Federal officials at Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) confirmed the state branch had “reasonable justification” for withdrawing more than $400,000 worth of citations against The Boring Co., Elon Musk’s private transportation network company in Las Vegas.

After OSHA completed its own investigation, the Nevada Division of Industrial Relations issued a statement noting that an independent review determined that the “citations did not meet the legal criteria for a willful violation.”

The Boring Co. has been building the underground Vegas Loop and has been accused of nearly 800 environmental regulation and workers’ safety violations resulting in chemical burns that sent two firefighters to the hospital. 

The investigation, however, did note the evidence gathered by Nevada OSHA during its investigation did not substantiate the “employer demonstrated intentional disregard or plain indifference to the identified hazards.”

Abby Lopez, assistant regional administrator of Cooperative and State Programs for OSHA, recommended in a letter that policies be changed to require more documentation, as well as outlining a clearer procedure on when it is appropriate to modify documents. She also identified several areas where improvements could be made, including better documentation of when case files would be modified and when to bring in legal counsel. 

These recommendations came after substantiating allegations that “case file documentation was altered, missing and/or removed” and that the citations to The Boring Co. were withdrawn after being issued.

The determination follows a hearing last week where lawmakers expressed concerns about The Boring Co’s dismissal of the violations, as well as a meeting between Gov. Joe Lombardo, The Boring Co. President Steve Davis and a former OSHA director to discuss the citations. Documentation of this meeting was later altered or destroyed, as was documentation of the original case file citation. 

Officials present at the hearing last week included OSHA, the Division of Industrial Relations, as well as the Nevada Division of Environmental Protections, though representatives from the governor’s office and The Boring Co. were notably absent.