Those interested in bidding on a potentially $3 billion contract for Phase 1B remediation work at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state will get an extra week, until March 4, to submit their proposals, the Department of Energy said last week.
In the package of questions and answers released Feb. 1, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management also said “Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not be used for the evaluation” of the West Valley contract proposals. One person interested in the contract said DOE has announced it could use this evolving technology in future procurements.
When DOE Environmental Management issued the final request for proposals last month for the potential 10-year contract, it said bids were due Feb. 26. Many potential offerors asked that the due date be pushed back, with some requesting a two-week delay, until March 11.
DOE replied it is “extending the due date for receipt of all proposal copies, paper and electronic, by one week.”
That makes the new due date March 4.
The current West Valley contract that started in August 2011 and is now scheduled to run through February 2025, is held by Jacobs-led CH2M Hill-BWXT West Valley and worth about $989 million.
At least one questioner wanted to know how the Environmental Management office’s procurement shop might handle competing bids from teams that include either Jacobs or Amentum. Executives at the two companies have announced merger plans between Amentum and the government contracting wing of Jacobs.
“DOE cannot provide feedback regarding hypothetical situations,” the agency responded.
West Valley is a 200-acre site, owned by New York state and located within the Western New York Nuclear Service Center. DOE is responsible for nuclear cleanup and providing 90% of the funding for the work. The property once home to a Nuclear Fuel Services reprocessing plant is 35 miles from Buffalo.
