The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking capability statements from contractors ahead of an anticipated procurement for remediation services at the Luckey Site in Ohio under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP).
The Army Corps issued a sources sought notice on Sept. 24. Capability statements are due by 10 a.m. Eastern time on Oct. 11.
The notice is strictly for market research, according to the Army Corps, which is not yet providing the solicitation or the scope of work.
Under FUSRAP, the Army Corps manages cleanup of sites that sustained radioactive contamination from the 1940s to the 1960s through nuclear weapons and energy activities by the Manhattan Engineer District and Atomic Energy Commission. The program counted 23 active locations in 10 states as of 2018, with $139 million in funding.
The 40-acre Luckey Site is located in rural Wood County, 22 miles southwest of Toledo. Its remaining infrastructure encompasses a production building and warehouse, two disused rail spurs, and a number of smaller process and support structures, the notice says.
From 1949 to 1961, the property was home to beryllium processing for nuclear weapons, taking shipments of beryllium aluminum silicate, scrap beryllium, and contaminated scrap metal. The federal government sold the site in 1961 and it is currently not in use after passing through several private owners, according to the sources sought statement.
“Contaminants of concern include beryllium, lead, radium-226, thorium-230, uranium-234, and uranium-238 in soils, sediments, fill materials, other miscellaneous debris, and groundwater,” the notice says.
North Wind-Portage is currently removing contaminated soil from the Luckey Site for disposal at a US Ecology facility in Michigan. As of Sept. 20, 39,440 cubic yards of contaminated soil had been excavated. That represented 24% of the entire excavation project.
Portage Inc. won the contract in 2015, worth up to $100 million over a decade, prior to its 2017 acquisition by the North Wind Group. That deal had a five-year base and a single five-year option.
“The scope and cost of the entire site cleanup is large and complex enough to warrant more than one contract,” Arleen Kreusch, a spokeswoman for the Army Corps’ Buffalo District, said by email.
North Wind referred questions on the next contract, including whether it will bid, to the Army Corps.
The scope of the new contract will exactly match the scope of the earlier award, Kreusch stated. It is expected to cover a long list of activities, including: removal, transport, and disposal of contaminated soil and other materials; project management; site maintenance and security; demolition and debris disposal; sampling an analysis; and restoration of areas after cleanup.
The contract is expected to extend up to a decade, including options. The Army Corps said it would be primarily a cost-plus-fixed fee award, potentially with fixed-price line items. The official request for proposals is expected next year, followed by the contract award in 2021.
To be considered in the eventual procurement, contractors will need to provide a long list of capabilities, encompassing: transportation and disposal of beryllium, lead, and other contaminated materials; beryllium worker health and safety training; environmental response in line with investigation, design, extraction, and construction operations under FUSRAP; and sizable construction remediation covering shoring, dewatering, on-site water treatment, excavation, and management of contaminated soil and fill.
Capability statements, of up to 15 pages, should be emailed to supervisory contract specialist Jeffrey Ernest, at [email protected].
No further procurements are anticipated for cleanup at Luckey, according to Kreusch. The soils remediation is projected to cost $244 million over eight to 10 years.
