KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Barring unforeseen circumstances, the U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management expects soon to award the potential 10-year, $6 billion support services contract for the Hanford Site in Washington state, an agency procurement official said Wednesday.
The Energy Department apparently recently informed Congress the contract was being awarded, only to reverse course and say the notice was issued in error.
The contract could be awarded “soon, soon,” not months from now, said Norbert Doyle, deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and project management at the nuclear cleanup office. That assumes there are no more unexpected developments, he added on the sidelines of the Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association (ETEBA) Business Opportunities and Technical Conference.
Three Western Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee said in a Sept. 27 letter that DOE should hold off on releasing the multibillion-dollar contract until they get answers regarding a fraud lawsuit the Justice Department filed in February against a group of defendants that include current Hanford support services vendor Mission Support Alliance (MSA).
The Office of Environmental Management is drafting a reply to the letter from Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Doyle said.
“A couple of times we have been on the verge of issuing this” Hanford Mission Essential Services Contract, Doyle said during a morning presentation to the conference. “Things happen,” and issues must be addressed, he said, declining to elaborate afterward.
The senators’ letter suggested the Energy Department plans to award the new contract to another joint venture that apparently includes the incumbent members of MSA: Leidos and Centerra.
Among other things, the senators in their letter requested that Energy Secretary Rick Perry provide the criteria used to evaluate proposals for the follow-on contract, the status of the government’s case against the contractor, whether the litigation was considered in the award decision.
