TVA Worker Lied in Shuler Inquiry [View All]

Source: Asheville Citizen-Times

WASHINGTON — A Tennessee Valley Authority employee lied about that worker's knowledge of the controversial land development that involved Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., an internal TVA report released Tuesday reveals.

In response to requests from media outlets, TVA released a redacted version of an investigation by the agency's Office of Inspector General into the conduct of the employee. It was an offshoot of a broader probe by the inspector general into the way TVA handled a request to grant water access for The Cove at Blackberry Ridge, a housing development located on Watts Bar Lake, near Knoxville, Tenn. Shuler was a partner in the project.

That investigation concluded in June that Shuler, who serves on a committee that oversees TVA, created a conflict of interest and the appearance of preferential treatment but found no evidence that he had actually received preferential treatment or personally tried to pressure TVA.

That investigation also mentioned that a separate report involving personnel issues had been completed and forwarded to TVA managers.

The redacted report states that an unidentified employee “provided false information” during the inspector general's investigation. The employee was “not candid” when that person denied to the media that Shuler had contacted TVA about the project and denied to the inspector general that the employee was aware that Shuler was an owner of Blackberry.

The report does not state whether any disciplinary action was taken against the employee, and a TVA spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment on the matter. Three redacted pages were released and 11 pages and attachments were withheld.

Still being withheld by TVA, which has rejected several public records requests, is a companion report by the inspector general on Shuler's conduct that it forwarded in June to the House Ethics Committee. The TVA Office of the Inspector General said it made no judgment about whether Shuler's behavior violated ethical standards. Shuler has also refused to release the report and declined comment.

more: http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090916/NEWS01/909160303