The Department of Energy delayed the release of a draft request for proposals for further cleanup of the Hanford Site’s central plateau until some time between now and Sept. 30, the agency announced Tuesday.
“The Central Plateau Cleanup Contract (CPCC) Draft Request For Proposal is now anticipated to be released by the end of the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018,” the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Environmental Management office wrote in an online notice.
In an April procurement notice, DOE said it could release the draft request for proposals in May or June.
The agency did not say why it delayed the draft solicitation.
The Central Plateau Cleanup Contract will be a follow-on to the Central Plateau Remediation contract now held by CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. The incumbent’s deal was set to expire Sept. 30, but DOE announced in June it planned to extend the pact up to a year, through Sept. 30, 2019.
Awarded in 2008, CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co.’s contract is worth a total of $6 billion or so over 10 years, including options.
Much of the work planned under the new contract is expected to be similar to the work done by CH2M at the highly contaminated former plutonium production complex in Washington state. The company, owned since December by Jacobs Engineering Group, is responsible for much of the remaining river corridor cleanup at Hanford and central Hanford cleanup, with the exception of work related to 177 waste storage tanks.
Hanford’s central plateau has been a headache for DOE.
The area includes the Plutonium Finishing Plant demolition project, which last year was ground zero for a radioactive contamination spread that affected multiple workers and vehicles at Hanford. Some of the vehicles were later driven off-site.
The Central Plateau also includes two PUREX plant waste tunnels, which are full of highly contaminated equipment from Cold War nuclear weapons programs. One of the two tunnels partially collapsed in 2017, forcing DOE and the contractor to make emergency repairs.
