USEC FILES $35 MILLION SUIT AGAINST DOE FOR UNPAID WORK AT PORTSMOUTH

USEC filed a complaint late last week in Federal court claiming that the Department of Energy must reimburse the company more than $35 million for work between 2003 and 2011 that it says was not properly reimbursed.  “The contract services work included work performed by USEC under contract with DOE to maintain and prepare the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant for decontamination and decommissioning,” USEC spokesman Paul Jacobson said in a written response. “The suit was necessitated because of the failure of DOE to timely approve provisional billing rates and to complete (and for a number of the years in question, to even start) audits of the final incurred costs. These include costs incurred as far back as ten years ago and total over $35 million.”

 

Jacobson added, “We regret that it has come to the point where we had to file suit in Federal court in order to obtain reimbursement of our costs but we had filed our claims with DOE, and since they remain unpaid, we were required to file suit in order to preserve our rights to payment.” USEC is currently in the process of shutting down operations at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Portsmouth’s sister facility, and has suggested it could complete some deactivation work for DOE there.