The Government Accountability Office was not convinced by the argument from a Bechtel-led joint venture that it should have been issued a long-term contract for remediation at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state because its proposed price tag for performing the first set of tasks was lower than that from the rival group that was awarded the contract.
Late Wednesday, the GAO released its 20-page redacted decision outlining its reasons for upholding the 10-year, $10 billion contract issued in December to Central Plateau Cleanup Co., a team of Amentum, Fluor, and Atkins. Project W Restoration, a team consisting of Bechtel National, Tetra Tech, and EnergySolutions, protested the award in January.
The Bechtel-led group said its price offer for doing the first several tasks – including completion of groundwater remediation in a key portion of the Columbia River corridor – was only $88 million, compared to $98 million proposed by the Amentum-led group.
Under the DOE Office of Environmental Management’s end-state contracting model, an award decision can be made on the first set of tasks rather than the entire contract period.
Bechtel also argued it largely matched the winning group’s marks in areas such as key personnel, technical approach, and past performance.
On April 30, the GAO rejected the protest. In its detailed opinion, the congressional auditor said while the key personnel for both teams were rated “outstanding” by DOE, the federal agency also determined the winning venture had better “overall depth” in the top leaders, and the winners did better on problem-solving scenarios during the review process.
In the end, the GAO said it would not substitute its judgment for the Energy Department’s.
The Bechtel team has the option of appealing the GAO decision in federal court.
