DOE, PARSONS ‘ON A CLEAR PATH’ FOR SWPF, RESOLUTION EXPECTED WITHIN WEEKS

After reaching an agreement-in-principle on completion of construction of the Salt Waste Processing Facility in April, the Department of Energy and contractor Parsons expect to finalize contract changes in the coming weeks, Savannah River Operations Office Deputy Manager Zack Smith said yesterday. “We are at an agreement in principle, some of the fine details are being worked at that. We would expect a modification being signed here in the very near future, as in weeks, if not shorter. We are on a clear path now,” Smith said yesterday at a Congressional Nuclear Cleanup Caucus Briefing. A new path forward for the facility is needed after delays and cost increases on the project as a result of a lengthy delay in the delivery of key vessels for the plant. The April agreement reached between the contractor and DOE involves completing construction by 2016 but does not address commissioning or startup of the facility. Yesterday Lou Jackson of Parsons said that the parties are working to finalize the remaining contract elements, addressing testing, commissioning and the first year of operations.