The Energy Department contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., earned 83%, or $14.3 million, of a potential $17.3 million fee for its work during fiscal 2019.
The DOE fee scorecard for the period from Oct. 1, 2018, through Sept. 30, 2019, was recently posted online for Nuclear Waste Partnership, a joint venture of Amentum (formerly AECOM Management Services) and BWX Technologies.
The result is on par with the contractor’s performance for fiscal 2018. For that period it received 86%, nearly $10.8 million of a potential $12.5 million fee.
This year, DOE praised the contractor for taking between eight and 10 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste on average during the weeks in which the underground disposal facility operated. It did not receive waste for several weeks of fiscal 2019 due to federal, state, and tribal holidays, bad weather, and an annual maintenance outage.
The agency also lauded Nuclear Waste Partnership for operating the first battery-electric load haul dump truck in the WIPP underground, which is part of an ongoing effort to reduce exhaust fumes and improve air quality in the salt mine. Likewise, DOE said the contractor improved underground radiological conditions that allowed workers to wear less personal protective equipment during fiscal 2019.
On the downside, the agency said the vendor should reduce the number of Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) infractions, “especially preventable repeat citations, and substantial and significant citations.” It did not list any examples of the MSHA citations. The scorecard also noted that NWP’s fee was docked $11,453 – the total proposed penalty resulting from the MSHA citations. The scorecard noted this action was previously agreed upon in the agency’s goals document for NWP during the fiscal year.
The Energy Department also wants NWP to address issues in a timely manner to prevent development of more significant problems. Issues requiring more attention include “the high number of cyber security vulnerabilities,” along with the need for better management and oversight of the subcontractors building WIPP’s new underground ventilation system.
