May 26, 2015

Senate NDAA Would Require Including Emergency Preparedness in Award Fee Evaluations

By ExchangeMonitor

Senate authorizers are looking to require the Department of Energy to complete emergency preparedness assessments as part of award fee evaluations for DOE M&O contractors, according to language in the Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act that recently cleared the full committee. The provision “would require the Secretary of Energy to include in each award-fee evaluation conducted of a management and operating contract for a Department of Energy defense nuclear facility in 2016, or any even-numbered year thereafter, an assessment of the adequacy of the emergency preparedness of that facility, including an assessment of the seniority level of employees and contractors of the Department of Energy that participate in emergency preparedness exercises at that facility,” according to report language accompanying the bill.

The legislation comes after the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board last year issued a recommendation calling for strengthened emergency preparedness and response capabilities across the DOE complex in the wake of the 2014 incidents at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The events at WIPP that February highlighted shortcomings in DOE’s emergency preparedness and response program, the DNFSB noted in its recommendation. Last month DOE issued an implementation plan for bolstering emergency preparedness, which called for some high-priority items to be in place in 2015, although other tasks could stretch into late 2017 until they are done.

Comments are closed.