Mike Nartker
WC Monitor
1/9/2015
As the Department of Energy gets ready to release the final Request for Proposals for the new Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) Core contract, it appears that—at most—two teams are set to compete for the job, WC Monitor has learned. Fluor has assembled a team and has been actively preparing to bid, and according to industry officials, Bechtel is also believed to be looking to lead and assemble a team to compete for the new contract, though a final decision hasn’t been made. “We are assessing the opportunity and continuing to evaluate the draft RFP,” Bechtel spokesman Fred deSousa said in a written response late this week. Other companies believed to be interested in joining—but not leading—a team for the new contract, according to industry officials, include Babcock and Wilcox, EnergySolutions and Huntington Ingalls Industries.
The new ICP Core contract is intended to replace the two current cleanup contracts at the Department of Energy’s Idaho site that are currently set to expire in September—one held by CH2M-WG Idaho, made up of CH2M Hill and AECOM (which has acquired URS) and responsible for the bulk of the cleanup work at the site; and one held by Idaho Treatment Group, made up of B&W, AECOM and EnergySolutions and responsible for managing the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project. The new contract is set to run for five years, and DOE has said it anticipates issuing a final Request for Proposals for the new contract in February.
Draft RFP Prompted Heavy Industry Concern
Initially, four teams were believed to have formed to go after the new ICP Core contract—B&W-URS (since acquired by AECOM); Bechtel-EnergySolutions; CH2M Hill-Huntington Ingalls Industries; and Fluor-North Wind-Portage. However, after DOE issued a draft Request for Proposals for the ICP Core contract last fall, nearly all potential bidders made it clear that they could not bid on the contract as outlined because of concerns over provisions that would make the winning contractor liable for costs above the target cost combined with uncertainties in the work scope to be performed.
In apparent response to industry concerns, last month DOE modified the draft RFP to remove a provision that would have made contractors responsible for all costs going forward once the target cost for the new contract had been exceeded by $150 million. Prior to DOE modifying the draft RFP, though, reports emerged that CH2M Hill had dropped plans to lead a bid for the new contract, and is now believed to be looking at taking a subcontracting role with the Fluor team.
