NO WORD YET ON Y-12/PANTEX PROTESTS AFTER DEBRIEFINGS

There remains no word on whether the losing teams from the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Y-12/Pantex procurement will protest after each of the bidders received expansive debriefings Friday. NNSA reaffirmed its selection of Bechtel-led CNS for the $22.8 billion contract to run its two main nuclear production sites Nov. 1, and hoped to avoid a third protest of the contract by offering two-part “open book” debriefings to each of the three bidding teams. In the debriefings, the NNSA made the source selection documents for the procurement available to lawyers from each of the teams. That material is typically only made available once a protest is filed. B&W-led Nuclear Production Partners and Jacobs/Fluor-led Integrated Nuclear Solutions previously protested after not being selected for the contract, and each team has until Nov. 25 to protest the contract through the Government Accountability Office—but they must protest the contract by Nov. 20 to trigger an automatic stay of award from the GAO. The NNSA has held off on beginning transition until the protest window is closed. B&W spokeswoman Aimee Mills declined to comment on the company’s plans. Jacobs/Fluor did not respond to a request for comment.