Stantec Inc. (Stantec) a provider of environmental development and engineering services, with its primary headquarters in Alberta, Canada, along with Cardno Consulting LLC (Cardno), a separate company that Stantec acquired in 2021, have agreed to pay $4 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting or causing the submission of applications to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Brownfields Assessment Grants that falsely certified compliance with federal procurement regulations.
“Applicants for federal grant funds must comply with applicable procurement requirements” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will hold accountable those who undermine the integrity of the federal grant process by falsely certifying compliance with regulations that are designed to prevent unfair competitive advantage.”
“The EPA’s Brownfields Grant Program aims to help communities around the country transform contaminated sites into community assets,” said Acting EPA Inspector General Nicole Murley. “Fair competition is critical to the integrity of this program, and the EPA Office of Inspector General will vigorously pursue allegations of false certifications to protect both the program and the taxpayer dollars that fund it.”
The EPA Brownfields Grant Program provides grants and technical assistance to cities, towns, and other municipalities to assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse contaminated properties. The settlement relates to Assessment Grants the EPA awarded from 2014 to 2022. Applicants for EPA Brownfields grants must certify compliance with a requirement that “contractors that develop or draft specifications, requirements, statements of work, or invitations for bids must be excluded from competing on those procurements.”
The United States alleged that, from 2014-2022, Stantec, through its subsidiary Stantec Consulting Services Inc., and Cardno drafted or assisted in the drafting of the requests for proposals and statements of work associated with applications for EPA Brownfields Assessment Grants, and then competed for and won the work for which they had drafted the specifications. The United States alleged that this conduct violated the above requirement and that Stantec and Cardno falsely certified, or caused the communities applying for the grants to certify, that they had complied with it.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the EPA’s Office of Inspector General.
The matter was investigated by Trial Attorney Robin Overby of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch (Fraud Section) and Special Agent Brian Scriver of the EPA’s Office of Inspector General.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.