An entity called Hanford Integrated Infrastructure Services Contractor filed a bid protest Monday with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) against the Department of Energy’s award last month of a $4 billion contract for support services at the Hanford Site in Washington state.
The Energy Department on Dec. 5 issued the potential 10-year contract to Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, a team comprised of Leidos, Centerra, and Parsons. Leidos and Centerra are partners in the incumbent vendor, Mission Support Alliance.
Two industry sources said Tuesday they understand shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries is the leader of the Hanford Integrated Infrastructure Services Contractor team, but did not know what other companies might be part of the venture.
Huntington Ingalls was a member of the venture, but will not identify its partners, spokeswoman Beci Brenton said. She did not comment on the justification for the protest.
The notice on the GAO website does not offer any detail on the justification for the bid protest. It does say the congressional auditor should rule on the protest by April 22. The government watchdog could uphold or dismiss the bid protest. If it upholds a bid protest it also has wide latitude on remedies – including ordering a solicitation to be rebid.
In announcing the contract award, DOE said three teams submitted proposals for Hanford site-wide services, which cover a broad range of operations including maintaining roads and buildings, site security, recordkeeping, and operation of the Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response (HAMMER) Federal Training Center.
In addition to Huntington Ingalls, industry chatter has suggested the other bidding team was led by PAE, of Falls Church, Va., a government contractor founded in the 1950s as Pacific Architects and Engineers. The PAE website says it does business with the Pentagon, the State Department, and the Energy Department. It did not respond to a request for comment.
The DOE Office of Environmental Management held debriefings last week with the bidding teams – winners and losers – outlining the reasoning for its contract decision. The new contract would start after a 120-day transition period.
As for the winner of the business, “members of the HMIS team continue to prepare for transition of services, and look forward to helping the DOE accelerate the Hanford cleanup mission and produce cumulative cost savings,” Leidos spokeswoman Suzzanna Martinez said in a Tuesday email.
Hanford Remains Center of Procurement Attention
As of Thursday evening, no additional bid protests have been filed with GAO on the Hanford site services award, or for the Hanford Central Plateau Remediation Contract that was also announced last month.
The Office of Environmental Management announced Dec. 12 the potential 10-year, $10 billion contract for ongoing remediation of the Hanford Site Central Plateau would go to a team comprised of AECOM, Fluor, and Atkins. The joint venture is formally known as Central Plateau Cleanup Co.
The plateau contract includes deactivation, decommissioning, and demolition of structures; cleaning up certain waste sites; and general waste management near the Columbia River. The incumbent contractor, Jacobs subsidiary CH2M, is winding down demolition of the Plutonium Finishing Plant.
Debriefings for participants in the Central Plateau procurement were concluding Thursday, an industry source said by telephone.
Multiple sources said this week they expect DOE to issue a decision within 30 days on a new tank waste management contract at Hanford. AECOM-led Washington River Protection Solutions currently oversees the 56 million gallons of chemical and radioactive waste stored in 177 underground tanks at the former plutonium production site. The $6.8 billion WRPS contract began in October 2008 and the incumbent is currently working under an extension that could keep it in place through September.