GAO DECISION ON Y-12/PANTEX PROTEST EXPECTED THIS WEEK

The Government Accountability Office will decide this week on a Babcock & Wilcox-led protest of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Y-12/Pantex award. The GAO has until Feb. 28—Friday—to make its long-awaited decision in the latest chapter of the procurement. The NNSA has twice awarded the contract to Bechtel-led Consolidated Nuclear Security, but B&W-led Nuclear Production Partners has protested the award three times. Its first protest was successful, forcing the NNSA to seek more information from bidders before selecting CNS for a second time. In its latest protest, Nuclear Production Partners argued that NNSA allowed Consolidated Nuclear Security to unfairly alter its proposal, made mathematical errors in calculating the cost savings contained in its bid, and improperly evaluated CNS’ key personnel. The GAO convened the parties for three days of hearings earlier this month on the protest.