Oral arguments set Oct. 10 in Hanford tank contract case

A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge will hear oral arguments Oct. 10 at the request of an AtkinsRéalis-led team that the judge ruled against last month in a $45-billion legal dispute over award of the Department of Energy’s liquid waste contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state.

Senior Claims Court Judge Marian Blank Horn plans to hear oral arguments via Zoom in a closed proceeding that will originate from her Washington, D.C. courtroom.

The oral arguments featuring attorneys from Atkins-led Hanford Tank Disposition Alliance (HTDA) and the two-time contract winner, BWX Technologies-led Hanford Tank Operations and Closure (H2C) will start at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, according to a Sept. 30 order by Horn.

HTDA has made a flurry of legal filings with the Claims Court since Sept. 9 when Horn upheld DOE’s decision to re-award the Hanford Integrated Tanks contract to H2C, which also includes Amentum and Fluor. The Sept. 9 opinion has yet to be made public. Likewise, most of the filings surrounding HTDA’s request for oral argument remain under seal.

In addition to Atkins, the HTDA team also includes Jacob — which recently spun off its DOE contracting operations to Amentum — and Westinghouse.