Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
9/19/2014
Congress wrapped up work this week on a stop-gap measure intended to fund the government at the start of Fiscal Year 2015 that did not include an ‘anomaly’ sought by the Department of Energy to implement upgrades at the Fort St. Vrain fuel storage facility in Colorado. DOE had sought new start authority in the Continuing Resolution in order to install upgrades at the facility following a May 2014 Confirmatory Order issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “Project activities must begin in October 2014 to meet the September 2015 completion schedule established by the Order,” DOE’s request said. However, the CR approved by the House and Senate this week did not include the request.
The extent of the upgrades and the reason they are needed are unknown at this time. Both the NRC and DOE declined to comment on the Order this week, but it is believed to be related to security concerns.
Notably, the NRC found in an inspection earlier this year that the spent fuel storage installation was following all regulations. “The ISFSI was being maintained in good physical condition,” says a March 27, 2014 inspection report. “Radiological dose rates around the ISFSI were low. A review of the environmental monitoring program demonstrated that radiological exposures to offsite locations from the ISFSI were low and within the NRC requirements. The quality assurance program and corrective action program were being effectively implemented to capture and correct issues related to the spent fuel storage program. In summary, the licensee was conducting ISFSI activities in compliance with regulatory and license requirements.” The inspection monitored “the areas of radiation safety, quality assurance, thermal monitoring, corrective action program, safety evaluations, ISFSI facility maintenance, and how [DOE] addressed industry issues that affected its ISFSI program,” the report said.
DOE Gearing Up to Compete New Contract to Manage NRC-Licensed Facilities
Meanwhile, DOE announced this week plans to issue in the next 15-45 days a draft Request for Proposals for a new contract to manage NRC-licensed facilities at the Idaho site, as well as the Fort St. Vrain facility. The new contract would cover the Fort St. Vrain facility the Three Mile Island-2 (TMI-2) ISFSI facility at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) in Idaho; and the Idaho Spent Fuel Facility (ISFF) license. DOE also announced tentative plans to hold a pre-solicitation conference, site tour and industry one-on-one sessions for the new contact the week of Oct. 13.
The new contract is being set-aside for small businesses, and is expected to run for up to five years, consisting of a four-year base period and one one-year option period. The new contract is set to be a Firm-Fixed-Price contract that includes a Cost Reimbursable contract line item (CLIN), according to DOE. DOE said it plans to issue the final RFP in the first quarter of the 2015 government fiscal year, with an award date of the fourth quarter of 2015.
