The Department of Energy Monday released fee scorecards for four contractors in charge of major reclamation, tank waste management, laboratory operation and site services at the sprawling Hanford Site in Washington state.
In its first eight months on the job, Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Co. (CPCC) won 79%, or $20.8 million, of a potential $26.5 million fee including about half of the subjective fee for its remediation work at the former plutonium production site, according to DOE’s scorecard.
For the period between Jan. 25, and Sept. 30, 2021, the remediation contractor earned $5.27 million out of a potential $10.6 million in subjective fees. It also won $15.5 million out of almost $15.9 million in objective criteria.
The contractor, which also includes partners Fluor and Atkins, won DOE kudos for environmental permitting in support of the direct feed low activity waste vitrification system that DOE hopes to start up by the end of 2023 at the Waste Treatment Plant — the long-delayed facility that will solidify much of Hanford’s liquid radioactive waste.
The company also treated over 1.66 billion gallons of contaminated groundwater and finished shoring up some aging underground waste structures, according to DOE.
On the downside, DOE said CPCC needs more “timely, consistent and conservative reporting” of job-related health and safety information. Also, key areas such as accounting, estimating, purchasing, and property “continue to require significant DOE oversight.”
The contract awarded in December 2019 has a value of up to $10 billion over 10 years.
Another new contractor at the site, Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS), won 87% of its total award fee for the same period, including about 71% of its subjective fee, according to its scorecard.
The contractor, which acts as something akin to a city manager, raked in a total of about $13.7 million out of a potential $15.7 million. Its subjective fee was roughly $4.5 million out of $6.3 million. Out of $9.4 million in potential objective fee it took home all but about $250,000.
“HMIS demonstrated effective management of roads and electric, water, and sewer utilities to maximize reliability, as well as planning to supply reliable utilities for critical Site facilities and support 24/7 operations to treat tank waste,” DOE said in its scorecard.
While there were no glaring HMIS flaws, “there were some opportunities for improvement,” including infrastructure project management and financial management controls, DOE said. HMIS has a $4 billion contract that runs into August 2025.
A third new contractor, Navarro-led Hanford Laboratory Management and Integration, won 75% or $977,000 out of a potential overall fee of $1.3 million for operating the 222-S Laboratory during its first four months on the job — between May 26, 2021 and Sept. 30, 2021. It claimed 73% of its subjective criteria award and 88% of its objective performance-based award.
The 70,000 square foot 222-S Laboratory is does various analysis of highly radioactive tank waste samples.
Before COVID-19 vaccinations were widely available, the new contractors had transition periods from the incumbent providers delayed because of the pandemic. The companies and DOE soon came up with a transition process that used fewer in-person meetings.
Finally, one major incumbent, tank waste manager Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), won 94% of its overall potential fee for the entire 2021 fiscal year ended Sept. 30, according to the scorecard.
The Amentum-Atkins partnership claimed about $41.7 million out of a potential $44.5 million. It earned 86% of its subjective award and 100% of its objective award.
On the job since October, 2008, WRPS, currently extended through September 2023, is doing business under a contract valued at more than $8.5 billion.
