A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge held a closed-door hearing June 14 but had yet to issue a decision in a legal fight over a potential $45-billion Department of Energy contract for emptying liquid waste tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state.
In a Washington, D.C. courtroom, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Marian Blank Horn heard arguments from the Department of Justice, which represents DOE, as well as the winning bidder and a rival for the Hanford Integrated Tank Disposition Contract, according to online court records. The session was “sealed” or closed to the public, according to an online notice.
Contract winner Hanford Tank Operations and Closure (H2C), made up of BWX Technologies, Fluor and Amentum, wants the judge to dismiss a challenge to the award, brought in the court by Hanford Tank Disposition Alliance (HTDA): a team led by AtkinsRéalis Nuclear Secured and including Jacobs and Westinghouse.
A year ago, Judge Horn blocked DOE’s April 2023 award to H2C, saying it was improper because the BWXT-led joint venture failed to stay registered with the federal government’s online procurement tracking system.
The judge, however, sent the issue back to DOE, which concluded the winner’s failure to stay registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) was a fixable error. The agency then told both groups to submit updated proposals.
In February, DOE selected H2C as its choice for the liquid waste contract for a second time. That move triggered a second protest in the claims court by the AtkinsRéalis-led group.
Also last year, H2C appealed Horn’s original ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. That appeal was pending as of Thursday.
Meanwhile, Amentum, part of the H2C team, announced plans last November to merge with the government contracting arm of Jacobs, which is on the HTDA team. As a result, the blended company would seem assured of having a piece of the liquid waste contract.
There are around 56 million gallons of radioactive and hazardous waste remaining from decades of plutonium production at the Hanford Site. The liquid waste is held in underground tanks at Hanford. The winner will be in charge of emptying the tanks and eventually operating the Bechtel-built Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, which will stabilize the liquid waste into a glass-like form for permanent disposal.
