The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup procurement office last week laid out what type of foreign ownership and control disclosures bidders should be ready to provide when pursuing contracts in the weapons complex.
The DOE’s Cincinnati-based Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center in a seven-page document detailed the Foreign Ownership Control or Influence review that contractors undergo in order to land new business.
Foreign ownership rules have existed a long time but are receiving increased attention as the agency’s Office of Environmental Management’s end state contracting model seeks to move toward greater standardization of bid packages and DOE seeks to expand its contractor base. Companies with foreign ties can still secure DOE business but must show they do not pose undue risk to U.S. national security.
Cavendish Nuclear, already active in the United Kingdom and Canada, recently opened a new office near Washington, D.C., and hired Richard Provencher, a former DOE manager at the Idaho National Laboratory, to run its United States nuclear business.
The foreign ownership and control and facility clearance reviews are primarily focused on ensuring a foreign entity is not given access to classified information or special nuclear material “that would put our national security at risk,” according to the summary published by the DOE business office.
Businesses already approved under the Department of Defense foreign control standards can avoid filing a full package with DOE, according to the Oct. 11 document.
Otherwise, DOE wants to know: if any members of a contractor team are at least 5% foreign owned; when agreements with foreign individuals or entities exceed 20% of the U.S. business’ net worth; or when the U.S. bidder has foreign debt exceeding 10% of its net worth. Information also must be filed on parent companies as well, according to the DOE summary.
The contractor must report if one of its “key management personnel” as defined by the foreign ownership guidelines are not United States citizens.
In addition, contractors must tell DOE before terminating its DOE business or operation for any reason, including mergers, consolidation or bankruptcy.
