What do you do with a 70,000 square-foot taxpayer funded warehouse? Turn it into your personal gym, of course. That’s exactly what contracted employees did at an Environmental Protection Agency warehouse in Maryland.
A report by the EPA inspector general details that the employees used surplus equipment to set up an impromptu gym and personal television areas. The report found “multiple unauthorized and hidden personal spaces that included such items as televisions and exercise equipment” at the EPA leases warehouse.
“The warehouse contained surplus gym equipment arranged to create exercise space for warehouse employees,” the inspector general reported. “The weights, machines, exercise equipment, and overall exercise area appeared to be well maintained. The exercise space was in excess of 30 by 45 feet. Carpet tiles from EPA inventory were placed on the floor in the gym area. This area has electrical power through an EPA power strip and provides music through other agency inventory items. Agency steno pads were used for recording workouts.”
The company Apex Logistics, LLC was contracted by the EPA to maintain the warehouse, but instead contractors used that time to beef up. The EPA leased the warehouse for about $750,000 a year.
The EPA inspector general also found that documents, including passports and legal files, were strewn about the warehouse in unsecure boxes, reports the Washington Free Beacon. The warehouse was left in “deplorable conditions” with corroded door jambs, dust, and vermin feces.
“We look forward to working with OIG staff on remedying the immediate concerns at the facility and determining the need for new and enhanced policies and procedures to prevent a similar situation from occurring again at the EPA,” wrote acting EPA administrator Bob Perciasepe.
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