that the measure has resulted in "the loss of over 30% of Integrity Management's staff."
According to several Alyeska officials, the committee has not yet spoken with the other integrity management personnel who worked on the report, but they accused Jones of misrepresenting the facts.
Thebaud noted that his "investigation found no written analysis of the effect of the proposed relocation" on the [incident management team], the individuals who respond to spills or emergencies, such as an earthquake, or "staffing levels, experience, response capabilities, logistics, training, or overall effectiveness."
"Moreover, [Alyeska's] Emergency Preparedness and Compliance Manager reported that management did not discuss with him, or request that he conduct an analysis of, the impact of the proposed relocation on the [incident management team]," the report said. "In light of these circumstances and the evolving personal decision-making by those selected for relocation, the investigation cannot conclude that the relocation will have no impact on the effectiveness of the [incident management team]" when it comes to responding to a spill or other emergencies.
Thebaud said the concerns raised by Afraidaspill surrounding the relocation are "substantiated in part" because it correctly predicted that it would "result in key engineers leaving the company," placing the "the integrity program at risk" and "reversing the significant progress made by the Company in integrity management in recent years."
"These losses will, in the near term, place added stress on the organization," Thebaud's report said.
But Thebaud's report then appears to be somewhat contradictory stating he has not found "compelling evidence to support a conclusion that either the loss of personnel or the new work location will have a significant adverse effect on the Company's performance of its integrity management program."
That last statement by Thebaud led a top Alyeska official to state: "Well of course not yet. This is an example of a statement being made by someone who has no concept of what Integrity Management for a pipeline is or looks like."
"This is a case in point that Thebaud was not qualified to perform this part of the investigation. You would not expect any 'evidence' to immediately crop up right after these events have occurred - it doesn't work that way," the Alyssa official said.
Michelle Egan, an Alyeska spokeswoman, told Truthout last month that the relocation was carefully planned by Hostler and Alyeska managers and that "staff [were being] transferred because of the efficiency and synergy that is gained when [employees] are co-located with the rest of the departments" in the "same building."
Thebaud's report said the relocation was actually supposed to be phased in over an 18-month period and finalized in spring 2011. The report further states that Hostler unilaterally made the decision to move up the relocation by a year. The change, coincidentally, came after a news report was published in the Fairbanks News-Miner that questioned the logic behind the relocation and reprinted a separate email written by Afraidaspill critical of the decision.
Disastrous Decision
Several Alyeska officials said the relocation has already proven to be a disastrous move and has neither resulted in "efficiency" nor "synergy."
Indeed, an email obtained by Truthout sent to senior Alyeska officials July 26 by David Hackney, one of Alyeska's integrity management engineers, said, "Even in the short time I have been relocated in the Anchorage office, it is already clear to me that moving our operations from Fairbanks puts the safety of operations at risk. As to business efficiency, I have already seen that there are none to be realized."
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