Y-12/PANTEX DEBRIEFINGS SET FOR NOV. 15

The three bidders vying for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s combined Y-12/Pantex management and operating contract will each be debriefed on the agency’s selection of Bechtel-led Consolidated Nuclear Security on Nov. 15, NNSA spokeswoman Keri Fulton confirmed to NW&M Monitor. The debriefings would start the clock on a 10-day window for teams to protest the NNSA’s selection of Consolidated Nuclear Security to the Government Accountability Office, giving teams led by Babcock & Wilcox and Jacobs/Fluor until Nov. 25 to possibly keep fighting the NNSA’s decision. The contract has been protested twice before, with a challenge by B&W and Jacobs/Fluor leading the agency to seek more information from bidders on their cost savings proposal before reaffirming its selection of Consolidated Nuclear Security. Each of the three bidders agreed to a two-part “open book” debriefing process that will give lawyers for the teams a chance to review the complete set of source selection documents. Companies often protest to learn the rationale behind a decision, and the NNSA’s approach is designed to head off another challenge of the contract.