Mike Nartker
WC Monitor
10/3/2014
The Department of Energy was unable to meet a Sept. 30 goal to have a final cost-and-schedule baseline in place for D&D efforts underway at the Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU) site. “Discussions are ongoing with URS in an attempt to clarify remaining project technical risks and uncertainties which will allow URS to finalize a project completion baseline,” a DOE official said in a written response late this week. DOE did not respond when asked when it now expects to have the final baseline completed. For its part, URS this week referred questions to the Department.
In late 2007, URS won a four-year contract—then worth $66.9 million—for the project, which was to have been completed by the end of 2011. In the fall of 2010, though, a set of contamination incidents occurred during open-air demolition activities at one of the two SPRU buildings that resulted in the spread of low levels of contamination to the broader Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, where SPRU is located, as well as to a local river. The contamination incidents helped to stall work at SPRU for approximately two years, and led to changes in how D&D would be performed at the site, chiefly through the addition of enclosures constructed around the buildings with ventilation systems.
Since the fall of 2012, the Department has been using an “interim baseline” submitted by URS, according to DOE’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget request, which notes, “In January 2013 the contractor began implementation of a slower rate of progress than required by the interim baseline and working to a URS baseline, which has not been shared with or validated by DOE.” DOE now is planning to have all work completed at SPRU and all necessary documents finalized by September 2018.
Questions Persist Over Cost
A final baseline at SPRU could help resolve long-standing questions over who will be responsible for what portion of the project’s costs. Also in response to the 2010 contamination incidents, DOE subsequently moved to modify its contract with URS to set up a cost-sharing approach for completing work. That approach entails DOE being responsible for all project costs up to $105 million; DOE and URS splitting all costs incurred from $105-145 million; and URS being fully responsible for covering all costs exceeding $145 million. Since the contract modification was finalized, though, URS has been pushing back against being held responsible for significant portions of the costs to date incurred at SPRU, which have included, among other issues, addressing the impacts of bad weather at the site.
In an earnings report released in August, URS said the total project cost for the SPRU D&D project has increased to $280 million as of July 4, and warned it could further increase to more than $300 million. However, a presentation a senior DOE Office of Environmental Management official gave last month at a meeting of the EM Site-Specific Advisory Board chairs lists the “EAC”—estimate at completion—for the SPRU D&D project at $254.5 million. When asked last month about the differing estimates, a DOE official said, “The revised Estimate at Completion (EAC) of $254.5M is the DOE Federal Project Director’s estimate for completion. The DOE EAC includes DOE costs to date, estimated to-go costs and some project contingency associated with remaining project risks.” The official went on to say, “Discussions are ongoing in attempt to resolve current requests for equitable adjustment that have been submitted by URS.”
