The Department of Energy expects to issue the final solicitation for a new prime contract for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico between now and June, according to a procurement notice this week.
The agency said the final request for proposals (RFP) for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) should be out between 30 and 60 days from now, the latter of which would be a bit later than the May target announced in February.
The DOE will also schedule a virtual site tour in connection with the procurement. Details will eventually be published on SAM.gov as well as the WIPP procurement webpage, https://www.emcbc.doe.gov/SEB/wippcontract/.
Nuclear Waste Partnership, a joint venture between Amentum and BWX Technologies, has a nine-year, $2.7-billion contract that would end in September unless DOE issues an extension while the procurement plays out.
One industry source predicted Thursday the incumbents would face significant competition for the business. He said Nuclear Waste Partnership has hit speed bumps in its infrastructure projects by having to fire a major subcontractor that was building a ventilation project and having its temporary work approval suspended for sinking a new underground utility shaft.
The deep-underground salt mine — exiting its two-month annual maintenance outage this week and resuming waste emplacement — is the only facility in the United States designed for permanent disposal of defense-related transuranic waste. The prime contractor is a key cog of DOE’s national transuranic waste disposal program, which includes characterization of the waste at generator sites and coordination of transport.
The contract also includes overseeing major infrastructure projects such as the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System, designed to give WIPP enough underground airflow for simultaneous mining and waste emplacement. This is something WIPP has lacked since a February 2014 underground radiation leak. Last August, Nuclear Waste Partnership fired the subcontractor building it and has not yet awarded a replacement subcontract.
The total WIPP property consists of about 16 square miles and most of the buildings are located within the 35-acre surface area that makes up the property protection area, DOE said in the notice. Some administrative offices for WIPP are located in the city of Carlsbad, about 25 miles west of the waste disposal site.
WIPP was out of service for about three years following a February 2014 underground radiation leak.
The point of contact for the WIPP contract is agency contracting officer John Blecher who can be reached via email, [email protected].
The DOE issued a request for information back in July 2020 and has no plans for a draft RFP.
