The Energy Department as of Thursday had yet to finalize an agreement to keep incumbent Savannah River Remediation (SRR) overseeing liquid waste management at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina beyond May 31.
A DOE proposal published March 21 would keep SRR on the job for up to another 10 months, to the end of March 2019. An agency spokesperson said by email no final agreement has been reached.
Savannah River Remediation received its original 10-year, $4.6 billion contract in 2009 It is now working under a five-month extension issued in December 2017.
The Energy Department is still trying to sort out what team of contractors will receive the follow-on waste contract.
In October 2017, DOE awarded a 10-year, $4.7 billion contract to Savannah River EcoManagement: a partnership of BWX Technologies, Bechtel, and Honeywell. The runners-up – an AECOM-CH2M team and a Fluor-Westinghouse venture – both subsequently filed bid protests with the Government Accountability Office. In February, the GAO upheld the AECOM-CH2M protest, saying DOE had failed to sufficiently ensure the technical approach planned for processing the liquid waste by Savannah River EcoManagement would work.
The Energy Department reopened the bidding process for the three teams, which had until April to deliver updated proposals. A new contract award is expected by September, sources have said.
Savannah River Remediation is led by AECOM with partners Bechtel National, CH2M, and BWX Technologies. It is expected to remain in charge of managing and treating the Savannah River Site’s 36 million gallons of radioactive waste until a new long-term contract is finalized.
