The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will meet with industry representatives on Feb. 8 near Washington, D.C., to discuss its next nuclear decommissioning project: the SM-1 reactor on the grounds of Fort Belvoir.
The SM-1 operated from 1957 to 1973 at the Army base in Fairfax County, Va. It was the first nuclear power plant ever linked to a public utility grid, helping to power the installation and used for training nuclear technicians. It was partly decommissioned after closure, including removal of nuclear fuel and control rods and decontamination throughout the plant. Since then it has been largely dormant.
The Army Corps is preparing planning documents for completion of decommissioning and dismantlement of the site, Brenda Barber, program manager for the Environmental and Munitions Design Center at the USACE Baltimore District, wrote in an update to stakeholders last week.
“As the team continues through the planning phase, we have begun initial market research to assess what companies may be able to implement this large, unique and complex project. This is just the first of many steps our team will be taking to ensure a fair, open and transparent contracting process,” Barber stated.
A draft request for proposals should be released before July of this year, followed by the final RFP ahead of the close of 2019, she said. The procurement has been slowed by internal scheduling issues at the Army Corps, but the award is still anticipated by mid-2020, Barber added.
Based on responses to a sources sought notice issued last year, the Army Corps anticipates six to eight competitive bidders, Barber told RadWaste Monitor on Tuesday. She said she could not discuss further details.
The industry day meeting will be held at Room 221 of the South County Government Center of Fairfax County. It is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. with a two-hour presentation on decommissioning of the facility. That will be followed by individual meetings with potential contractors.
Interested contractors have until 2 p.m. EST on Jan. 25 to RSVP to contract specialist James Greer, at [email protected]. The subject line for the email must state SM-1 Industry Date RSVP from (company name). The message must include the name of the company and those who will attend. A maximum of four participants from each company is allowed, including subcontractors.
The Army Corps said during a March 2018 industry event that decommissioning was expected to last five years. Costs and other details were not known at the time, and there was no immediate update this week.
“Decommissioning planning is still underway. We anticipate the planning efforts will be complete early in 2020,” Barber told RadWaste Monitor by email. “The team is working on public engagements for the planning process to get input on the next major efforts for planning – preparation of the Environmental Assessment and the Section 106 Historical Mitigation. The team is also working on specific details for the Decommissioning Work Plan and associated documents, to include waste management, transportation and the like.”
An Army Corps contractor in September completed the nearly $66.5 million decommissioning of the MH-1A reactor on the STURGIS barge in Galveston, Texas. The barge was then towed to the city of Brownsville for shipbreaking, which is expected to wrap up in early spring.
Planning continues for decommissioning of the SM-1A reactor at Fort Greely, Alaska. The plant operated from 1962 to 1972, primarily generating power and heating steam for base utilities.
“We are in the initial planning phases still, but since award the team has made several trips to the SM-1A facility and hosted meetings with the facility staff to begin to plan the decommissioning efforts,” Barber wrote.
The Army Corps wants to prepare some of the major contract documents even as they proceed with contracting for the Fort Belvoir job. An industry day for the SM-1A is scheduled for Feb. 12-14 at the Marriott Downtown Anchorage Hotel.
