Less than a week after the award was announced, the multibillion-dollar management and operations contract for the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) is back in play for the current set of bidders. The Department of Energy’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration announced Wednesday that it had rescinded the contract deal to Nevada Site Science Support and Technologies Corp. (NVS3T) because the company failed to alert the agency that it had recently changed hands from Lockheed Martin to Leidos.
“NVS3T did not notify the NNSA contracting officer of the change in ownership and control as required by the request for proposal,” the NNSA said in a press release. “This change in ownership raises substantial questions about the information in the NVS3T proposal, which could significantly impact the evaluation of the proposal and award decision.”
The procurement process will thus remain open; the prior proposals will be considered, but bids from new parties will not be accepted, the agency said. It did not provide additional details regarding the renewed process, but said it would not discuss specifics regarding the identities of the bidding companies, the evaluation of proposals, or negotiations.
Current NNSS prime National Security Technologies — a partnership of Northrop Grumman, AECOM, CH2M, and BWX Technologies — will remain on the job until the new procurement is in place. Spokesman Dante Pistone said the contractor could not comment on the situation, including whether it was one of the bidders for the contract.
Bechtel National was one of the previous bidders and is “closely monitoring the situation,” spokesman Fred deSousa said.
BWXT, CH2M, and Stoller Newport News Nuclear declined to comment, and there was no immediate word from other major players in DOE contracting world.
The new contract had been valued at up to $5 billion over 10 years, including all options. A NNSA official said there was no set schedule for completion of the renewed procurement process.
The 1,360-square-mile Nevada National Security Site conducts U.S. nuclear stockpile support and nonproliferation operations, among other testing and training activities.
