Final solicitations are coming this autumn for multibillion-dollar contracts at the Hanford Site in Washington and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, the Department of Energy said Wednesday.
The final request for proposals (RFP) for the potential $21.5-billion Savannah River Site Management and Operating Contract should hit the street in September while the potential $26.5-billion Hanford Integrated Tank Disposition Contract could be out in October, the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) said in a procurement update notice posted online.
Both potential 10-year contracts are, because of the expected payoff, attracting interest from the biggest names in the DOE weapons complex, sources said.
The DOE issued the draft RFP for the Savannah River operations contract, business now held by Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), in April. On the job since August 2008 under a contract currently valued at $15.8 billion, the incumbent will stay on the job at least through September, though DOE could exercise an option to keep it around through September 2022.
In March the agency dropped its draft RFP for the Hanford Site contract that would combine management and closure of Hanford’s 177 underground tanks with planned operation of the long-awaited Waste Treatment Plant being built by Bechtel. Responsibility for the tanks now rests with Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS).
The incumbent WRPS has been on the job since October 2008 with a contract currently valued at about $7.8-billion which is now scheduled to sunset in September, although DOE has options to keep it on through September 2023.
Due to the lingering effects of the COVId-19 pandemic, EM “generally expects to proceed with procurement functions that require limited or no face-to-face interactions or travel,” according to the notice. The notice goes on to add that timelines are subject to change given the impact of COVID-19.
Questions or feedback can be emailed to Aaron Deckard, the acquisition integration lead at the Cincinnati-based Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center at [email protected].
