March 17, 2014

BAKER CONCRETE SUES SRNS FOR WORK AT WSB

By ExchangeMonitor

Baker Concrete is suing Savannah River Nuclear Solutions for damages it says it incurred in relation to work it performed as a subcontractor for the Waste Solidification Building. In the suit filed June 6 in the U.S. District Court for the South Carolina District Baker claimed a litany of offenses by SRNS, including breach of contract accompanied by fraud. The allegations trace back to the 2009 competition of the firm fixed price subcontract for the work, which Baker says was undertaken with an inadequate design. Since its execution, SRNS has issued more than 1,200 design drawing sets, according to the suit. It seeks damages that include nearly $7.9 million for unpaid services, among other claims.

SRNS’ work at WSB came under fire last summer in a strongly worded letter from the National Nuclear Security Administration contracting official that raised the possibility of “gross negligence” in SRNS’ handling of the project. The Baker suit states that last August “SRNS’ Chief Operating Officer openly conceded to Baker management personnel and others that SRNS failed to conduct the appropriate level of due diligence on the design prior to soliciting the firm fixed-price bids,” it states. “He also admitted that SRNS solicited the firm, fixed-price bids and executed the Baker subcontract based on an inadequate design, ‘that was nowhere close to 90% complete.’”

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