As its impact spreads across the United States, the COVID-19 outbreak could further delay procurements at the Energy Department nuclear cleanup office, industry sources said this week.
The DOE Office of Environmental Management has a difficult time issuing new contracts on time even “when there is not a pandemic,” a manager with one federal contractor said Thursday by telephone. A second industry official voiced similar concerns a couple days earlier.
Before the COVID-19 outbreak, most industry officials already predicted the Energy Department would take a more deliberative approach to procurement after two multibillion awards in December at the Hanford Site were promptly protested to the Government Accountability Office. Travels restrictions by DOE and the fact that emergency officials are discouraging meetings of more than 10 people could further complicate procurement preparations, observers say.
The Office of Environmental Management said in a special notice Saturday it could tap the brakes on a trio of major procurements due to the ongoing national emergency surrounding the 2019 novel coronavirus.
Citing travel restrictions and other uncertainty spawned by the outbreak, the Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center (EMCBC) said it might slow procurement plans for Idaho National Laboratory (INL) cleanup, the Savannah River Site Integrated Mission contract in South Carolina, and a stand-alone operations and maintenance contract for Savannah River National Laboratory.
The notice is an effort to better communicate with industry regarding near-term procurement target dates considering the “unprecedented circumstances” posed by the outbreak, said a third source. Because of the public health emergency, it’s a “very fluid” situation, he added.
The Energy Department’s timetables for the solicitations are “for planning purposes” only, according to the notice on a federal procurement website. The agency is leaving the door open to delays depending on the seriousness of the outbreak, saying it wants “high-quality proposals” and “robust” competition.
With testing becoming more available, more than 13,000 COVID-19 cases have been identified in the United States as of Thursday evening, with 193 deaths, according to CNN. The disease was first detected in humans during December in China.
A final request for proposals for the Idaho Cleanup Project would be issued “no sooner than” May 15, the notice says. A draft RFP was released Feb. 11, followed by an industry day and sites tours during the week of Feb. 25. The Energy Department is considering a potential 15-year, $6.4 billion remediation agreement to replace Fluor Idaho’s nearly $2 billion, five-year deal that runs through May 2021. The new contract would also replace Spectra Tech’s roughly five-year, $45 million award for spent fuel management at INL and Fort St. Vrain in Colorado.
A draft RFP on the work scope for the SRS Integrated Mission Contract, which would primarily replace the liquid waste contract held by Amentum-led Savannah River Remediation, could be issued around April 15. A final RFP would then follow no earlier than June 1. A site tour would be held during either May or June, DOE said. A draft performance work statement was issued for the contract Feb. 3.
A draft RFP for Savannah River National Laboratory operations could be out next month, with a final RFP due in June. The laboratory is currently managed through the $14.9 billion site-wide management award held by Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, an agreement that will be in place at least through September and could be extended for up to two more years. The Energy Department issued a preliminary statement of work in December, followed by a notice of intent/sources sought notice for the stand-alone contract on Jan. 14 and an industry day on Jan. 16.
Any questions or comments regarding the three procurements should be emailed to EMCBC Procurement Director Tamara Miles [email protected].
