The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expects in mid-June to issue the request for proposals for decommissioning of the long-retired SM-1 nuclear reactor at Fort Belvoir, Va., a senior official said Monday.
This will be the final version of the solicitation, as the procurement schedule did not allow time for a draft document that could be updated with input from vendors, said Brenda Barber, project manager for the Environmental and Munitions Design Center at the Army Corps’ Baltimore District.
The Army Corps expects in the third quarter of 2020 to issue the cost-reimbursable contract, which could feature some fixed-price components.
Decommissioning would be expected to take five years, starting in late 2020 or 2021, according to an Army Corps industry day presentation from February. Some small business participation will be required.
The contract would cover removal of all parts of the reactor and other contaminated material; preparation, transport, and disposal of waste; radiological surveys; demolition, and removal of contaminated soil. The facility will be removed down to the ground, the Army Corps said in answers to questions posed at the Feb. 8 industry day.
Companies that sent representatives to the industry day included AECOM, APTIM, Bechtel, BWX Technologies, Fluor, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Leidos, and Orano.
Queried about their plans to bid on the contract, companies either kept mum or remained noncommital.
“Given our extensive D&D expertise and interest in this type of work, BWXT is currently evaluating the opportunity and will decide whether to pursue it,” BWXT spokesman Jud Simmons said by email Tuesday.
GE Hitachi, “through its acquisition of the business and certain assets of REI Nuclear, has expanded capability to serve the nuclear decommissioning segment. This includes commercial nuclear and other reactor types not tied to generating electricity,” spokesman Jonathan Allen said by email Thursday.
APTIM Federal Services, formerly CB&I Federal Services, was the contractor for the now-completed decommissioning of the reactor on the Army Corps’ STURGIS barge.
The selected vendor will be expected to provide expertise in a number of areas, including: project management, covering scheduling, cost assessment, and risk evaluation and analysis; and radiological, decommissioning, health and safety, and demolition operations.
The SM-1 reactor was retired in 1973 after 16 years of service at the base near Washington, D.C., mostly for training personnel to work at other sites within the U.S. Army Engineer Reactors Group. That was followed by about a year of initial decommissioning, including removal of the reactor’s fuel, limited decontamination, and off-site transport of radioactive waste. Since 1974 the plant has been in monitored storage.
An AECOM-Tidewater joint venture holds two contracts worth $8.5 million for decommissioning planning for the SM-1 reactor and another former nuclear power plant at Fort Greely, Alaska. The work includes preparing an environmental assessment of decommissioning SM-1.
The Army Corps general counsel is reviewing a request from AECOM for authorization for a potential bid on the contract, to ensure there is no conflict with its existing contract, Barber said. AECOM on Thursday declined to comment regarding its interest in bidding.
Whichever corporate team gets the job will face some site-specific challenges in decommissioning the reactor, including limited space to work and proximity to both base housing and the nation’s capital (just over 20 miles). Waste will have to be trucked out, as Fort Belvoir’s rail line is not functioning.
Meanwhile, the Army Corps is also preparing for decommissioning procurement for the Fort Greely reactor, SM-1A, which operated from 1962 to 1972.
Decommissioning planning is expected to continue in 2021, with an RFP issued that year on the contract, according to a Feb. 12 industry day in Anchorage. The award is due in 2022; like the Fort Belvoir job, it will be a cost-reimbursable deal with some possible fixed-price components. The required expertise would match that needed for the SM-1.
Actual decommissioning is due to begin in 2022 or 2023, according to a stakeholder update this week from Barber.