The lure of getting a piece of the potential $26.5-billion Hanford Integrated Tank Disposition Contract (ITDC) at the former plutonium production complex in Washington state attracted a crowd of nearly 90 tire-kickers to virtual meetings held last week by the Department of Energy.
DOE spread out the meetings over three days, Tuesday through Thursday, to explain the draft request for proposals (RFP) issued in February for the contract, which is planned to have a 10-year ordering period. The list of registered participants includes some of the biggest contractors in the DOE weapons complex.
Organizations that sent multiple representatives are: Amentum; Aptim Federal Services; Atkins; ATL International; AVANTech; Babcock Services; Booz Allen Hamilton; BWX Technologies; Cavendish Nuclear; Fluor; Fowler-Apollo Nuclear Services; Huntington Ingalls Industries; Holtec; Hukari Ascendent; INTERA; Jacobs; Navarro; Orano; Perma-Fix; Polestar Technical Services; SE&C; Strarta-G; Terragraphics Environmental; Thomas Advisors; Value Added Solutions; Veolia; and Westinghouse Government Services.
Questions on the draft RFP are due to DOE by April 12 and should be directed to [email protected]. DOE will subsequently post questions and answers on the Office of Environmental Management procurement website. The final draft RFP is not expected before August, according to the agency.
Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions, will stay on the job as tank contractor for up to two years, from Oct. 1, 2021 through Sept. 30, 2023, during competition for the new contract, according to DOE. Last year the DOE cancelled a tank management awarded in May to a BWXT-led group. Rival bidders challenged the award with the Government Accountability Office and cited a potential conflict of interest within the BWXT-led team.
DOE subsequently decided to combine the existing contract for managing and closing Hanford’s 177 underground tanks with the contract to operate the Waste Treatment Plant being built by Bechtel. The plant is designed to solidify liquid radioactive tank waste into a stable glass form for eventual disposal.
