The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management expects to stay busy with procurements during the remainder of 2020.
The nuclear cleanup office intends to roll out up to six final requests for proposals (RFP) between now and December, according to a quarterly update posted Monday by the Cincinnati-based Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center. The Energy Department cautioned that the timetable is for planning purposes only, and staffing impacts from COVID-19 could affect the schedule.
Two RFPs could be released this month, one for nationwide treatment of low-level and mixed-low-level radioactive waste, and another for technical assistance at the DOE Carlsbad, N.M., field office that oversees the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
The Energy Department expects to award multiple five-year basic ordering agreements for waste treatment services. EnergySolutions, Waste Control Specialists ,and Perma-Fix Environmental Services are among the current waste treatment providers.
Idaho-based North Wind is the incumbent vendor for Carlsbad technical assistance, under a $45.5 million contract scheduled to end Dec. 4.
Here is a rundown of the tentative schedule for the other RFPs:
- September: the integrated mission completion solicitation for the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. This will replace the $6 billion liquid waste contract held by Savannah River Remediation, currently slated to run through Sept. 30.
- October: Portsmouth infrastructure support services RFP for the successor for the $117 million contract held by a North Wind/Swift & Staley team, which is scheduled to expire in February 2021.
- November: The cleanup RFP for the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, which would replace the $3.3 billion URS/CH2M Oak Ridge (UCOR) remediation contract. The Energy Department recently announced plans to extend UCOR for up to two years, potentially through July 31, 2022.
- December: The Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) project in Moab, Utah. The $187 million business is now held by a North Wind subsidiary under a contract set to expire in September 2021.
