FEMA's Ice Outrage: The Meltdown
Thursday, July 26, 2007
By: Jay Boresi

Wastewatcher, July 2007

Taxpayers are going to be frosted when they learn about the latest example of waste at the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA). The agency has decided to liquidate nearly 84.9 million pounds of ice, worth about $24 million, left over from the initial 224 million pounds it had purchased in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The agency had anticipated keeping the ice in reserve to address shortages during the 2006 hurricane season, but there were not as many storms as predicted.

So far, it has cost the agency $12.5 million to warehouse the ice in 23 facilities across the country. Paying to store the ice for two years is especially inexcusable since FEMA’s contract with the Massachusetts-based storage contractor, AmeriCold, mandated that the agency dispose of unused ice within three months of purchase.

Initially, FEMA attempted to donate the extra ice to another federal agency, but could not find any agency willing to take it. There was talk of giving it away to the public, but FEMA officials worried that, after so much time in storage, the ice might not be safe for human consumption. The idea of selling the ice, even at a discount, to willing industrial buyers in order to recover at least some of the costs was apparently never seriously considered. Instead, FEMA is paying $3.4 million to melt the ice, which is expected to take 11 months.

All told, $40 million of taxpayer money has been allowed to melt down the drain in the acquisition, transportation, and storage of wasted ice.