Nuclear Waste Partnership, the Energy Department’s prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., took home 90 percent of its total potential fee for fiscal 2017.
That percentage was good for $10.7 million in fees for the budget year that ended Sept. 30, 2017. That was a better percentage than the 84 percent Nuclear Waste Partnership earned in the prior budget year, though the total fee then was higher at $11.3 million.
Nuclear Waste Partnership earned $2.6 million of almost $3 million available for the subjective fee award category in the latest scorecard. The contractor also was awarded about $8.1 million of nearly $9 million available for the objective portion of the fee.
In five subjective areas, NWP was rated as “excellent” in mission performance, and “very good” in regulatory compliance, management performance, safety and health, and cost control.
After being forced offline for nearly three years following a February 2014 radiological release in the underground transuranic waste space, WIPP resumed operations in January 2017.
The Energy Department recognized the contractor’s performance in restarting WIPP. In the objective category of commencing on-site surface stored transuranic waste, and again receiving TRU waste shipments from other DOE sites, NWP received $4.1 million of a potential $4.2 million.
Between April 1 and Oct. 1, 2017, WIPP received a total of 73 TRU waste shipments. On the downside, DOE noted an unfavorable trend in recordable injuries in the last closing months of the fiscal year.
Nuclear Waste Partnership is an AECOM-led entity with partner BWX Technologies and major subcontractor Orano.
