Concerns over the tobacco disposal contract between the USDA and Biomass Energy LLC may only be the tip of the iceberg, according to information provided to U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland.

In October, Strickland (D-6th) asked acting Inspector General Joyce Fleischman to investigate why the USDA awarded a $2.33 million tobacco disposal contract to Biomass, a Nicholasville, Ky.-based company that is delinquent on its taxes and does not have an operable furnace at its South Point facility.

Strickland met with representatives from the inspector general's office Wednesday to see how the investigation is going. He learned that this may only be an illustration of bigger concerns within the USDA.

"I can tell you that they are taking this very seriously," Strickland said. "They are looking at this as indicative of a much larger problem as to how the USDA handles these contracts."

Because the USDA still has large amounts of tobacco that needs to be disposed of, this may be bigger than just this incident and may need to be corrected before more problems arise, he said.

In addition to looking into similar situations across the country, USDA officials plan to meet with local officials and visit Biomass' South Point facility in the near future, Strickland said.

The IG's office has requested that the USDA's farm service division provide by Nov. 15 a variety of documentation, including tobacco disposal requirements, all contracts, Biomass information and more.

"They are asking all of our questions and many more," Strickland said, referring to questions that he sought answers to and questions submitted in writing to the USDA by The Ironton Tribune that have still not been answered.

Some of the questions include: Did the USDA consider Biomass' financial standing when awarding this contract?; What led USDA officials to refute claims that Biomass owed delinquent taxes?; How many taxpayer dollars have been received by Biomass? and; Does the USDA have plans to recoup any of that money?

One question is of particular interest to Strickland

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how much money has this situation cost American taxpayers?

"They will be asking how much more this has cost the government to use this second solution (of removing the tobacco and taking it to a landfill)," he said. "This is pertinent information because the government has paid for all this removal."

Biomass became a household name in December of 2002 when the company was awarded a $2.33 million deal to destroy 121,448 tons of surplus tobacco at its South Point site.

Shipments began this spring, but were stopped by the USDA in March after concerns were raised by the Ohio EPA about permits needed for the storage and disposal of the material. The EPA later ordered that the 10,181 tons already received to be removed.

Because all parts of the EPA orders to remove the product were not met on time, the OEPA referred the case to Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro's office on July 22 but no legal action has been taken at this time.

Last week, Biomass CEO Mark Harris said that all the tobacco has been removed and Biomass still plans to conduct a $100 million renovation of its plant that could begin early next year and be completed in 12 to 15 months.

Strickland was encouraged to hear that Biomass representatives had indicated that the company plans to pay $109,125 in delinquent taxes on 13 parcels of land from the 2001 and 2002 tax years. The congressman said it is odd that the company would try to blame the reluctance to pay its taxes on the company's adversarial relationship with former Chamber leader Pat Clonch.

Regardless of the feeling toward local leadership, that "has nothing to do with their legal obligation to pay their taxes," Strickland said.