For now at least, the compensation for top managers under the next Oak Ridge Reservation Cleanup Contract in Tennessee will be capped at $525,000 annually, the Department of Energy said in a procurement document posted Jan. 15.
The DOE issued its final request for proposals for a new Oak Ridge remediation contract last month and last week published its second set of answers to contractor questions about the solicitation.
One questioner said the level of compensation, excluding bonuses from fee and some other benefits, should be as high as $568,000 annually under the latest Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act standards for key personnel. The prospective bidder said DOE might be using an old cap from 2018.
But DOE disagreed, saying the $525,000 figure reflects the latest guidance it has received from the office for procurement policy. Any updated guidance on higher pay for the top brass “will be handled post-award, if necessary,” the DOE said.
Bids on the contract, with a maximum potential value of $8.3 billion over 15 years, are still due electronically by 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 16. The agency clarified that no hard copies will be required. There were two questions about whether DOE was requiring hard copies by Monday Feb. 15, which is the Presidents’ Day federal holiday, or on Friday Feb. 12.
The Department of Energy is still deciding whether to use virtual oral sessions to hear presentations from key leaders. The agency also refused to have applicants submit information on their federal contracting work beyond the past four years. Some potential bidders said a period of seven years or more would paint a fuller picture of what they can do.
The DOE is retaining incumbent UCOR, an Amentum-Jacobs partnership, at least through July 2021. If two more six-month extensions are picked up, UCOR could stay until July 2022.
An industry official said Tuesday he knows of at least two contractor teams in the hunt for the business. One is composed of APTIM, BWX Technologies and Westinghouse. The other is made up of incumbent partners Amentum and Jacobs along with Honeywell. The source expects other big-name players in the weapons complex might be in the mix as well.
