The Government Accountability Office this week dismissed a bid protest by a Bechtel-led group over a potential $2.3-billion Department of Energy contract awarded to an Atkins Nuclear Secured-led team, —but that won’t be the final word, as DOE will re-evaluate the original award.
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) document viewed by Exchange Monitor said GAO’s dismissal of the protest by Bechtel-led Mission Operations Alliance came after DOE agreed to take “corrective action” on the November contract won by the Atkins-led team. DOE will reconsider the realism of pay levels outlined in the winning bid.
The long-term Operations and Site Mission Support contract for the Portsmouth Site in Ohio and the Paducah Site in Kentucky also includes running depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion plants.
After using alternative dispute resolution to resolve the bid protest, GAO told the parties it would likely sustain the Bechtel protest due to DOE’s “failure to evaluate professional compensation in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation,” according to a Feb. 18 memo. The memo was signed by Edda Emmanuelli Perez, listed as GAO general counsel.
In response, DOE told GAO it would re-evaluate the compensation issue using the proper standard and “make a new best-value tradeoff determination,” according to the memo.
“The agency’s action renders the protest academic,” GAO goes on to say in the memo. “We do not consider academic protests … The protest is dismissed.”
In a Tuesday notice published on its website, GAO dismissed the bid protest. Early Wednesday, sources said DOE would take corrective action, which could include a re-evaluation of the original selection decision. DOE could always stick with its initial award decision, one source said.
The contract winner Mission Conversion Services Alliance consists of Atkins Nuclear Secured, Westinghouse Government Services, and Jacobs Technology, which is now part of Amentum.
The final request for proposals was issued in April 2022. Mid-America Conversion Services, which is led by Atkins, currently does the DUF6 work at Portsmouth and Paducah.
AtkinsRéalis declined comment. DOE and Bechtel did not immediately respond to Wednesday emails seeking comment.
