The Department of Energy said Monday it plans to release a final request for proposals (RFP) for the Tank Closure Contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state within 45 days.
The final RFP, for a full and open competition, will be posted at www.fedconnect.net.
The closure contract that results from the solicitation will replace the Tank Operations Contract, held by AECOM-led Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) and set to expire Sept. 30 of this year. The winning vendor will manage and subsequently close single-shell and double-shell tank farms that hold 56 million gallons of radioactive waste.
The new contract will also cover finishing construction of equipment to pretreat and feed low-level waste to the Waste Treatment Plant being built by Bechtel.
The Energy Department plans to hold a presolicitation site tour with potential bidders on Jan. 24. The registration deadline is 2 p.m. local time on Jan. 17. Further details will be posted on a DOE Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center website for the procurement. Questions about the site tour can be directed to DOE Contracting Officer Bill Hensley, at [email protected].
Last fall, the Energy Department gave tank manager WRPS a one-year extension, worth about $629 million, to its 10-year, $6.3 billion contract at Hanford. With DOE not expecting to issue a tank award before mid-2020, the timing would suggest the contractor could receive another extension.
As it gradually shifts from operation to closure of 177 underground tanks at Hanford, DOE is also gearing up to issue a future solicitation for operation of the WTP, which will turn the radioactive waste into a form of glass for disposal. No date has been scheduled for the WTP management procurement. Bechtel’s current contract calls for it to design, build, and commission the vitrification plant prior to passing the torch to an operations contractor.
A 2016 federal court order stipulates the WTP must start treating Hanford’s low-activity waste by 2023 and its high-level waste by 2036.
The Energy Department announced Dec. 31 it was splitting tank closure from what had previously been called the tank waste management or tank operation contract.
The tank closure work is needed because the waste poses a threat to the Columbia River, and more broadly to human health and safety, according to DOE.
